Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
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Packed with flavor and easy to make, this orecchiette pasta dish is a longtime favorite—the whole family gobbles it up, broccoli and all!
Sometimes it seems impossible to make a meal that pleases the whole family. What one child happily eats, the other one suddenly isn’t “in the mood for.” But every once in a while, I come across a recipe that everyone loves, like this orecchiette pasta dish adapted from Lidia’s Italian Table by Lidia Bastianich. Not only is it quick and easy to make—25 minutes tops—but the whole family devours it, broccoli and all.
“My whole family loves this (even my 5 year old who doesn’t typically like pasta). It’s so nice to have an easy go-to meal for the middle of the week that my small children get excited about and so does my husband. Thank you!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Orecchiette With Sausage & Broccoli
Orecchiette is named for its shape, which resembles a small ear (the Italian word orecchiette means small ear). If you can’t find it, it’s fine to substitute another pasta, like farfalle or fusilli.
Italian sausage is a great ingredient to have on hand for weeknight dinners. Not only is it quick and easy to cook, but it’s also flavored with a variety of aromatics, herbs and spices, such as garlic and fennel, which add depth and complexity to pasta dishes without the need for a lot of additional seasoning. This makes it an easy and convenient way to add flavor to pasta dishes, such as baked ziti and lasagna. Buy bulk sausage, or sausage meat without the casing, if possible (it’s often easy to find around holiday season as it’s used in stuffing recipes). Otherwise, just squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing.
Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty, and pungent Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk. It’s readily available in grated form in the cheese section of most large supermarkets but if you can’t find it, it’s fine to substitute Parmigiano Reggiano.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet and add the sausage.
Cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until the sausage starts to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook a minute more.
Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil, broccoli, chicken broth, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli is tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the butter until melted and simmer for a few minutes to reduce and concentrate the sauce.
Add the sausage and broccoli mixture to the drained pasta and toss well, along with half of the grated cheese.
Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or individual bowls and top with the remaining grated cheese.
Video Tutorial
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Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
Packed with flavor and easy to make, this orecchiette pasta dish is a longtime favorite—the whole family gobbles it up, broccoli and all!
Ingredients
- 1 pound orecchiette
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, removed from casings
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 pound broccoli florets
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup freshly grated pecorino Romano
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orecchiette and cook according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook, breaking apart with a spoon, until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic; cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil, chicken broth, broccoli, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan to release the flavorful brown bits, until the broccoli is tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the butter until melted and simmer for a few minutes to reduce and concentrate the sauce.
- Drain the pasta well and place back in the pasta pot. Add the sausage and broccoli mixture, along with half of the cheese, and toss to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving platter or individual bowls and pass the remaining grated cheese at the table.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: This dish can be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated on the stovetop. If the dish has dried out a bit in the freezer, add a little water or broth while reheating. Just take care only to reheat it and not continue to cook it.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 624
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 64 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 29 g
- Sodium: 692 mg
- Cholesterol: 51 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Another winner! This is sooo good! Pecorino Romano is one of my favorites and always have it in my fridge. I love the taste of the melted cheese in the dish! My husband is a big fan of orechiette. And I love the Hatfield ground sausages…their ground chorizo is another good one!
I followed the recipe and was very disappointed. Very bland and to much pasta. Will not try this one again.
I agree that 1 pound is too much pasta. 8-10 ounces is better proportioned.
I don’t find it bland though. I typically cook with less salt (kids). If you generously salt the pasta water, and use Parmigiano-Reggiano, I find it’s got plenty of salt without having to add the additional 1/2 tsp.
You did something wrong then as there is nothing bland about it, allow garlic, red pepper flakes to infuse with the sausage, cheeses & sauce? This exact recipe with maybe white wine over chix broth, is offered at some of the best Italian restaurants and with similar tasty results….be sure to use pasta like oricchette or any rigate type pasta where the sauce can stay on the pasta or in the pasta….on every bite….
This is delicious !!! Used Johnsonville Hot Italian sausage. Topped it with Romano cheese and finely zested lemon rind. Yum!!
Made this recipe per instructions as I always do….then make changes. No changes necessary! Absolutely delicious! Have shared recipe several times! Enjoy!!
I have made this twice in one week! We have our daughter and sil staying with us for a few weeks and I decided to try this. So easy to make and quick and it was a huge hit. We had leftover pizza so I made this to go along with it. My daughter is now signed up for your emails.
The only change I made was to not brown the sausage in oil. I sprayed the pan with non stick spray.
This was delicious. Followed the recipe exactly – wouldn’t change a thing. Very similar to a dish I usually make with all evoo (no broth or butter), but I liked that this had more “sauce”. (I probably used more broccoli than the 1 lb. called for, but it turned out great.) Will be making this again.
I’m teaching my fifteen year old granddaughter to cook, and we came across this recipe. we both agreed that this would be a good recipe for her to try. She made it exactly as listed, and it turned out great! Then we did it again with a few changes: We susbstituted D’Alesso chicken sausage with apple and maple syrup, bumped up the garlic, added mozzarella with the parmesan, and because orrechiette is hard to find sometimes, we substituted medium shells. Awesome!! Five Stars All The Way! Serving this at the next family dinner! Don’t need to serve anything else but dessert! A complete meal all by itself! Thanks to Once Upon A Chef for a winning recipe!
I found this site originally looking for a beef bourguignon (her recipe is the best I’ve ever tasted) and signed up for the newsletter still riding the high from the delicious stew. Every single recipe I’ve tried since has been a huge success. This one even more so because my impossibly picky 4 year old gobbled it up with no complaints. No. Complaints. I wasn’t totally sure what to do with myself during dinner without having to coax her to eat her food.
I made this with a basic roast new potato with whole garlic and pearl onion and it made enough for 4 adults and two little ones with some left over for lunch which my husband and I will inevitably try to steal from each other.
🙂 Glad everyone enjoyed!
One little trick I do is use the pasta water and a bullion cube instead of broth in order to thicken the sauce a little.
Very good, very rich and easy to make. I cut the recipe in half for 2 adults and still had a little left over. Will definitely make again.