This creamy Broccoli Pasta is a quick weeknight meal that anyone can make. It's 100% vegetarian, super easy, and best of all, cooked in a single pot. The sauce is creamy, light, and very wholesome tasting. I used only broccoli florets so my pictures would look better, but if you don't care, you can include the stalks as well.
About This Recipe
Broccoli pasta is a vegetarian pasta dish you can make in under 20 minutes. The pasta and broccoli cook together in chicken stock, water, and heavy cream, which thickens into a creamy sauce as they cook.
Since everything is cooked in one pot, you'll want to keep an eye on it and get the timing just right. You want the pasta to be perfectly cooked and the sauce to reach the perfect consistency at the same time. If the sauce looks too runny when the pasta is almost done, turn up the heat to cook off more liquid. If it's getting too thick, lower the heat and add a little more water to loosen it up.
I love this recipe because it's a GREAT way to get your broccoli in. It serves about 3-4 people and uses an ENTIRE CROWN of broccoli. Truthfully, you could add even more if you wanted to, but I've left it at one crown so it isn't overkill for people who don't like broccoli.
Key Ingredients
Butter: This is for sauteeing the garlic at the beginning. You could also use olive oil if you're avoiding saturated fats.
Garlic: Garlic provides a lot of the delicious flavor in the sauce. Try to chop them as fine as possible so more of their flavor is released.
Chicken broth: I always use low-sodium chicken broth. I recommend you do the same, otherwise the sauce could come out too salty.
Heavy cream: Most recipes use half and half, but I decided to use heavy cream because I never have half and half at home. Just mix it with ½ cup of water and it's basically half and half.
Seasonings: Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Pasta shells: The choice of pasta is up to you. I used medium pasta shells, but I think my favorite is still fusilli pasta. Depending on the brand, some pasta shells tend to stick together, which is annoying, but I've never had that problem with fusilli.
Broccoli: I used just the florets for food photography purposes, but feel free to use the stalks as well.
Lemon juice and parmesan: The pasta is finished with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkling of parmesan cheese. For the best results, I recommend grating your own block of parmesan. The meltability is much better and will make the sauce creamier.
Instructions
STEP 1: Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the garlic for 30 seconds. A lot of garlic's flavor is fat soluble only, so this step is important to extract all the flavor.
STEP 2: Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, seasonings, and uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let it bubble for 8-10 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the broccoli and cook partially covered for 3-4 minutes. At this point, the sauce should be quite creamy. If it's still runny, turn up the heat and let the sauce bubble for a few minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parmesan.
Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 3 cups uncooked pasta shells
- 2-3 cups broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and pasta.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce medium heat and let it bubble for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom. Add the broccoli and cook partially covered for another 3-4 minutes.
- By now the sauce should resemble the consistency of cream. If it's too runny, increase the heat and let it bubble for a few more minutes, making sure you stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and parmesan. Serve immediately.
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