This authentic broccoli pasta recipe, called pasta con broccoli, comes straight from Tuscany. Learn how to make this simple, delicious vegetarian meal- one of our most popular orecchiette recipes on the blog! Video.
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R. Ingersoll
After taking a week-long cooking class in Tuscany my good friend Mark brought back this traditional Tuscan recipe and made it for his wife. Truth be told, when my friend Sonna first described it to me- how the broccoli was cooked down for a long time, I had some reservations.
The thought of mushy broccoli seemed really odd, but as she continued describing how luscious and creamy the broccoli sauce became once it cooked down, and how the orecchiette pasta cradled it so lovingly, my interest was piqued.
So broccoli pasta became our dinner last night, and I must say, it was delicious!
Watch how to make pasta con broccoli,
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.
Why You’ll Love Pasta con broccoli
- 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!
How to make Broccoli Pasta
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. 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!
pasta con 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
xoxo
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Orecchiette Broccoli Recipe
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4
- 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
This rocks. Even my picky, non-vegetable loving kid ate it!
Such a delish recipe! I added a squeeze of lemon juice on top and some fresh chilli. Thanks for posting!
This was so delicious! I kept it vegan and my meat eating husband kept commenting on how good it was. We topped ours with lemon zest and kalamata olives. This will be a regular in our house. Thank you for the great recipe.
Easy and delicious. I added all optional ingredients except truffle oil and anchovie paste, and only pecorino cheese, however to me something was missing, I added organic fire roasted diced tomatoes and voila perfecto! Will be having once a week from now on, thank you!
Very nice. Even for my meat eater husband 🙂
This was delicious. I added some cream cheese to entice my children they loved it. Clean plates 🤗
I am excited to try this. I love creative meals and simplicity. I will let you know.
What’s the benefit of using anchovy paste of actual anchovies?
I reckon chopping the broccoli up nice and fine and frying, then letting the orecchiette cook with the rest of the ingredients for about half its cooking time makes it super tasty without the extra step of steaming.
So Yes, you could do that, but in this traditional Tuscan recipe, the broccoli breaks all the way down into a sauce. The frying would make it difficult to break down. The anchovy paste just saves a step of finely mincing.
I see some people complaining in the comments about losing the vibrant green color. A simple solution is to add a quarter teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to the steaming water. And there you have it. Emerald green broccoli!
Oh wow! Where do you ge that?
It is baking soda
Really??? Interesting.
The use of baking soda may preserve the color however the alkaline environment produced by the baking soda will cause the loss of a significant amount of vitamin c.
Interesting!
My wife and I have been making this recipe once a week for the last year.
Slight alterations: we steam the broccoli in a pressure cooker, and add a little extra garlic and chili.
One of our favourite all-time recipes, thanks for publishing!
Thanks Max, appreciate this!
Thank you Sylvia, this was delicious! I added toasted pine nuts and fresh chopped parsley with grated parmesan and loved the added complexity of crunchiness.
Great to hear, thanks so much!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I’m vegan and did not have Miso paste or anchovies, so I replaced with Tahini and a dash of Tamari. I also added Nutritional Yeast since this dish was the entire meal. I added a small drizzle of truffle oil, toasted pine nuts and lemon zest when served. I toasted a full cup of the pine nuts but wish I had done at least twice as many, since they added so much personality and flavor to this recipe! Next time, I also plan to add some fresh diced tomatoes and basil ribbons from my garden as a topping when serving, as they will go beautifully with the flavors in this dish and will look lovely as well. (And since I desperately need to find ways to use up my garden surplus!)
Perfect- sounds delish!
Thought this was delicious. Thank you.
Pleasant surprise! The flavor was more complex than I expected for such a simple dish and I got my picky partner to eat and LIKE a meal featuring broccoli. I didn’t have miso paste or anchovies on hand so used 1/2 tsp fish sauce and found that to work well for our tastes. Wouldn’t want to do more. Next time I may try to blend the softened broccoli with the broth as another reviewer suggested to avoid having to manually break down the florets, which was a bit time consuming, although I found a fork to work pretty well!
Enjoyed it topped with parmesan.
That works too- thanks for sharing!
😂 I hear you. It is not for everyone.
This was a tasty dish but by thing I didn’t care for is the mushiness of the broccoli. By the time I steamed it to fork-tneder then cooked it for 15 min in the broth it lost all of it;s vibrant color and just tasted “too cooked” for my taste. I’ll try it again but think I will steam some of the florets and stems with some fresh spinach and make a sauce in the blender and add the small florets to the broth just enough to cook them but still have some texture. Anyway, thanks for the idea!
I see your point and that works too. This is the way they do it in Tuscany- more of a traditional style pasta.
Wow, I knew this would be tasty but this is DELICIOUS. Simple, easy and tonight I’m gonna try using frozen broccoli and dumping it all in the saucepan (vs steaming first) to see how that goes. Super easy to veganize. Thank you! 💓
Yay Jamie! Glad this worked for you! 🙌
This was great, especially for spouse who’s not a broccoli fan. It’s my new favorite.
Great to hear- thanks Ellen!
Excellent. Made sure to add starchy pasta water with Parmesan cheese, good quality pasta and, lemon zest. Definitely a keeper! I love simple dishes that are so yummy! Thank you!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed!
My daughter and husband love broccoli so I made this even though I was doubtful that a mushy broccoli sauce would take good. I was wrong! It was delicious! I topped it with lemon zest, basil and red pepper flakes. It was the perfect weeknight meal!
This is super good! I used a potato masher to crush my broccoli in the end since I don’t have a metal spatula and it broke it up really well
Great to hear River!
I’m still cooking so I don’t want to rate it yet but there is one point that should be altered: I used your scaling to double the amount of the recipe so I could use a whole box of pasta. But in the recipe, it specifically says to add 2 cups of broth. I did until I looked over the recipe and realized there was no other place to put the broth and I should have added the full 4 cups of broth. You may want to just say “all the broth” instead.
I’ll let you know how it comes out, thanks for the great recipe!
I was pretty underwhelmed by this. I probably should have put more red pepper flakes and anchovies (we did 1/4t red pepper flakes and 4 anchovy filets and double of both of those would have helped). I also don’t know how you would end up with a dish that vibrant a green after the broccoli is cooking that long. Mine was a pale gray green. I don’t think this will enter the rotation.
Sorry about that-not for everyone. 🙂
Thanks so much Ruth! I’ll fix.
Delicious! Every one of your recipes that I try never fails to amaze me. Thanks again Sylvia.
Awww thanks!
Made this with penne and it turned out delicious. Adding the pasta water at the end for starchy creaminess is key in my opinion, by to each their own. Anyhow, my wife loved it as well and is using it as a base for her work week meal planning.
Thanks so much and great to hear! 🙌
This was delicious! We had ours with miso paste and Parmesan. I cooked the rind in the sauce and it added an extra cheesy wonderful flavour. Even my 3 young children enjoyed it. I will definitely be making it again.
Great to hear, thanks!
Loved this recipe!!
Thanks Joy!