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.
Fast, easy and DELICIOUS! Thank you!
You’re very welcome Rose, thanks so much!❤️
I am considered a good cook and research recipes on the Internet frequently. This is the first time I have left a review on any site, but I felt compelled to. This recipes is absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe according to directions, except I used roasted broccoli. ( Added it after the pasta was cooked. )
My guests and I loved it. Definitely worth five stars!
That’s so nice of you Dorothy! I’m flattered! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a such great comments!🩷
First time leaving a review on any site but felt compelled to. Absolutely delicious! Followed directions as written but used roasted broccoli instead. Added after pasta cooked !
Guests loved it
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Dorothy! I’m so happy you liked this one!🩷
OMG.. this is the best. Just the right amount of seasonings to make it very tasty. Didn’t have the shells or enough half & half so substituted a quarter cup of heavy cream & the rest 2% milk & used spiral elbows instead. Also used frozen broccoli and added at the end with the parm and a bit of romano. Wow… A definite keeper! Thank you! I’m going to be a subscriber for sure!
Thanks so much for your support Sandy! I’m so happy you liked this one, I can’t wait for you to try others!🩷
I love one pot recipes! This is the best one yet!! Add some shrimp or another protein and you have the perfect, hearty meal! Tbh it tastes good on its own, no meat necessary! 😊
I agree Erika, one pot recipes really are the best. This is definitely a great one to add your favorite protein too, or keep meatless. I love making tweaks to it. Thanks so much for the review!❤️
Can I use frozen broccoli instead!
Yes 🙂 I would let it thaw and pay it dry, and cook it for 4 minutes instead of 6.
Will heavy cream work instead of half & half?
Hi Brittany! You can, it’ll just be thicker. You can add a small splash of water to the heavy cream to thin it out a touch if needed! 🙂
Loved this recipe, I’m recently going vegetarian and I like this because it tastes like my chicken alfredo without the chicken. Will definitely be making this again.
Thanks for the great comments and review Myosha!❤️ I’m so happy you’ll be making it again!
Sounding very thick here – but what is meant by 1 1/4 cups of “half and half “. What is exactly Half and Half ? Other than that I am looking forward to trying it – sounds great !!
Hi Karen! Half and half is half cream, half milk 🩷
came across on pinterest with nothing to do and thought i might as well – literally best pasta i’ve ever made!
Wahooo! I’m so happy you found this one Ruby, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and review!❤️
Used penne (all we had in the pantry) instead of shells and added some chicken but absolutely LOVED this recipe! Easy and yummy 🙂
Nice work Kiley, I’m so happy you enjoyed it with Penne! Thanks so much for the review!❤️
Really tasty and super easy!!
Great!! I’m so happy that you loved it Sue, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!! 🙂 -Stephanie