This Creamy Broccoli Pasta has pasta shells smothered in a buttery Garlic Parmesan Sauce with herbs and lots of broccoli! Add a hint of lemon juice at the end for the ultimate flavor that your family will love.
Serve this with some Garlic Bread with Cheese or Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Broccoli Pasta
If you ask me, it doesn’t get much better than savory pasta shells smothered in a flavorful cream sauce. I never have to worry about getting my family to eat their broccoli when I make this for dinner.
BONUS: This is one pot meal that you can make in 30 minutes or less!
Check out my PRO tips below for different types of pasta options and what you need to do to make sure your sauce is EXTRA creamy.
Want to add more to this meal? Serve these creamy shells with some homemade chicken nuggets and some garlic bread with cheese.
How to Make It
Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth, half and half, and seasonings. Bring to a boil.
Add the pasta. Submerge the pasta into the liquid and let it return to a boil. Cook according to package instructions, partially covered. Plan on adding the broccoli during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Run a silicone spatula along the bottom of the pot occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to it.
Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and use a silicone spatula to gently mix in the Parmesan cheese. Sauce will continue to thicken upon standing.
Pro Tips
- Grate the cheese from a block so that it melts and tastes the best. Packaged grated or shredded Parmesan cheese contains cellulose to prevent it from clumping together, which also prevents it from melting as well.
- A combination of Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheese tastes great as well.
- Don’t add the cheese to a super hot base as this will cause the dairy to separate and the consistency will be grainy instead of smooth.
- Similarly-sized pastas may be substituted, refer to package for approximate cooking time. Examples include Fusilli (spiral) and Farfalle (bowtie).
- If you prefer to add chicken: Be sure to check out my Chicken and Broccoli pasta recipe!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The consistency of the dairy is altered slightly once reheated but I love heating it in the microwave for a quick lunch!
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Measuring Spoons– Comes with small spoons that makes it easy to measure out the herbs in this recipe.
- Box Grater– Makes it easy to shred or grate cheese in a variety of sizes. We grate the Parmesan cheese into a fine powder in this recipe, this grater makes it easy.
- 10-inch pan– with lid, the perfect size for this recipe.
- Pasta Shells– I used Colavita brand for this recipe, (I like the shape)!
- Garlic Twister– it’s much more flavorful to mince fresh garlic. This twister does it in seconds and is easy to clean and store.
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Tried This Recipe?
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Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups half and half
- ½ lb. medium pasta shells
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: onion powder, dried thyme, salt
- ½ teaspoon EACH: dried oregano, dried parsley
- 3 ½ cups broccoli florets, uncooked
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese, finely grated into a powder
Instructions
- Measure out all ingredients prior to beginning. (This is called “mise en place” and is a good idea for quick recipes.) Pro Tip: Cut the broccoli into smaller pieces so that they cook more quickly.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth, half and half, and seasonings.
- Bring to a boil and add the pasta. Submerge the pasta into the liquid and let it return to a boil. Cook partially covered according to package instructions. Add the broccoli during the last 6 minutes. Run a silicone spatula along the bottom of the pan occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to it.
- Remove cover taste-test a pasta noodle for doneness before proceeding. If needed, cover and cook longer, until your desired doneness is obtained.
- Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and use a silicone spatula to gently mix in the Parmesan cheese.
- Sauce will continue to thicken upon standing. Garnish with parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese.
Notes
- Grate the cheese from a block so that it melts and tastes the best. Packaged grated or shredded Parmesan cheese contains cellulose to prevent it from clumping together, which also prevents it from melting as well.
- A combination of Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheese tastes great as well.
- Don't add the cheese to a super hot base as this will cause the dairy to separate and the consistency will be grainy instead of smooth.
- Similarly-sized pastas may be substituted, refer to package for approximate cooking time. Examples include Fusilli (spiral) and Farfalle (bowtie).
- If you prefer to add chicken: Be sure to check out my Chicken and Broccoli pasta recipe!
Storage:
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The consistency of the dairy is altered slightly once reheated but I love heating it in the microwave for a quick lunch!
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
We loved this! Simple and easy! The only change I will make next time is boiling the noodles partially separately. I’ve had trouble with this method in other recipes as well, the pasta doesn’t fully cook and the sauce gets too thick, even thinned out with more broth. Easier for me to cook them first 🙂 Will keep this recipe! Thank you!
Great flavor! Easy to make! My man said 10/10… do I need to say more ladies? 😉
😂 Sounds like a victory Holly! I love when my husband gets really excited about a meal! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!❤️
Just made this and wow! So delicious, I made it vegan and gluten free and it was amazing! Thank you!
You’re very welcome Maddi! I’m so happy you were able to make it vegan and gluten free!😃 Thanks so much for leaving a review!
I am going to make the Garlic & Angel Hair with Broccoli today. We r Italian. This is a fine recipe. TY. I’m elderly & never use recipes. Th a is fine one popped up on my phone. I guess lol the recipe popping up was a sign. I’m anxious to make it but to early now. I want to TY again for the delightful step by step instructions. I will send u a message after we have it today.
TY Susan
I’m so happy you found this too Susan!😃 Glad to hear you found the step by step instructions useful. Enjoy!!!!
Really delicious and simple! I added a diced onion and diced chicken before the garlic step. Will definitely make this one again 😊
I’m so happy to hear you liked the Creamy Broccoli Pasta. It’s great with diced chicken!😋 Thanks so much for the review!
Can I use heavy cream in place of half and half in the creamy Broccoli pasta? Thank you
Hi Donna, yes- that should be fine!
This was an awesome recipe to make with my 5 year old daughter. She asked to help and I always want to let her but sometimes it is quite tricky! I will do this one again with her for sure. She was also able to feel like she was really helping!!!
That’s SO great!! This is definitely a fun one to get the kids to help out with, I do the same thing with my little one! 🙂 So glad that you enjoyed it!
Simple and delicious! Got me out of a jam last night since I didn’t know what to make. Luckily I had most of the ingredients. It was a big hit with the family!
I’m so happy to hear that Ruth! It’s the best feeling when you find a recipe and realize you have the ingredients!😍
This recipe is so easy peasy. Thank you so much CC. I added chicken. Everyone loved it!! Delicious!!!
Excellent! I’m so happy to hear it Dawn, really appreciate the review!! Thank you!!! -Steph 🙂
I made this today and it is outstanding!! That couple of teaspoons of lemon at the end of cooking time, just took it over the top, and so easy to put together in one pot..I used my IP..it did a great job..t.hank you so very much for sharing and I hope you and your family have a very blessed New Year.
That’s SO great to hear Judith, thank you so much for the review, I appreciate it so much. You’re the best! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! -Stephanie