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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Thanks for another great recipe, Jenn! Lots of great flavor from not too many ingredients, and super easy to fix. I’m looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Thank you so much for this great recipe! We’ve made this several times and every time we are amazed at how good it is! We always hope that they’ll be leftovers the next day, but there never are. The “ear” pasta is absolutely perfect with it, but you have to really look for it in the pasta section. All of the ingredients meld really well and you don’t really miss a “sauce” because the oil, butter, and chicken broth just taste great together.
It’s on my list of meal ideas for if I’m ever asked to make a meal for someone.
I made this dish and actually moaned when I tasted it. It is superb.
I have been an avid follower of Jenn’s for years but this is probably my most made recipe! I was craving pasta in my last pregnancy and gave this a go and have been making it every other week since! It’s the perfect balance of spicy/texture/flavor with minimal ingredients and effort that my whole family loves – picky toddlers included. Bonus points – I can happily get all the ingredients at Aldi! I save the pasta water so that if there is any leftovers, I can drizzle pasta water on so the texture is better when reheated for lunch.
Hi Jen,
I’ve been making this dish for at least 2-3 years now, and it is a favorite. I got inspired to change it up a little by another of your recipes that is a favorite of mine – the vegetable dish of zucchini and cherry tomatoes. I make this pasta dish pretty much as written except add zucchini and cherry tomatoes instead of broccoli. I sometimes use half spicy and half sweet sausage, and usually use farfalle pasta (just because I like it).
HI Jen!
How did you get the pork brown?? I didn’t have any crispies either!
Hi Sam, the pork will naturally brown as you saute it, but it won’t get crispy. Hope that clarifies!
My husband and I made this dish on Sunday and it lasted us 3 meals! We didn’t add the red pepper flakes since I’m breastfeeding and also don’t like spicy food and we couldn’t fit all the broccoli in our pan so only used about12 oz of it. We used whole wheat penne pasta instead. It turned out delicious!!! It’s definitely going into our go-to recipe list!
OMG, this was so good and we had a friend over who hates broccoli and loved it so much he had 3 helpings. This will be one of my go-to recipes going forward. I used 20 ounces of sausage since they only had links that I took the meat from, never too much sausage.
This recipe is simple and delicious. It was straight forward directions, simple and fresh ingredients, and came together beautifully. I am not a great cook, so I need to follow Jen’s pictures and advice to a T. Easy weeknight dinner but pair it with a great loaf of bread and a nice red wine and you’ve got a great dinner for company too!
Made this for company. Great flavour and presentation, will definitely make again,
This dish is absolutely delicious! I substituted Al Fresco sweet Italian chicken sausage to cut back on the fat and it was so good! It’s quick and easy to make and the little ears pasta is adorable! Thanks for another winner, Jenn!