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.
Try These Next
Get My Free Meal Plan
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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.
Thank you 🤍
I didn’t follow the receipt to the T but thankful I found this to help with tonight’s dinner 🙏🏽
Blessings
Thanks for the great comments Nitzia, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!💖
Just finished making this recipe and omggg it is fantastic… going to try it with chicken next time !
I’m so happy you liked it Marissa! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖
I’m making this for a birthday dinner and was wondering if I should double the recipe since I want to use a pound of pasta ? Thanks
Yes, you’d want to double everything 🙂
Added left over grilled chicken. It’s amazing. Thought about adding mushrooms but forgot.
I’m so happy it was a success Dianne, nice work! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
Quick, yummy dinner for a busy night
Yayyy! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it Tami, thanks so much for the great comments and review!😃
Do you think you could just make the sauce and omit the noodles and poor sauce over spaghetti squash? I have a spaghetti squash I need to use before it goes bad! Haha
Hi Karly! That wouldn’t work for this recipe as there is extra liquid in here that’s designed for cooking the pasta in the sauce. You can try it with my Chicken and Broccoli Pasta recipe though! 🙂
Hello!! Perfect! I will try this Thank you for the recommendation ☺️
10/10 This one is a hit! I will use more garlic next time add will try with chicken. Quick, easy, and HEALTHY option that is CHEAPER than any boxed or pre-made options.
I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit Wendy! I agree, so great have a quick and easy one without it coming out of a box. Thanks so much for the great comments!💖
First time making this dish. Delicious and full of flavor. Everyone loved it!!
Sounds like you really nailed it Debora, nice work! Thanks so much for the review💗
Made this tonight and added chicken, love how saucier this recipe is from others! Extra broccoli cause I was cravin it and did use an Italian blend…perfection girl! Definitely addin this to the rotation! Thanks girl!
Wahoooo! I love how you appreciate sauce like I do! I’m always asking for extra sauce when I go out to eat. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Erika!😃
Going to try this tonight, can I use uncooked egg noodles ?
Hi Emma! That should work! They’re not quite as firm as shells or other types of pasta but I still think it will work if that’s what you have on hand 🙂
I wondered the same thing! I have two bags of Amish wide and extra wide egg noodles that need to be used. Look forward to hearing if it worked well!