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 printed this recipe off 5 Yrs ago and it ended up in my recipe file like I had made it before. I started preparing it tonight and realized I never made this before!
Well let me tell you I don’t know what I was waiting for!! So yummy !!
I used medium shell pasta cuz I was out of Orecchiette and only had 2 heads of fresh broccoli on hand. Next time will add more broccoli. I ended up with remainder of all ingredients in my Dutch oven and grated a good amount of cheese in then closed the lid and kept warm for about 5 minutes to soften the broccoli a touch more…
Perfection!!
Easy to pull together for a cool/dreary night in Michigan! Thanks Jen! ❤️😋
Can I substitute baby green spinach instead of broccoli as this recipe is a big hit but I wanted to try some spinach that I have in refrigerator
Sure – I’d love to hear how it turns out with spinach!
This is a really great base for a recipe. Made it as is and it fell a little flat. I think next time I’ll reduce the amount of oil and add some onion. But overall it was good. My husband didn’t go back for nibbles from the pan so I know it needs some tweaking.
It was fabulous as I just put the bag of baby spinach in @ end of cooking ( the secret recipe of orchiette pasta )
Thanks for the follow-up, Patricia — I may have to give it a try!
Another hit from Chef Jen! I made it for the first time for a group of 6 friends. Super easy and was easy to do an hour in advance of their arrival (kept a lid on the pot off the heat and it stayed warm but did not dry out). Everyone loved it!
Why brown the sausage in olive oil? Isn’t there enough fat in the sausage to brown it in its own fat?
Feel free to cut back on the oil and add more if necessary.
This was super easy and very delicious!!
The 4 Tbsp of oil seems like a lot!! The first time I made this, I only added 2, and it was fine, but I’m not one to go off script. Anyone else finding this too oily?
yes, I felt the 4 Tbsp. olive oil was too much also. Next time I will add 1-2 Tbsp.
This is a regular go to for me when I need to make something yummy, healthy ish, and quick for my family of boys. They all love it!! One of our favs for sure
Tried it tonight and it was great. Next time I’ll add navy beans.
Made this during the Superbowl Halftime show for the 3rd time. Each time I make it, it takes better – without making any changes to the recipe at all except for using frozen broccoli instead of fresh.
The chicken broth and butter at the end give it a rich flavor and the red pepper flakes give it just enough spice. I use fresh grated parmesan reggiano and put some additional red pepper flake on the table for anyone that needs more spice.
Again, another perfect recipe!
This was the perfect dish for a Superbowl party. Easy, quick to prepare and absolutely delicious. Was a big hit, thank you!
I recently tried this recipe, and it was just amazing. Buying the ingredients, cooking it, and dividing it up in portions to eat later was very easy and time saving.