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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My daughter-in-law introduced me to Once Upon A Chef just recently, and I am very impressed! I used tortellinis with the sausage and broccoli- very easy and delicious!!!
Hi Jen 🙂 we love this dish so much. We make it regularly and every time, I have to say, it is my favourite pasta dish !! Going to try your baked ziti next from this weeks news letter. I am sure it will be delicious. Just made hubby your banana walnut muffins and he said they are the best muffins he has ever had and I bake him a lot of muffins. Thanks for all your fabulous recipes Jen. I direct anyone looking for great recipes to your website. Hi from wintery Canada 🙂
Last minute search for a recipe using my on hand ingredients and so happy I found this recipe. It turned out DELICIOUS and my hubby loved it, he had three servings!
This will be a family classic. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Jenn I made this before, and not sure if I reviewed it. It was positively delicious. I’m glad to get your newsletters because they remind me of things I made already. I’ll have to form a
Once Upon a Chef folder in my e-mail account. Thanks for another great recipe
I would like to make this dish for a party of 45 people. I have made and frozen chicken cacciatore as a second dish. My question is can I make this a day or two ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. When and how would I heat it up for the party. I have a chafing dish with Sterno below. Also, how much would you suggest I make and can you provide the recipe for a large crowd such as this. Thank you
Hi Scotti, Yes, you can make this a day or two ahead and reheat. I think the stovetop would be best (and you can add a little liquid like olive oil, water, or broth in case the dish has dried out a bit. Just make sure just to reheat it and not continue to cook it. And I don’t have the ingredients calculated for that number of servings, but I think for that number of people, you’d want to multiply everything by 6 or 7. Good luck and I hope everyone enjoys!
I sent this recipe to my daughter for her very picky eaters and it got a thumbs up, an amazing review considering it was a “new recipe”. I got some a couple of days later and thought it was very good warmed up. Thanks, Jenn.
I rarely come across a thirty minute recipe that actually only takes me half an hour, but this was one of them! I used a 12 ounce box of pasta and doubled the broccoli and cheese, and it turned out great. Will definitely make this again.
Absolutely Delicious!! Thanks so much for these yummy recipes!!
My wife and I love this dish but our five year old doesn’t like crushed red pepper. We were wondering if some coarse ground mustard would be a good substitute. What do you think?
Hi Paul, I’d just omit the red pepper flakes (or you can sprinkle some over your servings at the table). Glad you like it!
Delicious, easy and quick. My go to recipe when I don’t defrost a protein. Thanks Jenn!
I make a similar dish with broccoli rabe but really enjoyed using broccoli florets. It was easy to put together and very tasty! I didn’t add the butter. I did add a few ladles of the pasta water.