Sausage and Broccoli Pasta Recipe

Closeup on the sausage and broccoli pasta on a plate.

5 from 2 votes

Sausage and Broccoli Pasta Recipe

Sausage and Broccoli Pasta is hearty and full of flavor, with pasta, sausage, broccoli, and a simple garlic parmesan sauce. We love this classic pasta dish for lazy weeknights and it makes great leftovers too!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword broccoli pasta, sausage and broccoli pasta

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 667kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spicy pork sausage
12 oz. orecchiette pasta - or another type of pasta is fine
8-10 cups broccoli florets - trimmed
3-4 Tablespoons butter
5 cloves garlic - minced
6-8 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese - or about 2 cups
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
1 cup reserved pasta water - you may not need all of the pasta water
red pepper flakes - to serve

Instructions

Prep. Cut the broccoli into florets, trimming part of the stems off. Mince the garlic. Freshly shred the parmesan cheese.
Brown the sausage. Add a drizzle of olive oil in a stock pot or skillet over medium heat, add the sausage, and cook until sausage is browned and cooked through. Add to a colander to strain out some of the grease. Set aside and wipe out the pan.
1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound spicy pork sausage
Cook pasta. Fill a large stock pot about halfway with water. Bring to a boil – and add pasta along with a good amount of salt. The salt is important to flavor the pasta AND the pasta water (that will be used later).
12 oz. orecchiette pasta
Add broccoli. After about 6-7 minutes or when the pasta is nearly done, add the broccoli to the same pot. Cook until broccoli is JUST tender and pasta is al dente – just a few minutes more.
8-10 cups broccoli florets
RESERVE PASTA WATER and drain. Dip a one-cup measuring cup into the cooked pasta and broccoli to reserve the pasta water. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
Make pasta sauce. Heat a pot (we use the pot we used to cook the sausage) over medium-low heat. Add butter and when melted, add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Then add half of the freshly shredded parmesan cheese and about 1/4 cup of pasta water. Stir constantly until cheese is melted.
Add the remaining parmesan, more pasta water, and some red pepper flakes. Stir again until melted. You may need additional pasta water (up to a cup) but make sure you add it gradually.
3-4 Tablespoons butter, 5 cloves garlic, 6-8 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 cup reserved pasta water, red pepper flakes
Add pasta, broccoli, and sausage to the sauce. Add the cooked pasta, broccoli, and sausage to the sauce and stir well to coat. (You may want to add more pasta water here.)
Serve. Serve broccoli pasta with additional parmesan cheese and extra seasoning as needed.

Notes

Spicy Italian sausage gives great flavor, but mild sausage works too. You can use links, crumbled, or even pre-cooked sausage.
Freshly grated parmesan cheese actually melts while the powdered version usually just clumps. We now stick to wedges of parmesan cheese only!
Store leftover broccoli pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. We like to meal prep this too.

Nutrition