Is it tough to get your kids to eat their vegetables? My kids are all young adults and two of them – the 16 and 21 year olds – still refuse to eat their veggies! But I’m a Mom and I’ve learned to be a little sneaky when it’s for their own good. I’ve actually gotten them to eat broccoli with this homemade pasta & broccoli alfredo recipe. Enjoy!
Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 pint cream (light or milk – see notes below*)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (jar)
- 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (refrigerated)
- 2 slices white American cheese
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Being Italian, I rarely use measuring cups or spoons. It’s a little of this and a little of that. So when I provide you with measurements here, feel free to adjust to your taste.
*I most often use light cream for this recipe. If you use 1% or 2% milk, you may need to increase the amount of cheese to thicken the sauce.
Alfredo Sauce Directions:
Place the cream, butter, pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan and warm on low heat. Add the cheeses and stir in. Continue stirring until the butter and cheeses are melted and the sauce becomes thick. It should be about the consistency of cake batter. If it’s not thick enough, gradually add more cheese. Continue stirring until all ingredients are well blended together.
Pasta & Broccoli Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 to 2 lbs of pasta. (penne, ziti, or fettuccini preferred)
- 1 large head of broccoli
Pasta & Broccoli Instructions:
Fill a large pot with water. Place cut broccoli florets into the water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
Shave the tops of the broccoli off the florets with a knife so they come off in finely chopped pieces.
Place the pasta, broccoli, and cheese back into the large pot and mix together.
You can see that the broccoli virtually disappears. Instead of looking like broccoli, it looks like you sprinkled some herbs into the pasta. The alfredo sauce helps the broccoli stick to the pasta and covers the broccoli taste.
The kids love the cheese sauce so much they don’t even realize how much broccoli they’re actually eating.
Enjoy!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products I use myself.
Leave a Reply