These Veggie Butters Make Pasta for Picky Eaters a Little Healthier

Got a pasta-with-butter lover? This is your weeknight dinner solution.

September 15, 2021

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Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Broccoli-Spinach Butter.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Broccoli-Spinach Butter.

Photo by: Matt

Matt

Kid-friendly comfort food often proves that some of the simplest meals are the best. For example, pasta with butter. It's a kid-friendly classic made for picky eaters. (There's a reason you see it on every restaurant's kids' menu.)

However, if you're concerned about your kiddo filling up on carbs and pure fat, we've got a solution: compound butters. You've probably used a compound butter made with garlic, herbs or other spices to finish off a steak or top a bowl of mashed potatoes. They're also the perfect way to get your kids to eat more veggies without "hiding" them in their food.

Kid-friendly compound butters are a blend of healthful veggies, butter and some spices for flavor. We picked kid-friendly veggies like broccoli, spinach, carrots and cauliflower (for those who don't like to eat colors) to combine with butter to make easy pasta dishes perfect for weeknights.

Kids aren't always eager to eat their greens, and spinach can be a textural challenge for small mouths. This compound butter blends broccoli and spinach with butter to create a bright green sauce that looks almost like pesto, but is more mild in flavor. Spinach contains vitamins A and C and fiber, while broccoli provides potassium and vitamin K.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Carrot-Cinnamon Butter.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Carrot-Cinnamon Butter.

Photo by: Matt

Matt

The cinnamon in this compound butter brings out the sweetness of the cooked carrots making for a comforting bowl of pasta. Kids will love the bright orange color and parents can rest easy knowing they've fed their kids a healthy helping of vitamin K, potassium and fiber.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Cauliflower-Parmesan Butter.

Description: Food Network Kitchen's Pasta with Cauliflower-Parmesan Butter.

Photo by: Matt

Matt

For the kid who refuses to eat anything other than pasta with butter, give cauliflower compound butter a try. Cauliflower's mild flavor means that kids will barely taste it and focus on the fact that they get to have pasta with butter and cheese. Don't fret, though. They're still getting vitamin C in every bite.

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