This authentic broccoli pasta recipe, known in Italy as pasta con broccoli, comes straight from Tuscany. Adapted from a traditional recipe shared during a cooking class in Tuscany, it's a simple, comforting vegetarian dish that has become one of the most beloved pasta recipes on the blog. Video included!
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After a week-long cooking class in Tuscany, my good friend Mark brought back this traditional recipe and made it for his wife. As a chef, I've always been fascinated by the way classic regional dishes highlight humble ingredients, so when my friend Sonna described this pasta-where broccoli is cooked down slowly until it becomes a silky, creamy sauce-I was intrigued.
At first, the thought of mushy broccoli gave me pause, but the technique is genius: gentle simmering transforms it into a velvety sauce that clings beautifully to orecchiette. We've been making this pasta for dinner for years, and I can honestly say it's become a go-to favorite in our house.
WATCH: How to Make Orecchiette
Why You’ll Love Broccoli Pasta
- It is packed with nutrition! Lots of broccoli in the sauce along with garlic, lemon and chili flakes. Good clean ingredients!
- Easy to make! Steam broccoli, sauté aromatics, combine (blend if a smooth sauce is desired), and serve over cooked pasta with pecorino.
- Tasty and Creamy! It has a velvety mouth feel without tons of added fat. Kids like this sauce too!
ORECCHIETTE BROCCOLI IngredienTs
- Broccoli Florets – you can use fresh broccoli or frozen!
- Orecchiette pasta- translates to “little ear”. An ear-shaped pasta that literally cradles the sauce. Feel free to use other pasta shapes.
- Extra virgin olive Oil– adds rich creamy flavor to the sauce
- Chili flakes – for a milder flavor try Aleppo or Urfa Biber.
- Anchovy paste- for a vegan option, sub white miso paste (or sub 1-2 mashed whole anchovies)
- Veggie broth or chicken broth
- Pecorino cheese– freshly grated is BEST here as pre-grated often has caking agents that prevent the sauce from getting creamy. Sub parmesan, FYI, pecorino is saltier.
- Lemon Zest– for a little brightness.
- Baby Spinach– just a little handful to give the sauce more vibrant color.
- Optional Garnishes: truffle oil, fresh basil ribbons, toasted pine nuts, toasted bread crumbs, or olives.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Orecchiette Pasta and Broccoli
Step one: Steam the broccoli, cook the pasta, and save the hot, salted pasta water.
TIP: Throw the broccoli in a strainer in the boiling pasta water to save time and the extra pot.
I used a whole 12-ounce bag of broccoli florets (about 6 cups, packed) cut into smaller pieces and then steamed until tender.
Step two: Saute garlic, chili flakes and shallots, in olive oil , when fragrant, add the steamed broccoli and veggie broth, cooking until it falls apart, melts, and cooks down into a sauce (you can help break it apart with a metal spatula).
Take your time here, so the sauce is not grainy, you want the broccoli really soft.
Step Three: Create depth. Stir in pecorino cheese, a little anchovie paste if you like, or even miso paste. Add lemon zest. Taste, adjust salt and pepper and get the sauce to taste how you like, loosening the sauce with hot pasta water.
Step Four: Use your immersion blender here, right in the pan ( or add this to a blender). To add more vibrant color, add a handful of baby spinach and blend this in! (Or place the sauce in your blender).
Step Five: Add the cooked pasta and again taste for salt. Add a little warm pasta water if you like it looser or saucier.
Step Six: Garnish with lots of chili flakes, lemon zest and more grated pecorino cheese. Pangrattato adds a lovely crunch! Serve it up in your favorite pasta bowl.
Storage
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat gently in a saucepan, adding a splash of water if needed, or microwave.
What to Serve With Orecchiette Broccoli
Serve with a leafy green salad and crusty bread!
Orecchhiete Pasta and Broccoli FAQs
Broccoli that has been steamed and blended (optional) with broth, garlic, lemon zest and chili flakes.
Orecchiette translates to “little ear”. An ear-shaped pasta that literally cradles the sauce.
Lemon, pecorino and parmesan cheese, pine nuts, walnuts, garlic, onion, shallots, basil, bread crumbs, and olives.
Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli Sauce should be on your next menu plan- it’s full of great broccoli nutrients and flavor, your kids will love this too!
More Recipes You May Like
- Steamed Broccoli with Garlic, Chili & Lemon Zest
- Best Pasta Recipes
- Vegan Broccoli & Cheddar Soup
- Grilled Broccolini
- Creamy Broccoli Pesto Soup
- Perfect Roasted Broccoli
- Easy Dinner Ideas
- Lemon Pasta
- Caramelized Leek Pasta
- Easy Pesto Pasta
- Easy Corn Soup
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
xoxo
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Orecchiette Pasta Recipe
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: vegetarian main
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Orecchiette Broccoli Sauce (pasta con broccoli) a simple vegetarian pasta dish hailing from Tuscany that is easy to make, healthy and oh so delicious!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces broccoli florets- cut or broken into very small florets about equal size (about 6 cups packed)
- 8 ounces short pasta- orecchiette pasta, penne, rigatoni, etc
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (don’t skimp here!)
- 1 fat shallot, diced -or half a white or yellow onion
- 6 garlic cloves- rough chopped
- generous pinch chili flakes ( Aleppo or Urfa biber is nice here)
- generous pinch salt and pepper, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste ( or sub white miso paste)
- 2 cups veggie broth or chicken broth
- 1–2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh grated pecorino cheese
- small handful baby spinach (or arugula), chopped for more vibrant color
- Optional Garnish: pecorino cheese, lemon zest, truffle oil, fresh basil ribbons, toasted pine nuts, toasted bread crumbs, capers, truffle oil or kalamata olives- all optional.
Instructions
- Steam small broccoli florets until very tender (easily pierced with a fork) then chop and set aside.
- Cook the pasta in 8 cups water with 1 tablespoon salt (measure), Save a cup of hot pasta water when you drain.
- In a large pan, saute the shallot and garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil, over medium heat until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the miso paste (or anchovy), then add steamed broccoli, salt, pepper and the broth.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and break apart the broccoli with a metal spatula into tiny pieces. As it cooks and softens it will get easier to break apart. You want the broccoli to melt down into a “sauce ” – take your time here, adding more liquid as needed.
- Stir in the lemon zest and pecorino cheese. Continue simmering gently on low heat until half of the liquid evaporates and it becomes the consistency of a thick sauce, about 10 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender right in the saucepan and add a small handful of chopped baby spinach and blend until smooth. Using the full 3 tablespoons of olive oil will help make the sauce “creamy”. (Alternatively, place the sauce in a blender with spinach).
- Combine. Add the pasta to the sauce and add more hot pasta water as needed to keep it ” saucy.”
- Taste once more for salt, adjust, adding more along with pepper, chili flakes. If you want more richness add another splash of olive oil (or pat of butter- my husband loves this) or more pecorino if you like.
- Divide among pasta bowls and top with any of the garnishes you like!
Notes
Pecorino. Pre-shredded pecorino or parmesan often have “caking agents” in them- that prevent cheese from fully incorporating into a sauce- resulting in unpleasant clumping. The cheese should just melt into the sauce. Always check the label.- some stores offer grated pecorino that they grate on-site without these caking agents. Also, pecorino is much saltier than parmesan, so if using parmesan, you may need more salt.
We adjusted the recipe to make this more vibrant in color. Adding the spinach is not traditional but does add a beautiful vibrance to the sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with the addition of ¾ cup parmesan
- Calories: 351
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 518.3 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.2 g
- Fiber: 7.5 g
- Protein: 15.6 g
- Cholesterol: 9.7 mg
I made this recipe recently and found it to be too much trouble for a dish that was just ho-hum in flavor. I actually threw the printed recipe away. We saved the leftovers, however, and my daughter had them for lunch the next day. She raved about how much better it was, and left me just a little bit of the leftovers to try. To my surprise, it was delicious! So now I am reprint-ing the recipe and making a note to prepare a day before serving.
Oh good to know Violet! Leftovers are usually better for the most part.
Wowowowowooww so good! I eat the leftovers cold!
Awesome, happy you like it!
WOW, Just W O W !
As always, just follow the instructions to the letter and the recipe is a winner. I had this dish once in Torino and honestly this recipe is Italian ristorante quality. Thank you Sylvia and Tonia.
Really appreciate this Mary.💛 Happy you liked this one.
For the past few years now, this has been my husband’s requested “birthday dinner”—he loves it that much!
Nice to hear this Sel!
Wow! This is excellent!!
Awesome Stephanie, appreciate the review!
This recipe was so tasty! I did make a change by adding silken tofu, only because I recently had oral surgery and can only eat soft foods and wanted to add more protein. It made it not as pretty, perhaps, but I don’t think it affected the flavor. I’ll definitely make this again!!
Great to hear this Amy! Best wishes for healing quickly.
I never leave reviews but I loveeee this dish!!!! What a clever way to make some healthy greens taste so creamy! And I didn’t even use cheese for a healthier meal. This was my first time making a pasta sauce and you made it very easy thank you!
Yay Emma! So glad gave it a try. Appreciate your review and rating. 🙂
I found the texture of the sauce unpleasant (reminds me of baby food) and the anchovy paste was yucky in this!
Sorry this wasn’t your cup of tea. 🙂