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Need a way to sneak more veggies in your picky eater’s diet? Look no further. These cheesy broccoli sticks are so good, you’ll be making them time after time.
Here at MOMables we’re always coming up with new, fun ways to sneak in added nutrition for those picky eaters in our families - such as the MOMables Homemade Macaroni & Cheese and Sneaky Cauliflower Salad, just to name a few.
The MOMables Broccoli Pesto happens to be one of those fabulous recipes.
As a mom of a daughter with food allergies and intolerances, I was thrilled to find a delicious pesto recipe without nuts!
I love to take-it-up-a-notch and create something delicious with a recipe that is not only nut free, but gluten and egg free too.
When we made the pesto, I used a SunDried Tomato dressing (oil based)Â in lieu of the olive oil – just to give it a bit more flavor for these cheese sticks. It’s delicious either way, so I have included notes on how to substitute.
These Broccoli Pesto Cheese Sticks are perfect as an appetizer, accompanying a delicious piece of grilled chicken, or even in the lunchbox! The kiddos will think your the best Mom (or Dad) because they’re getting cheesy breadsticks in their lunch. You get the satisfaction of knowing it’s an allergy friendly treat and packed full of fiber!
Ingredients
- 1 small head of broccoli, seperated into florets and the trunk chopped into chunks
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil or Sundried Tomato dressing, plus more for roasting broccoli
- a small handful of fresh basil
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup of cornstarch
- 1/2 cup of GF all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup of milk
- 2 Tbsp of plain Greek yogurt
- 1 flax egg replacer (1 Tbsp. of ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp. of warm water; Mix until creamy, let stand 1 minute)
- 1 Tbsp. of Italian Herb spices
- 1/2 tsp. of garlic salt
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup of mozzerela cheese, for topping
- Optional: Marinara sauce, for dipping
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, spread out the broccoli and drizzle with olive oil or your favorite italian dressing. Toss with hands until broccoli is evenly coated.
- Roast for 10-15 minutes, flipping once. Remove from oven and set aside to cool, slightly.
- Turn down oven temperature to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix breadstick dough ingredients until a creamy batter is formed.
- Pour into a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish and cook 20 minutes then remove from oven.
- While the dough is baking: in the bowl of your food processor (or blender), pulse the roasted broccoli (scraping any oil left on the pan into the bowl as well), basil, Parmesan, and salt until well mulched.
- With the motor running, pour the olive oil or dressing in a thin stream. Scrape down the sides until you achieve a pesto-like consistency. Makes about 1.5 cups.
- Once your dough is done, spread the pesto on in an even layer (refrigerate any leftover pesto in an airtight container). Then top with mozzerela and return to oven for approximately five more minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and slice into sticks with a pizza cutter.
Sounds Yummy!!!
Thanks Gina! They’re DELISH with marinara for dipping too. :)
I used all purpose flour, plain yogurt, and one egg since that is what I had and we are lucky to not have allergies. The dough was a very chewy texture and my 5 year old said she did not like the texture. She was willing to eat it with pizza sauce. We both liked the topping though!
Hi Jamie, sorry to hear that! Using a regular flour may have caused that with the changes. GF flours take a bit more moisture so I’m wondering if that changed the consistency, along with the egg since we subbed. I’m glad to hear he enjoyed the pesto sauce! We love it too. :)
Jamie, this recipe will not work with regular flour. there is no yeast to make it rise and thus creating a very chewy texture. In the future, you can use our regular pizza dough and follow the rest of the directions and pesto recipe.