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 is a delicious, easy weeknight dinner. Definitely a family favorite. The only change I make is using parmigiana cheese instead of pecorino.
This recipe was simple and delish. I had left over sausage that I had made earlier in the week that I cut into small pieces. I then added the sausage near the end of the recipe. I also added more cheese to make it even more yum.
A weekly staple in my house! Love this recipe!
Didn’t know what to make for dinner tonight, but I had sausage and broccoli in the freezer and pasta in the pantry, so I made this! It was easy to make and absolutely delicious – definitely more than the sum of its parts. The sauce was so flavorful, and best of all, cleanup was a breeze. An awesome weeknight or anytime meal!
When kids are asked what is their favorite dinner, most respond with typical kid food choices such as pizza, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc. When my son is asked the same question, his response is Jenn’s sausage, noodle, broccoli (Orecchiette is hard to pronounce)! He has requested it two years in a row for his special birthday dinner. This is far superior to similar dishes I’ve ordered at restaurants. My entire family loves this recipe and begs for it weekly. The key to perfection in this dish, in our opinion, is good quality sausage. Thank you for helping us show our kids that there are better options!
Hi, can I use wine and a little water instead of chicken broth? Thanks.
Sure – just make sure to cook it off a little so it doesn’t taste too strongly of wine. Hope you enjoy!
It was very good. I mistakenly bought cooked sausage – raw sausage I’m sure would have given it much more flavor. Will use the raw the next time! Thanks.
I followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious and my husband declared it a keeper. Thank you for the delicious recipe Jenn.
This recipe is the BOMB! It is another one of Jenn’s that my 10 year old son begs for on a regular basis. It packs really well in a thermos for school lunches and I feel good that he is eating something healthy. I shared it with my sister in Charlotte and her husband now begs for it, too! He likes to add extra hot pepper, though. Now my sister’s son at Chapel Hill cooks it with his roommates. Thanks so much for this wonderful site so full of amazing recipes!
Another fabulous recipe!!! I made some modifications to suit a low fat diet – used mild italian turkey sausage sauteed with cooking spray and cut the oil and butter to 1 tablespoon each. It was delicious! I can only imagine how much better it is with the extra butter and olive oil…yum! But these little calorie cuts will allow me to keep this recipe in regular rotation rather than the occasional indulgence. Fabulous flavors!!
This. Is. Delicious.
My kids and I ate up. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Jenn,
Love your recipes!! Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! Could not get my husband to stop eating, glad there was enough for leftovers!
Thanks for another keeper!