Pasta with Broccoli Recipe

Pasta with Broccoli is a staple in most Italian households. A simple dish with only 5 ingredients to make a delicious meal in less than 30 minutes!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pasta with broccoli

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 400.6kcal

1 large broccoli (about 5 cups) or more if you prefer a higher broccoli to pasta ratio
1/4 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 onion thinly sliced
450 grams penne rigate or other dried pasta of your choice
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmigiano cheese for serving

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, rinse broccoli and separate into florets. Peel off the tough outer layer of the stems with a vegetable peeler or pairing knife and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, in a medium sized skillet sauté the sliced onion in the olive oil until golden, about 7 minutes.
After the pasta has been boiling for about 5 minutes, stir in the broccoli. Continue cooking until the pasta is al dente and the broccoli is tender.
Drain the pasta and broccoli and stir in the sautéed onion. Drizzle with extra olive oil, if necessary, to completely coat the pasta and broccoli.
Serve hot with plenty of Parmigiano cheese.

In this recipe, the broccoli is cooked until tender but still has some bite to it. If you prefer softer broccoli that breaks apart and becomes almost pesto like, add to the pot at the same time as the pasta.
This recipe works well with frozen broccoli as well. When you toss in the frozen broccoli florets, place the lid on the pot to bring the water back to a boiling point as quickly as possible.
Add a few crushed red pepper flakes to the sautéed onion for a spicier dish.
If you prefer the flavor of garlic, a couple of cloves of minced garlic may be substituted for the sliced onion.
Our preferred pasta with broccoli is penne rigate, but you can use just about any type of dried pasta that you like.
You can also prepare this dish with fresh pasta. Fresh pasta cooks in just a few minutes, therefore add the broccoli to the boiling water first and add the pasta about 5 minutes later.