Broccoli Rice with Pesto, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan

Rule #179: Sometimes the longer the name of the recipe, the better it tastes. 

This little number was the birth child of my ridiculous love for carbs and my ridiculous need to lose this ole baby weight. I wanted something that could be a decent substitute for pasta when we are having an Italian dish. I have to say, I don’t miss the carbs when we have this as a side. I almost* would prefer it over pasta. 

*Don’t tell spaghetti I’m cheating on him, please. 

H-E-B sells this lovely stuff: already riced broccoli. You could easily throw some broccoli into a food processor and get the same result (or chop it finely). BUT, I love a good shortcut. I prefer riced broccoli over cauliflower for this side dish because it doesn’t have as distinct a taste. It can soak up the hearty marinara sauce in Italian dishes as well as the pesto, pine nuts, and Parmesan in this side dish itself. 

First, heat some olive oil until shimmering over medium-high heat. Then throw in the riced broccoli.

Sauté the broccoli rice for about 4 minutes, until it’s softened a bit. Then add in a good amount of green pesto. 

Then, throw in some pine nuts and Parmesan. 

You can lightly toast the pine nuts if you want. Simply heat a small skillet over medium-high heat, then toast the nuts for about 3 minutes (until fragrant), stirring occasionally. 

Give everything a good stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Garnish with more pine nuts and Parmesan.

We love our Broccoli Rice with Pesto, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan with Italian Meatballs and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs, but good ole bolognese spaghetti sauce would be yummy, too! 

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