Broccoli pasta is a really quick and hearty recipe the whole family will love!
Extra creamy, cheese-coated broccoli mixed with a choice of pasta! Serve on its own or add in a side salad and some garlic bread.
Quick & Easy Broccoli Pasta
- It’s a one-dish meal or even a side dish that’s perfect for busy nights.
- This meal is ready in less than 30 minutes start to finish.
- Easy to make and versatile, it’s a great recipe for using up leftovers.
- An inexpensive recipe that’s perfect for feeding a hungry crowd.
Totally customizable! Add leftover chicken, shrimp, salmon, sausage, and top with bacon bits!
Ingredients
VEGETABLES: Broccoli is the main veggie for this broccoli pasta and it cooks quickly in the pasta water. Short on time? Use frozen broccoli or a frozen vegetable medley. Cauliflower works well in this recipe too.
SAUCE: This basic white sauce is really quick and easy. Stir in a couple of spoonfuls of pesto sauce to change it up. If you’d like you can always swap in a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce.
FLAVORS: Onion powder and garlic salt flavor this dish along with making sure you’re using bold cheeses like sharp cheddar and parmesan. Medium or mild cheeses work but don’t add enough flavor to this pasta.
PASTA: Any medium pasta works in this recipe. I love penne, farfalle, or rotini.
Variations
- Cheese: swiss or gruyere is great in place of part of the cheddar. Bleu cheese can be sprinkled on top.
- Protein: Chicken, ham or smoked sausage are great add-ins to this recipe.
- Add Ins: Chili flakes, cauliflower, peas, diced tomatoes
- Toppings: French fried onions, bread crumb topping, extra cheese.
How to Make Broccoli Pasta
Super easy and quick, this dish is the perfect hot lunch for kids or quick dinner for all:
- Cook pasta al dente adding the broccoli in the last few minutes. Drain & set aside.
- Whisk sauce ingredients together, simmer until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted.
- Combine broccoli & pasta with the sauce, adjust seasonings & serve.
Tips
- Shred your own cheeses for best results, pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt as well.
- Don’t overcook the broccoli, add it just during the last few minutes of cooking.
- If using frozen broccoli, it doesn’t need to cook it just needs to thaw so add it at the end.
- A pinch of nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard are great additions to the cheese sauce.
- Whisk the cheese after removing it from the heat, if cheese is heated too much it can separate.
Got Leftovers?
Keep broccoli pasta in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add a little splash of milk or cream while reheating.
More Cheese, Please!
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Baked Mac and Cheese
- 3 Cheese Cavatappi
- Velveeta Mac and Cheese
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Mac and Cheese Casserole
Did you make this Broccoli Pasta? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Quick Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces medium pasta such as penne or rotini (approx 3 cups dry)
- 4 cups broccoli chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth not low sodium
- 1 cup light cream
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente according to package directions. Add broccoli to the pasta water for the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain well (do not rinse pasta) and set aside.
- Combine broth, cream, cornstarch, onion powder, and garlic salt in the saucepan and mix well. Bring to a simmer over medium heat while whisking until it comes to a boil and thickens.
- Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.
- Toss with broccoli and pasta and season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Shred your own cheeses for best results, pre-shredded cheeses don't melt as well.
- Don't overcook the broccoli, add it just during the last few minutes of cooking.
- If using frozen broccoli, it doesn't need to cook it just needs to thaw so add it at the end.
- A pinch of nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard are great additions to cheese sauce.
- Whisk the cheese after removing from the heat, if cheese is heated too much it can separate.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta, Sauce, Side Dish
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Love this recipe! My toddler gobbles it up every time I make this. Hubby requests it every 3ish weeks so it’s a frequent staple on our table!
Made this meal again, never misses w the fam! So easy to pull together!
This was awesome! Tasty, quick and sooo delish! Next time I will add fresh minced garlic. I did cut back slightly on the pasta to ensure a nice creamy texture. This recipe will not disappoint.
And back-to-back nights of coming here, because of work circumstances. Two budget-friendly vegetarian pasta dishes, necessary to get rid of that big lot of fettucine in the fridge. An another one that does the trick when the time is right. It filled me up, and anything with this amount of cheese can’t go wrong.
If you take out the pasta component of this recipe, you have yourself a quick cream-of-broccoli soup. Now that could be a trick up your sleeve for a future dinner, especially if you have to go into a Mid-West mindset – those casseroles for when money is tight and the weather is a tundra.
Between this site, and the YouTube channel theWolfePitt, eating and cooking on a budget has never been so idiot-proof. You two should collaborate sometime.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes Mikey!
what do you consider light cream?
10-12%MF or half and half work well.
Hi Holly Quick, probably silly question, but when you say that you can use Alfredo Sauce for the cream sauce…does that mean I omit both the broth and the light cream? Could you please let me know. First time do a pasta dish like this. Thanks
Yes, if using alfredo sauce as a shortcut, combine the alfredo sauce with cheese and seasonings. You may need less salt depending on the brand of sauce. Let us know how it goes!
Another five star recipe! I didn’t change a thing. I’ll make this many more times.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Karen!
Hi Holly, please add a 5 star rating to my previous post regarding the awesome broccoli cheese pasta recipe, I think I forgot to rate it
Hi Holly, I was in a pinch for time to prepare dinner tonight and I checked my fridge to see what I had on hand. I had a bag of Organic Broccoli from Trader Joe’s and some sharp cheddar cheese and a hunk of Pecarinno and parmesan cheese ! I decided to make your quick Broccoli pasta dish and it was really yummy and quite satisfying for such a quick throw together meal !!! Thank you so much for this recipe !!! Next time il throw in some garlic shrimp for a twist !!!
I am so glad you loved this pasta recipe Lisa!
I’ve recently discovered this page and have tried a couple of recipes but this is by far the crowd favorite when I make it! I double the recipe and it feeds almost 6 young adults! Thank you for making these recipes so easy to follow!
So glad your crew loves it as much as mine does!
Topped with shrimp! Yum
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Dana! Topping it with Shrimp sounds like a delicious option.
DELICIOUS! And very quick and easy. The cheese sauce is very tasty and creamy. I added 2 cups of cooked, cubed ham to make it a main dish. This recipe is a keeper.
Yum, great addition Nancy!
I work with low income families and nutrition and cost are a big conversation.
Hi Holly, I enjoy your recipe ideas, but I was wondering if you have an option to convert American quantities into metric (as I’ve seen this option on some other food websites)? For me as an European, cups very difficult to work with and rather vague. I know Americans are used to them, so could we have the best of both worlds, please? :)
Unfortunately I am unable to provide metric conversions. There are many conversion tools available online. I hope that helps.
Fairly straightforward recipe the taste is good. I do not like the roux recipe I prefer the standard roux flour butter cream has a heartier texture and taste. The variations you can add are endless so I say mix it up a little with different ingredients. Quick night dinner, most everything is on hand in everyone’s home.