Braised Broccoli Pasta
Updated April 19, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1large head broccoli (about 1 pound)
- 1medium yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ¼ to ½teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- Salt and black pepper
- 3½cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 12ounces orecchiette
- ½cup panko bread crumbs
- ½teaspoon dried oregano
- 1lemon, zested, plus 1 tablespoon juice
- Grated Parmesan or Pecorino (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
665 calories; 25 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 90 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 1139 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Prepare the broccoli: Trim and discard the thick, woody stem, removing it where the branches begin. Next, trim off the top inch of the broccoli florets, reserving the leafy tops. Roughly chop the remaining broccoli stems and add to a food processor; pulse into small pieces. Add the onion and garlic and pulse until it forms a slushy green mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. (You should have about 1 ½ to 2 cups.)
- Step 2
Add ¼ cup olive oil to a medium lidded saucepan and heat over medium-high. Stir in the blended broccoli mixture and the crushed red pepper, season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and burbling, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the stock and bring to a boil over high.
- Step 4
Once the liquid boils, stir in the pasta and reserved broccoli florets, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring seldomly, 10 minutes. (Cooking with the lid on preserves the moisture and helps the pasta cook evenly at this point, without the need for attentive stirring.)
- Step 5
While the pasta cooks, prepare the oregano bread crumbs: In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. Add the bread crumbs and oregano, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring attentively, just until golden and toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Step 6
After the pasta has simmered for 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until tender and saucy, another 5 minutes or so. (You’ll want to be more attentive toward the end of cooking, stirring more actively and adding a splash of water if needed.) Stir the lemon zest and juice into the pasta and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 7
Divide among bowls, drizzle with olive oil until glistening and sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Shower with oregano bread crumbs and serve immediately.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Lee
A note to diabetics (not a doctor and this is only my experience) but wrapping pasta in brocolli sauce and having a salad first has consistently kept my blood sugar low even with a generous serving of carbs. Worth keeping in mind.
EF
A little too soupy
What?
There is no draining of the pasta in this recipe.
So easy And Good
Made this as directed but used champagne vinegar in place of lemon due to an allergy and loved it. Will def make again.
Carol (Portland)
I also would like a more herby flavor. I will add a lot of fresh basil to the sauce for a pesto flavor next time
CG
Came out kinda soupy mushy.....not saving it.
SD
Delicious! Had to sub small conchiglie because I couldn't find orecchiette so I just cooked the pasta covered for 6 min instead of 10
delicious & surprisingly flexible
I took a risk and used chickpea rotini - pasta took a bit more minding than was intended, but it came out great!
Maddy
Halved the oil, broccoli was quite overdone so next time we’ll wait and add the broccoli at the latter half of the pasta step.
Jim
Cooked according to recipe and came out delicious. Paired with a nice rosé, perfect for an early summer dinner.
Norm
easy and delicious! As written.
Marina MacNamara
This was delicious- a great weeknight meal.
Kristin
We followed the recipe closely and it came out beautifully. We used five medium cloves of garlic (instead of three) and a full half teaspoon of chili flakes. It definitely has some heat so would consider cutting back for to appeal to all palates. So simple yet extremely flavorful and quite healthy compared to many pasta dishes. We combined Parmesan and Pecorino for a bit more umami and it was perfect. Will definitely add to the rotation!
Kate
This is really good and easy! I would recommend adding the broccoli florets 5 minutes into cooking (or even later) though, as they got a little overcooked with the full 10 minutes.
Karen’s tweaks
Cut the florets off and leave them full size , some small some large.
Jane
My favorite instruction in this recipe is “stirring seldomly”.
Kris
I had high hopes for this recipe but was left with a pasta that was under cooked while the broccoli was mush. The flavor wasn’t bad but the texture and color were bad. The best part was the breadcrumb topping. I ate one serving and threw the rest in the trash, I won’t be making this recipe again.
stephen d
Don’t let the comments scare you. An easy and delicious recipe that works perfectly as written. 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes gives plenty of heat.
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