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.
this recipe is so quick and easy and the outcome is so good!! i love it so much and the whole house smelled so good during cooking that mom and her bf came to the kitchen just to smell it 😅 i personally added more broccoli but the recipe is perfect ❤️ i highly reccomend
Hiiii Simona! I am sooo happy that you love this recipe and that the aroma lured others into the kitchen! What a compliment! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review as well, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Would this work with out cheese? Kids are not fan of any white cheese sadly.
Hi Debbie! The cheese thickens it up a little bit and adds a little more flavor and substance, I am afraid that it might be lacking in flavor and too thin without it. I could be wrong though, I haven’t tested it without it! (If you do, I would love to know what you think!)
How much is considerd one serving?
This recipe makes 4 servings, the nutritional information is per serving, (or 25% of the batch). 🙂
My family loved this! So easy! Thank you!
Excellent!! I’m so happy to hear that Stephanie! Thank you so much!!
I tweaked the recipe but it’s super simple and made a restaurant quality dinner in my home.
Nice work Elisabeth, I’m so happy you liked it!💖
Can you make this with vegetable broth? My daughter is a vegetarian.
Cathie
Hi Cathie! You can definitely make this with vegetable broth, enjoy! 🙂
Filling, balanced and yummy! worked well. I did end up adding more cream and liquids later on and obviously some extra parm 😉 will make again!
I’m right there with you with the extra parm 😋! Thanks so much for the great comments and review Savannah, I’m so happy you liked it!💗
Making this tomorrow. Love broccoli pasta, yum
Great, can’t wait for you to try it Vee! I’d love to hear how it comes out for you!
Recipe was great ! Used veggie broth instead of chicken broth but it was delicious! My daughter couldn’t stop eating lol.
I’m so happy it was such a success, especially with your daughter! Nice work Latisha💖 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I have made this twice because my family and I love this recipe. It is so good. I love that there is a lot of sauce too. I make a little grilled chicken on the side in case anybody wants some. I love that it is a one pot recipe too. Thank you for this delicious recipe😋
You’re very welcome Carrie! I’m so happy this is a hit with your family, it’s one of my favorite weeknight dinners. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
Do you need to add chicken broth?
Yes, it’s needed to cook the pasta.
This was really good. I did have to add more salt, but that’s the story of my life.
I’m so happy you liked it Kate! Thanks so much for the great review!💖