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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I’ve made it twice this week! The only thing I did differently was made turkey sausage in my air fryer and added some Asian hot oil to my pasta! Super quick and easy meal!
DELICIOUS!!! Substitued a ziti as that was on-hand.
Great balance of flavors, loved the presentation as well.
We added some more red pepper flakes & sauteed onions. Would definitely make again.
THANKS JENNIFER for another great recipe!
This has become a staple and I often serve this we we have another family or two coming for dinner. It is a perfect family dinner and SO easy.
I can’t stop eating from the pot! This recipe was so easy and quite flavorful. My husband who is such a picky eater devoured it! I also added carrots to give it a pop of color and it’s still amazing. I’ll definitely make this again.
Very good.. thank you 😊
This was absolutely delicious. The only change I would have to make is to cut the pasta to 8oz as we are only 3 in this household. If I was to make it for a party I would use 16oz of pasta and double down on broccoli and sausage and maybe add mushrooms. Thank you again😊
I made this last night and we really liked it; however, I had a lot of liquid in my pan when it was time to transfer the sausage/broccoli mixture to the pasta. Should the sausage have been drained before adding the chicken broth? Or maybe use less chicken broth? I followed the instructions exactly (except I used bow ties instead of orecchiette). Regardless of the liquid issue, this will definitely be a repeater.
Hi, it’s not necessary to drain the sausage and it adds great flavor to the dish. If you found it was too liquidy, I would cut the broth back by a few tablespoons next time. Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless. 🙂
Amazingly delicious and flavourful! So simple and my 24 yr old son said to me ” I’m sure Italians do not make pasta with Chicken Bouillon” Now he says they don’t know what they are missing. 😁👍
LOL – glad it was a hit!
The simplicity of this recipe made me very skeptical, but after all of the glowing reviews I resolved to stick to the recipe (except Romanesco instead of broccoli, but nothing else that would impact the flavor)
Holy whoa this is SO GOOD. Absurdly good. And the version I cooked didn’t really look that good (I used nonstick so I didn’t get much browning) but this is absurdly good. AMAZING. This will be made again and again. Thank you!
This is a great and easy recipe. I couldn’t find orecchiette so I used farfalle. The sauce was great. I used frozen florets and everything tasted great. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch & dinners. I would make this again. I highly recommend it. (I think I would double the sausage & broccoli.-maybe 1/2# more) It could’ve been the type of pasta. I seem to have too much of it. So maybe less pasta? Otherwise still tasted great.
I agree, it was too much pasta for the other ingredients. I cut in half this time and it was plenty
This was amazing! Simple and delicious.
This a delicious just like all your recipes!