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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This was okay. I thought the olive oil and butter was a bit excessive so I dialed back on OO. I used some pasta water to help emulsify the sauce. I also only used 8 oz. of pasta. If I had used an entire pound, the ratio of pasta to sauce would have been really unbalanced. The quality of the sausage used is critical to the dish. I will definitely make it again, but it wasn’t a “stand out” dish for me.
Holy moly this was delicious! My 7 year old said we should have this every night and my husband said we have to add it to the rotation. Easy to make and incredibly tasty! No leftovers as everyone asked for more.
Fabulous 🙂 Made the recipe exactly as written and pleased with the result. The cheese elevates this dish, bringing all flavors together. Thank you!
My whole family loved this!!! Thank you so much Jenn! So far we’ve all the recipes we’ve tried. My 19 month old asked for seconds!
The sausage, butter, & cheese make this delicious so savory and delicious, and it’s very simple to make! This is one of our family’s favorite go-to dishes when we need to get supper on the table fast. We have changed the type of pasta (to use what’s in the pantry) and added some kale if we are low on broccoli, and it has come out just as delectable.
Jenn, this meal is amazing. We live in Northern Canada. I know. Who lives there?🤷🏻♀️ We do. No orrechietie. None. We used farfalle. No pecorino Romano either. I know. What’s a girl to do? We have broccoli. We also have an amazing butcher. He makes all his sausages by hand. We also have access to this delightful spice merchant. Silk Road Spice Merchant, Calgary, Alberta. Our girls live in Calgary, Alberta and they send us our spice requests.We live so north of Calgary. However, we made this dinner according to what we had available. We used farfalle, added 4 garlic cloves and used Italian sausage from our local butcher plus heat from the Silk Road. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for our baselines. I tried to give you five stars but your website wouldn’t let me.
This is a great recipe. Simple to make, flavorful and both kids and adults like it.
This is a delicious, family friendly dish that is very quick and easy to prepare.
We like things with bold, spicy flavors so the only thing I did differently from the recipe was to add more garlic and some Mediterranean-style mixed herb seasoning.
I used Parmesan cheese as I always have that on hand but I think grated Asiago would also be delicious!
I served this with a nice green salad and some lovely, crusty bread and was pleased to serve it to company. And by the by, they raved about it!
I have made this many times. Usually a request from my family. We love it!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! It’s a favorite my mine and my husband’s! It makes a good amount of food for just two people, so I am always able to bring some for lunch the next day. I sure it would be the perfect amount for a family of three or four. I tend to let the sauce reduce for a bit longer than specified, since I never feel like it’s just quite ready in the time allotted. I also feel like this extra time also allows the broccoli to cook longer so it’s a bit more tender. Sometimes I will also add a little extra broth (and sometimes more olive oil and butter) to make a but more sauce so that there is enough to stand being reheated for lunch the second day – I find that my second day pasta tends to soak up the sauce like crazy! Great recipe! Will of course be making this again (and again and again)!