Broccoli Pasta
This easy broccoli pasta recipe packs a ton of flavor in a few ingredients, and it makes a great last-minute dinner idea. It’s definitely our favorite way to eat our broccoli, and it’s a total crowd pleaser.

This recipe originally appeared on our sister site: Simply Whisked.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Ingredients you might need to pick up
- Fresh broccoli
- Rigatoni
- Anchovy paste
- Grated cheese
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.

How to make pasta with broccoli
Prep the broccoli. Rinse and chop your broccoli into bite sized pieces. You can keep the stems on if you want, but I prefer to just use the florets. My daughter loves to much on the thinly sliced broccoli chips anyway, so I usually save the stem for her
You’re going to use microwave steamed broccoli for this, so put the prepped broccoli into a microwave safe bowl.
Boil the pasta. You can use any type of pasta you want for this recipe, but I prefer a bite sized pasta that’s a little on the larger side, like rigatoni. Whatever you choose, cook it according to the package directions for al dente. Just make sure you salt the water to season the pasta as it cooks.
Before you drain your pasta, reserve some of the starchy pasta water to add to the sauce later.


Make the sauce. Heat a saucepan to medium. Add olive oil, garlic and crushed red peppers, if you’re using them, and sauté until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the anchovy paste and grated pecorino cheese (you can add in a little pasta water to the pan to help dissolve those ingredients).
Toss everything together. Combine the sauce, steamed broccoli and pasta together. I normally do this in the pot I cooked the pasta, and stir to coat everything in sauce. Slowly add pasta water as needed until you reach the consistency you want.
Just make sure you add slowly because you can’t take it out once it’s in. I usually end up adding about a 1/2 cup.

FAQs about broccoli pasta
No. You can also cook the broccoli by adding it to the pot while the pasta cooks during the last few minutes of cooking. It should take about 3 – 4 minutes to cook the broccoli in boiling water so time it accordingly based on your pasta’s package instructions.

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Broccoli Pasta
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This easy broccoli pasta recipe packs a ton of flavor in a few ingredients, and it makes a great last-minute dinner idea. It’s definitely our favorite way to eat our broccoli, and it’s a total crowd pleaser.
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- 1 16-ounce package rigatoni
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 3 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese
- Coarse salt
Instructions
- Place broccoli in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes at full power.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente in a large pot of salted water. Before draining, reserve 1/2 – 1 cup pasta water.
- Heat a saucepan to medium. Add olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in anchovy paste and pecorino cheese with a few tablespoons of reserved pasta water until the ingredients dissolve and a sauce is formed.
- Combine sauce with broccoli and pasta, adding additional pasta water, as needed, until everything is evenly coated with sauce.
- Serve immediately
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Rigatoni
- Method: Stovetop
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 341
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 510.7 mg
- Fat: 11.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.9 g
- Fiber: 3.7 g
- Protein: 12.5 g
- Cholesterol: 9.4 mg

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