Ready in only 20 minutes with 6 basic ingredients, this creamy Parmesan broccoli pasta is a quick lunch or side dish that goes great with any meal!
Tis the season for all the easy dinner options! With school activities and busy fall plans in full swing, easy dinners like this pasta are permanently on the menu.
There’s a million ways to do a creamy broccoli pasta, but I think today’s version may just be the best of all time. 6 ingredients and 20 minutes automatically makes anything taste better.
Brb, living in that pot down there forever.
The best part about this pasta is that it’s so easy to customize! You can swap out the broccoli for different veggies, add meat, try a different cheese, the sky’s the limit here.
Also without any limit is the ridiculous amount you’re going to end up consuming.
This Broccoli Pasta features…
- A creamy Parmesan sauce
- Tender rigatoni pasta and broccoli
- Only 6 ingredients needed and ready in 20 minutes
Making the Broccoli Pasta
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Pasta
- Cream cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Choosing Your Pasta
This recipe works great with a variety of pasta. I recommend going with 12 oz of a short cut such as rigatoni, penne, elbows, shells, or spirals.
Tips for Perfect Broccoli Pasta
- Cook pasta to al dente – the pasta will continue cooking a bit in the sauce so make sure not to overcook it during the boiling step.
- Salt water for boiling – salt your water until it tastes salty like the sea. This will add lots of flavor to the pasta.
- Reserve pasta water – set aside 1 cup pasta water before draining pasta as you will need this for the sauce.
- Finely chop broccoli – aim for 1/2-inch florets so the broccoli cooks up quickly.
- Melt cream cheese for sauce – place the cream cheese in pan over medium heat and stir until melted.
- Finish cooking pasta in sauce – toss the pasta into the cream cheese along with several splashes of pasta water and cook until sauce is clinging to pasta.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this pasta.
- Use a different veggie – try using zucchini, mushrooms, sweet peppers, baby spinach, or carrots in place of the broccoli. You can also use several combinations of veggies!
- Add meat – add diced cooked chicken, crispy bacon bits, or browned sausage for a meaty kick.
- Try a different cheese – try using asiago, goat cheese, mozzarella, or cheddar in place of the Parmesan.
Serving Suggestions
This pasta is great on its own as a simple lunch or dinner, but it also goes great alongside a variety of meals! Try serving it alongside grilled chicken, a big tossed salad, or garlic bread for an easy full dinner.
It’s absolutely unreal how rich and creamy we’re able to get this pasta in only a few minutes with a handful of ingredients! The cream cheese base and all that Parmesan provides the just the right amount of richness that coats the tender pasta and broccoli to perfection.
Trust me, this is the easiest and possibly best pasta side dish you will ever make!
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Watch this pasta made step-by-step on Google web stories.
More easy pasta recipes to make next!
Creamy Parmesan Broccoli Pasta
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1-1/2 lbs broccoli, cut into 1/2-inch florets
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz pasta (a short cut such as shells, elbows, spiral, etc)
- 6 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and saute 3-5 minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add garlic and cook 1 additional minute until fragrant. Transfer broccoli to a bowl and set aside.
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta. Set aside for a moment.
- Place cream cheese in same pan you used to cook the broccoli and set over medium heat. Melt cream cheese, stirring occasionally until smooth. Add cooked pasta, broccoli, and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and let cook 3-5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is clinging to pasta and broccoli, thinning with additional pasta water as needed to loosen sauce.
- Add Parmesan cheese to pasta and fold until melted. Season pasta with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately while warm. Enjoy!
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