Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Outstanding! I used bulk Italian sausage without casings and a 12 ounce box of pasta. Delicious! Will definitely make again!
Made this for the first time tonight. I’d add more broccoli next time and possibly another veggie such as quartered zucchini. I also added half a diced onion to the sausage while cooking. I used 16 oz pasta and had a lot left over. Very good flavor and relatively easy! Will definitely fix this again!
Great easy dish that has become a regular
I totally loved how easy and delicious this recipe was. The only sub I made was that I used broccoli rabe. This will definitely join my weekday recipe rotation.
It is 12 midnight and I just made this wonderfully different Italian dish ahead for my husband and son to eat tomorrow( I will be involved in a major organizing project 🙃). I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to taste it, delicious! I will serve this with a salad which I also made ahead and a wonder artisan bread. I can hardly wait to make this for my grandchildren when I visit them in Florida. I had already promised to make the spaghetti and meatballs which is their favorite. Thank you again for your wonderful tested recipes.
Hope they enjoy it!! 🙂
Recipe was simple and I enjoyed it. I think next time I might add some diced tomatoes and mushrooms
Jenn,
I’d like to make this for someone else but she doesn’t like Italian sausages because of the fennel seeds that they’re always made with! Can you suggest any other sausage/meat that would pair well with the pasta?
Joy
Hi Joy, You could use ground beef in place of the sausage, but the sausage is so much more flavorful! You’ll likely need to add some more salt and Italian seasonings to the dish to amp up the flavor a bit. Also, you could try andouille sausage here but keep in mind that if the andouille sausage is already cooked, you’ll just need to brown it. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you make it!
Do I need to add more flavoring if I use a plain sausage that’s not sweet or spicy?
No, Joyce, that shouldn’t be necessary. Hope you enjoy!
Easy and delicious meal. My husband and I enjoyed this meal so much. I did remove the sausage to a bowl with a paper towel to drain it, while I cooked the garlic with seasoning blend. I added a can of Campbell’s Healthy Cream of Mushroom soup with a 1/4 cup of Half and Half, and used veggie pasta. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You changed the recipe significantly, so how does one value your rating?
I’ve made this several times now. My kids love it. It’s one of the very few recipes they ask for seconds.
Delish! I had this for the first time at a restaurant recently – actually twice at two different locations and was in search of duplicating it. They use broccolini so that’s what I went with – the second restaurant added fresh lemon juice so after trying this as is – which I love – I added a quarter of fresh squeezed lemon to it. I did not saute the sausage in the 1 Tbl. of olive oil, also reduced the oil by half in the sauce; and next time, will reduce the butter to 2 Tbl. This is my first time on your site and I look forward to trying many of your recipes. Thanks much!
I’m not really sure I agree with the common complains of bland, greasy and too much pasta. I found this recipe to be none of those things! An easy weeknight meal that can easily be memorized and ingredients swapped depending on taste or availability. I will probably omit some of the olive oil and butter next time and try the suggestions of adding lemon juice or white wine and add more broccoli because I like veggies. My partner would probably prefer more red pepper (easily added to the plate) or hot sausage. My new favorite recipe! Thanks Jenn!
This is so easy and delicious!! My husband and 11 year old son had three helpings. : )
We will definitely be having this again.
This is a nice dish with great flavors. In a effort to cut down on fat and calories, the next time I make it, because I will, I will use turkey Italian sausage, only 1/2 lb of pasta, add more red peppers flakes and black pepper, cut the evoo to 2 T total, and omit the butter addition. And finish it all off with a few squeezes of lemon juice. Thank you for a simple recipe that is easily adaptable.
This dish was absolutely delicious and so easy to make!! The only thing I did different was that I covered the pan for a few minutes after adding the broccoli so it would cook a little faster. I am 100% making this again and again!