Broccoli Pasta
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This 8-ingredient quick and easy healthy Broccoli Pasta is so good it’s going to blow your mind! Fresh broccoli is sautéed in rich extra virgin olive oil along with fresh garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes before being smashed into a delicious creamy sauce! It’s then tossed together with perfectly cooked pasta and some tasty parmesan cheese!
Healthy Broccoli Pasta Recipe
I’m in love with this dish! It’s healthy, quick to make, and totally delicious. This broccoli pasta is really something special! In some ways, it looks similar to my Arugula Walnut Pesto Pasta, but the flavor profile is totally different and the sauce is not a pesto at all. Yet, it’s got that same creamy texture and beautiful vibrant green color.
However, I know creamy broccoli sauce seems crazy right!?! Yet, it’s seriously good and oh-so easy to make. In fact, after I made it I wondered why it took me so long to realize that mashed-up sauteed broccoli with a bit of garlic and parmesan cheese would make an incredible pasta sauce. I also add a pinch of red pepper flakes too for a bit of heat, but if you’re not into spice you can leave them out.
And this creamy broccoli pasta recipe is really versatile. By design, it’s a totally vegetarian meal and super yummy. But like most pasta recipes, it’s also really tasty topped with some Grilled Chicken or Oven Baked Shrimp. So feel free to add any type of protein you like. It’s even good served hot or cold!
Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Pasta
- Quick And Easy! With almost no prep involved and no fancy equipment needed, this simple 8-ingredient vegetarian pasta recipe comes together in a little under 30 minutes.
- Healthy Pasta! Fresh broccoli, which is full of nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium makes the base of the sauce that coats this delicious pasta.
- Leftovers For Lunch! This broccoli pasta is good hot or cold, so it’s one of those dishes where leftovers are welcomed, and making a little bit too much is a good thing.
- Broccoli – You need fresh broccoli for this recipe. But frozen will work if that is all you’ve got on hand.
- Olive Oil – Use extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic cloves are always best. Store-bought jarred garlic will work but it can sometimes have a bitter taste.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Used to add a bit of spice. However, you can omit this ingredient or add even more for spicier pasta.
- Salt – Used to season the pasta cooking water and the dish.
- Black Pepper – Use fresh ground black pepper if you have it on hand.
- Pasta – I used orecchiette pasta. Another great choice is penne pasta. But any type of pasta can be used, including gluten-free.
- Parmesan Cheese – Used to make the sauce cheesy and garnish the dish at the end.
This healthy pasta recipe is super simple with very little prep time! It’s nearly impossible to mess up. The broccoli is cooked, smashed into a sauce, and then tossed with pasta!
To begin, you first need to cook the broccoli. So bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Next, add the broccoli florets and cook them for 5 minutes. Then when it’s done, reserve half a cup of the broccoli cooking water, but don’t discard the rest of the water! Just keep it in the pot. You will use the cooking water again to cook the pasta.
Next, transfer the cooked broccoli to a large skillet along with the extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper and the reserved broccoli water. Now, cook the mixture over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the broccoli is super soft. Then mash the broccoli with the back of a spoon to create a creamy sauce.
While the broccoli mixture is cooking you can begin cooking the pasta. First, bring the broccoli cooking water in the pot back to a boil. Then cook the pasta according to the package directions or until al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining.
Once the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the pan with the broccoli mash. Then add the grated parmesan cheese and stir everything together. At this point, if the sauce is too thick just add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin it out. Finally, taste the dish and add more salt and black pepper if needed.
After the pasta has been seasoned and is the recipe complete, transfer the broccoli pasta to your serving dish of choice. Then garnish it with some more freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve with some soft home-baked Garlic Knots.
Can I Puree The Broccoli Sauce?
Of course, you can! You shouldn’t need to, but if you want a completely smooth sauce like Pesto, then go for it! A basic food processor or immersion blender will do the trick. Yet, if you still want the sauce to have a few chunks you should just pulse it.
Why Is My Pasta Dry?
Sometimes you can have a little more pasta than needed and not quite enough sauce, which can make pasta dishes dry. This is why I suggest that you only add about 80% of the cooked pasta to the broccoli sauce and then add more if you’ve got enough sauce. But you can easily fix dry pasta by adding a little more of the reserved pasta water, vegetable broth, or even heavy cream.
Expert Tips
- Salt your broccoli water. Add plenty of salt to the broccoli cooking water. This helps to infuse both the broccoli and pasta with flavor as they absorb some of the water.
- Cook to al dente. Overcooked pasta gets mushy and will fall apart when you toss it together with the mashed broccoli sauce. The pasta needs to be tender but still firm to the bite.
- Save some of the water. The reserved broccoli water can be used for reheating the leftovers too by adding some moisture to the pasta and keeping it flavorful.
Storage
Leftover broccoli pasta will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, just sprinkle it with a bit of water to loosen it up a bit. Then put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat. Sadly, leftover pasta does not tend to freeze well.
Other Delicious Pasta Recipes To Try
- Pasta Pomodoro
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Aglio e Olio
- Cacio e Pepe
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Orecchiette With Sausage And Broccoli
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Broccoli Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli (large, cut into small florets)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 12 ounces pasta (such as penne)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer cooked broccoli to a bowl. Reserve ½ cup of broccoli water.
- Add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cooked broccoli and the reserved broccoli water to the skillet and cook for 10 minutes until you can easily mash the broccoli with a spoon.
- In the same pot with broccoli water add the pasta and cook until al dente.
- Drain the pasta and add to the skillet with the broccoli mash along with the parmesan cheese. Stir everything together and add more pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed and serve garnished with additional parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Salt your broccoli water. Add plenty of salt to the broccoli cooking water. This helps to infuse both the broccoli and pasta with flavor as they absorb some of the water.
- Cook to al dente. Overcooked pasta gets mushy and will fall apart when you toss it together with the mashed broccoli sauce. The pasta needs to be tender but still firm to the bite.
- Save some of the water. The reserved broccoli water can be used for reheating the leftovers too by adding some moisture to the pasta and keeping it flavorful.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, just sprinkle it with a bit of water to loosen it up a bit. Then put it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Fabulous!
Wonderful option for my vegan wife!! I only have to substitute with plant-based parm! Thank you for an easy recipe!
My pleasure so glad you guys enjoyed it!
What a super easy weeknight recipe! I didn’t change a thing. Delicious!
This recipe couldn’t be simpler or more delicious! Didn’t make any additions/changes/deletions at all.
Quick, easy, and satisfying! Thank you!
I have cooked this dish for 50 years. Before that my father his father my mother s mother all have prepared this dish and it has always been great
This is such a simple but yet delicious recipe. Made it and loved it. Definitely a keeper. Thank you Jo!
Absolutely delicious 😋 Thank you.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. I had to have a second helping! It came together so easily. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks Jo!
My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed it!
There appears to be an error in step 2.
Add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and the reserved broccoli water to the skillet and cook for 10 minutes until you can easily mash the broccoli with a spoon.
Shouldn’t it read the cooked broccoli not the water?
The cooked broccoli was actually added to the skillet in step 1 but I fixed the instructions to match the pictures and video. Sorry about the confusion.
JO IS FANTASTIC!!! HER RECIPES ARE THE BEST!!! EVERY DISH TURNS OUT DELICIOUS. I HAVE ALSO LEARNED SO MANY HELPFUL COOKING TIPS FROM HER. THANKS FOR YOUR FABULOUS FOOD, JO!!! GOD BLESS!!!
Thanks, Nancy! Your comment made my day!