This Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta is a perfect midweek dinner. It is quick, easy and delicious as well as being packed with cheesy goodness.
The inspiration for this Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta came from my newly found appreciation of pasta and my obsession with Tenderstem broccoli. Together they have made a tasty but really simple dish which I think the whole family would enjoy.
A new appreciation for pasta
I’m sure I have mentioned before that pasta wasn’t really a dish I enjoyed growing up. I found it a bit boring unless it was with spaghetti bolognese because we usually had it with the same shop bough tomato based sauce which had lumps of onion in it. Me and lumps of onion do not go well together.
This did put me off pasta for quite a few years, but recently I can’t get enough of it! I have already shared my Skinny Creamy Chicken Sausage Pasta and Sausage, Mustard & Basil Pasta recipes with you. Although these are easy and relatively quick, you have to cook the meat so that adds some extra time.
I wanted to come up with more vegetarian recipes because I don’t have that many as my friend Katie keeps telling me! Plus any excuse to eat tenderstem broccoli and I’m there!
Who doesn’t love a delicious creamy sauce?!
The creamy sauce for this Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta couldn’t be easier to make and is a real time saving element. I used mascarpone because I love it’s rich, creamy flavour. I have also used full fat mascarpone, but you could definitely use reduced fat mascarpone or even cream cheese if you would prefer. I used Parmesan to add another level of cheesy goodness. It adds great flavour but is healthier than other types of cheese such as cheddar.
Although it pains me to say this, you could also use regular broccoli instead of Tenderstem broccoli. You would just need to cut the florets up slightly to make sure they steam quickly.
This recipe doesn’t reheat particularly well as the sauce splits slightly. I don’t mind this and will still heat it up for lunch the next day. But if you don’t fancy the sauce splitting, you can always eat it cold like Mr Curly does. Talking about Mr Curly, you can use whatever pasta shape you like but just so you know, he doesn’t approve of the pasta shape you can see in the photos. He couldn’t tell me why exactly but it definitely troubled him!
Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta
This Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta is a perfect midweek dinner. It is quick, easy and delicious as well as being packed with cheesy goodness.
Ingredients
- 150 g pasta
- 1 tsp sunflower oil
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 100 g mascarpone
- 30 ml semi skimmed milk
- 20 g Parmesan grated
- pinch black pepper
- 50 ml pasta water
Instructions
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Cook the pasta as per the packet's instructions
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While the pasta is cooking, cut the tenderstem broccoli stalks into chunks leaving the florets as they are.
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Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium/high heat and add the broccoli stalks. Saute for a couple of minutes before adding the broccoli florets. Add approximately 50ml of the pasta water to the broccoli. Turn the heat down and put a lid on to allow the broccoli to steam.
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Mix the mascarpone and milk together. This will take a minute or so to combine thoroughly.
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After a couple of minutes, the water will have evaporated from the broccoli. Add the garlic, salt and pepper.
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Add the pasta to the broccoli when it is cooked al dente. Then add the mascarpone mix and stir before finally adding the grated Parmesan.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is given as a guide only.
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Those jars of tomato sauce are always so disappointing, although saying that I did try some for a sponsored post recently that were pretty good so maybe they’ve improved since we were kids! I also have an obsession with tenderstem broccoli – it’s so good! My kid (only one of them likes broccoli) prefers the standard type though! Love the look of this pasta dish.
My Mum bought the little tubs of fresh pasta sauce, but they were still very disappointing! But it’s good to hear they have improved! Ooh hopefully they will grow up to appreciate that tenderstem is tastier than standard broccoli! Thanks Mandy š
Iām also a fan of tenderstem broccoli so I would love this recipe! Such a great quick recipe for a midweek dinner too
We should start a tenderstem broccoli fan club haha! Thanks š
I adore tenderstem broccoli and this pasta looks like my perfect dish!
Thank you š
This is just the type of super dish I love. Thank you for linking to #cookBlogShare
Me too – nice and easy!
I’ve made pasta today and I’ve used a type of pasta that looks very much like the one you made. Broccoli is a great addition to pasta. It’s a way to eat more veggies and enjoy it a lot at the same time.
I do get quite excited with different pasta shapes! I love any excuse to add tenderstem broccoli to a dish.
I love tenderstem broccoli too and think it must go so well with this simple pasta sauce. It’s such an easy recipe and perfect for an easy midweek meal!
Oh definitely. So easy, quick and tasty!
I love quick and delicious midweek pasta dishes like that! I just made one last night! Now another recipe for me to try!
Thanks Julia š
Well I’m all for those pasta shapes. I think they pair with the sauce and the chunky tenderstem broccoli beautifully. This dish could be a lifesaver on a busy weeknight.
Thanks Lucy. He still can’t tell me why he didn’t like this shape! Silly man š
this is my kind of pasta!
This looks like my perfect meal – cheese and carbs, and some veggies to make it healthy!
Haha the broccoli completely forgives the cheese and pasta right?!