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Bowl of Creamy Lemon Broccoli Sauce and Pasta

Creamy Lemon Broccoli Sauce

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  • Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 Minutes
  • Total Time: 30 Minutes
  • Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
  • Category: Sauce, Dinner, Lunch
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Healthy, low-fat, and brimming with feel-good ingredients, this Creamy Lemon Broccoli Sauce is so comforting and perfect on pasta, rice, or baked potatoes.


Ingredients

Scale

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow onions, fine dice
  • 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon tahini
  • 1 Tablespoon GF flour (or flour of choice)
  • ½ cup vegetable broth *
  • 1 ¾ cups water (or broth)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice (+) *
  • 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil *
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (+/-) *

Other Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. broccoli, chopped

Serving Ideas:

  • 8 to 10 oz. cooked pasta, drained, then rinsed
  • Over steamed rice
  • Over baked potato

Optional Toppings


Instructions

  1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the red pepper flakes) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
  2. Place the broccoli into a food processor and pulse several times to chop it into small pieces, (don’t mince it) set aside.
  3. In the meantime, in a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot (or similarly large stockpot) add the finely chopped onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes until soft.  Add a splash of water or veggie broth to prevent sticking or burning if needed.  Then add the minced garlic, sauté for one minute.
  4. Then add the tahini and flour, stirring constantly over medium heat for several minutes to cook the flour (see notes), then add all the remaining Sauce Ingredients and Spice/Herb ingredients and simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
  5. Microwave (or steam) the chopped broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes in the microwave to cook it through.  It doesn’t cook much once you add it to the sauce, so if you prefer tender broccoli, microwave it longer.
  6. Add in the chopped broccoli and red pepper flakes, stir and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over low heat. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed.
  7. Serve with pasta (stir the pasta into the sauce) or over steamed rice or over a baked potato, topped with Vegan Parmesan Cheese or nutritional yeast.

Notes

*TIPS:  When adding the tahini and flour to the skillet, stir it around the pan.  It will feel more like you are pushing lumpy flour covered onions around the pan, that is OK.  This helps cook the flour.  It will look like a lumpy mess in the pan. When you add the liquids (and other ingredients), stir thoroughly to mix the tahini/flour mixture with the liquids.  Initially it will look like it isn’t going to come together, but keep at it, mixing and pushing the tahini/flour mixture into the liquids over a medium heat. As the mixture starts to heat up it will thicken and become homogeneous. Keep stirring until it comes together into a sauce.

*Broccoli:  Chop the broccoli into very small pieces in the food processor (or by hand).  We kept a few tiny florets out of the food processor and placed them into the mixture so you could see a few tiny broccoli florets in the sauce.  You don’t have to do this, but it looks nice.

 *Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Flour:  We used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour blend.  You can use the flour of your choice.

*Lemon Juice:  We tested this recipe with both fresh and bottled lemon juice.  Both are very tasty; however, the fresh lemon juice produced superior flavor.  If you love lemon, then feel free to add more lemon juice.

*Dried Basil versus Fresh Basil:  We tested this recipe with both dried and fresh basil.  Both were very tasty; however, the fresh basil produced super flavor.  If using fresh basil, add it in Step 6 to preserve the freshness of the dish and double the amount used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  4-5

*Storage:  Refrigerate and use within 5 days.