Quick & Easy One Pot Broccoli Pasta
This one pot broccoli pasta tastes like an incredibly indulgent creamy pasta dish, yet it’s simple, flavorful, and healthy. The broccoli is cooked in the pot with the pasta so that it breaks down creating a creamy, thick sauce to coat the orecchiette with extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, grated cheese, and red pepper flakes. This recipe comes together in under 20 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight meal or side dish.
What is orecchiette?
Orecchiette, aka “little ear” pasta, is the perfect shape of pasta to hold little scoops of the creamy broccoli goodness. What I love about this recipe, is that it doesn’t actually have a strong broccoli flavor, it’s mild and you can really taste the fresh garlic, grated parmesan, and red pepper flakes. The broccoli is used to create the texture of the sauce here. Don’t believe me? Ask my boyfriend who claims to be “allergic” to broccoli because it’s “yucky”, but he loves this orecchiette recipe!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
Cooking method for one pot broccoli pasta
The method of cooking the broccoli with the pasta is what makes this recipe unique. It may seem strange to boil these two together, but this is how we turn the broccoli into a vegetable sauce. The point is not to have the broccoli be a separate bite from the pasta, rather its meant to be the base of the sauce itself
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
This is my go-to weeknight recipe when I’m on a time crunch but still want to eat something satisfying and healthy. I always keep broccoli in the refrigerator, as it’s one of the more versatile vegetables, and orecchiette is a pantry staple for this recipe alone!
- orecchiette pasta
- fresh broccoli
- fresh garlic
- grated parmesan
- extra virgin olive oil
- butter
- crushed red pepper flakes
Note: if you have non-broccoli eaters in the house, you can chop the broccoli up even smaller to ensure that there aren’t any traceable chunks!
How to make this recipe
BOIL a large pot of heavily salted water. The salty water is key to the flavor of the pasta, the water should be salty like the ocean, so don’t be shy here.
COOK the pasta in the boiling water for 3 minutes, then add the chopped broccoli. Continue to cook the broccoli and pasta for 8 minutes.
RESERVE some pasta water by using a glass measuring cup to ladle out some of the boiling water just before draining the orecchiette and broccoli. Pasta water is used to help thin out the broccoli sauce.
RETURN orecchiette and broccoli to the pot, and add the minced garlic, butter, and extra virgin olive oil. Stir the ingredients quickly until the butter is melted. Add in the reserved pasta and continue to stir vigorously until the broccoli breaks down to a smooth consistency.
STIR in the freshly grated parmesan and red pepper flakes (to taste). I like to add a drizzle of truffle oil at this step, as it adds incredible depth to the flavor of this dish. ENJOY!
What to serve with this broccoli cheese pasta?
Want to serve this orecchiette with some protein? Here’s what will go great with this recipe!
- Grilled chicken breasts or thighs
- Grilled steak
- Grilled pork chops
- Italian sausage links
Important notes when cooking this recipe
Quality is key
It’s important to use high-quality ingredients as there aren’t a lot of players adding flavor to this dish.
- Always use fresh cloves of garlic for pasta recipes and mince yourself with a garlic mincer. Pre-minced jarred garlic has a brine that will impact the flavor of this dish. It also doesn’t have the same bite that fresh garlic has. Fresh and jarred are completely incomparable!
- Use fresh parmesan cheese and the fine side of a box grater. Pre-grated cheese has additives that affect not only the flavor but the melting properties of the cheese itself.
- De Cecco is my preferred brand of shelf pasta.
- It’s important to use high-quality extra virgin olive oil and real butter. I like Cabot and Kerrygold, or fresh local butter.
Overcooking the broccoli is required!
It may go against your better judgment to overcook the broccoli as suggested, but it’s important that the broccoli is very soft! We need the broccoli to break down easily while stirring to create the sauce, so be sure the broccoli is very soft after the 8 minutes of boiling.
Popular additions to orecchiette with broccoli
ITALIAN SAUSAGE would be a great addition to this dish. First cook the sausage links separately, then slice the sausage into rounds and add into the pasta at the end.
GRILLED CHICKEN can be sliced and added at the end.
BACON would taste delicious (when does it not?) by cooking first, dicing, then mixing into the pasta at the end.
More Pasta Recipes
Click on these images below to check out some of my other favorite pasta dishes!
One Pot Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water (approx. 2 tbsp salt) to a boil. You want it to be salty enough that it tastes like the ocean!
- Once the water is boiling, add the orecchiette and let it cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the broccoli florets to the pot and continue to boil for 8 minutes.
- Using a glass measuring cup and holding the handle, ladle out ½ cup of the pasta water from the pot, set aside.
- Using a strainer, drain the pasta and broccoli. Quickly return pasta and broccoli to the pot.
- Add the minced garlic, butter and olive oil to the pasta and stir quickly until the butter is melted. Add in the reserved pasta water and continue to stir vigorously so that the broccoli breaks down in to a smooth consistency.
- Add the grated parmesan and red pepper flakes, stir until thoroughly mixed in.
