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The best part about making simple sauces and spreads like these are their amazing versatility. For time-saving purposes, we sliced a roasted rotisserie chicken as our protein. However, this healthy pesto recipe is great on top of salmon, pork, or pasta, as well as a perfect compliment to add to any leafy salad. If you follow the vegan lifestyle, simply follow the recipe as listed and leave out the cheese.

How To Make Your Own Homemade Pesto At Home

What? Make your own! Yes, you can and should! It is seriously simple and an easy way to cut down on added fat and calories, simply by making a few tweaks of your own.

Everything You Need to Make Your Own Avocado Pesto At Home

The secret to our healthier version of homemade pesto is to substitute in a few avocados. Avocados are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and just as delicious. This is the basis for our healthy avocado pesto, but, as you will see below, you can spice it up and make it your own by adding in parmesan, arugula, or even olives!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups spinach

• 1 cup chopped basil

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 avocados

• 1/4 olive oil (or avocado oil)

• 1/2 lemon, squeezed. (Optional: add some zest!)

• Salt & pepper to taste

How to Make Homemade Avocado Pesto

1. Add avocados, minced garlic, oil, and lemon juice to food processor. Puree on high.

2. Slowly add basil and spinach to taste.

3. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

That’s it! Couldn’t be simpler if we tried!

Now, with pesto ready, let’s get to working on making this roasted broccoli pasta dish!

Everything You Need to Make Roasted Broccoli Avocado Pesto Pasta

• Broccoli. It wouldn’t be a roasted broccoli pasta without the broccoli.

• Garlic. The basis of any good dish.

• Olive Oil. Just a bit to help sauté our vegetables.

• Whole Wheat Pasta. A hearty (and healthy!) pasta option. For this recipe, we used spaghetti, but use your favorite pasta.

• Rotisserie Chicken. Chicken is our choice of protein.

• Kalamata Olives. Fruity and tangy, the olives give the pasta a pop of flavor.

• Mushrooms. More vegetable options and added texture.

• Avocado. To add creaminess.

• Baby Arugula. The peppery taste of fresh greens.

• Almonds. To add a bit of robust flavor to our standard pesto recipe.

• Pecorino Romano. A perfect hard cheese for the top.

• Lemon. A simple squeeze of lemon juice and zest to balance the pesto.

• Salt & Pepper. To complete the dish.

Easy Ingredient Substitutions

Substitute chicken for your choice of protein. While chicken is always a great option, you could easily cook the pesto pasta and lay a piece of grilled salmon on top. Equally delicious!

Change out your veggies. Don’t like olives or mushrooms? That’s fine. Tasty suggestions could include: artichoke hearts, snap peas, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, or sautéed onions.

Make it gluten-free. No need to use whole-wheat pasta. If you are gluten-free, change out for your favorite pasta or use rice noodles instead. (Just remember if using rice noodles, the sauce would have to be applied on top to prevent a bowl of soggy noodles!)

Vegan: Substitute the chicken for your choice of plant-based protein, such as tofu or tempeh. Remove cheese or use vegan substitute.

Arugula: If you don’t have arugula (or dislike), spinach could be swapped as a substitute, as used in the original Pesto Avocado sauce.

Nut-allergy: Remove almonds from recipe.

Dairy-free: Leave out the cheese entirely or substitute with a vegan cheese, such as Daiya.

Frozen Broccoli: Yes! You can roast frozen broccoli. Simply toss frozen broccoli with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper per the instructions and spread on a baking sheet. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees, roasting until the edges of the broccoli are brown and crispy, approximately 20 minutes.

Toppings: Feel free to experiment with whatever toppings you prefer. You may use Parmesan cheese or mozzarella if you prefer your cheese to melt.

How to Make Roasted Broccoli Pesto Pasta

1. Preheat. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Chop the broccoli. Separate the florets from the broccoli stalk with a sharp knife.

3. Toss the broccoli. Place broccoli in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Place the broccoli on a pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread broccoli onto sheet, making sure to evenly distribute for roasting. 

5. Roast the broccoli. Roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until broccoli edges are crispy, stirring halfway.

6. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, cooking according to directions. Drain and set aside.

7. Slice the rotisserie chicken. Remove rotisserie chicken from packaging and slice to remove meat from the bones. Set aside.

8. Blend up the pesto. In a food processor, add avocado, almonds, baby arugula, almonds, lemon juice, lemon zest, Pecorino Romano, water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and remaining salt, pepper and garlic. Pulse on high to combine ingredients.

9. Add the broccoli to the pesto. Add 2 cups roasted broccoli and continue to blend until pesto is smooth and creamy. Add water if necessary.

10. Sauté the veggies. In a large sauté pan, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned.

11. Add in the chicken. Add in shredded rotisserie chicken and kalamata olives, cooking for 1 minute.

12. Mix the pesto and the pasta. In a large bowl, combine pasta, pesto, vegetable chicken mixture; gently combine.

To serve: Add arugula to the bottom of serving bowls and transfer pesto pasta mixture. Top with roasted broccoli and additional cheese, if desired.

More Dinner Recipes to Try

• Old Fashioned Potato Soup With Gnocchi

• Mediterranean Pasta With Sun Dried Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts + Kalamata Olives