This Broccoli Sausage Pasta is one of my favorite weeknight dinners. Easily mix protein, veggies and pasta into a delicious dish that adults and kids will love.
Quick
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to avoid soggy broccoli
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ready in 20 minutes – This broccoli sausage pasta only has 5 minutes of prep time and only takes 15 minutes to cook. Dinner will be ready and on the table in hardly any time at all!
- Easy to reheat for leftovers – This broccoli sausage pasta dish is just as tasty for leftovers. You could even make a double batch for meal prep.
- A satisfying and hearty meal – With a good mix of veggies, carbs, and protein, this pasta dish will keep you full for hours.
Serving suggestions
This broccoli sausage pasta can be a meal by itself but I sometimes like to add a salad on the side. My Lemon Kale Caesar Salad would make a great side dish for this pasta.
If you are looking for another recipe to use up some of the broccoli in your fridge, I recommend checking out my Creamy Baked Feta Pasta recipe. If you are looking for another creamy pasta recipe, this Mushroom Alfredo Pasta would be great to try.
Broccoli Sausage Pasta Ingredients
- Pasta – I like the orecchiette, sometimes called little ears, pasta shape for this recipe but feel free to use whatever you prefer or have on hand. Fusilli or farfalle are other great choices. Cook pasta al dente so that it has a nice bite when mixed with the other ingredients.
- Broccoli Florets – If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can buy pre-cut fresh broccoli florets. You can even use frozen broccoli, but it will cook very very quickly so I would cook separately and mix in at the end.
- Olive Oil – I use extra virgin olive oil but you can use any cooking oil that you like.
- Garlic – I love adding garlic to just about any recipe for an extra burst of flavor.
- Chicken Sausage – I like to use Italian sausage in this dish but you can use whatever flavor you prefer.
- Butter – A little bit of butter helps add to the creaminess of this dish.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy cream helps make the deliciously creamy sauce which is a huge contributor to the comfort factor of this dish.
- Parmesan Cheese – Parmesan cheese is used to help make the sauce and also as a topping before serving.
- Black Pepper – This recipe is so flavorful that it doesn’t need a lot of seasonings but I like to add a little bit of black pepper on top before serving. If needed, you can also season with salt to taste.
Ingredient Substitutions
This recipe can be made gluten-free by just switching to gluten-free pasta. Just follow the package instructions for cooking time.
You can also use any other type of sausage such as pork sausage, turkey sausage, or vegetarian sausage as a substitute for the chicken sausage. You can also use ground sausage.
If you want this recipe to have a lighter sauce, there are alternatives you can use instead of heavy cream. I would recommend half and half or whole milk.
Other vegetables would pair well with this dish if you want to switch it up. You could try peas or green beans instead of broccoli.
You can top this recipe with anything you want. I like topping it with more parmesan cheese and black pepper but crushed red pepper flakes or fresh herbs would be a tasty addition.
How to make
Step 1: Boil Water, prep ingredients, and Cook Sausage
To start, boil heavily salted water for pasta in a large pot. While the water comes to a boil, mince the garlic, cut the sausage into ¼” thick slices, and cut the florets into small pieces.
When the water gets close to boiling, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the garlic to the pan. Saute for just a couple minutes and add the sausage to the pan (Image 1).
Drop the pasta in the pot to boil and continue cooking the sausage until browned. Add butter into the skillet and toss until melted (Image 2).
Reduce the heat to low and pour in the heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese. Stir until evenly combined.
Step 2: Mix Everything together
When the pasta has 2 minutes left to cook, reserve ⅓ cups of the pasta water and add the chopped broccoli to the boiling water. Drain the rest of the water, and transfer the cooked pasta and broccoli into the skillet with the chicken sausage and sauce (Image 3).
Then, toss to combine and pour in the reserved pasta water (Image 4). Continue cooking for another minute or so and then serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Storage and reheating
Allow this broccoli sausage pasta to cool completely. Then, store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
You can reheat it on the stove but just add a little bit of water and parmesan cheese to refresh the sauce.
Check out these other Pasta Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Broccoli Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta – I like orecchiette shape for this recipe – reserve ⅓ cup pasta water.
- 12 oz broccoli florets
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 12-16 oz Italian seasoned chicken sausage
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Boil heavily salted water for pasta. While the water comes to a boil, mince the garlic, cut the sausage into ¼” thick slices, and cut the florets into small pieces.
- When the water gets close to boiling, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the garlic to the pan, saute for just a couple minutes and add the sausage to the pan.
- Drop the pasta in the pot to boil and continue cooking the sausage until browned. Add butter into the skillet and toss until melted. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese. Mix until evenly combined.
- When the pasta has 2 minutes left to cook, reserve ⅓ cup pasta water and add the chopped broccoli to the boiling water. Transfer the cooked pasta and broccoli into the skillet with the chicken sausage and sauce.
- Toss to combine and pour in the pasta water. Continue cooking for another minute or so and then serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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