Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta

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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. 

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! 

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!

5 from 9 votes
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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. 

Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Cream Cheese, Broccoli, Pasta
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 605 kcal
Author Curly

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

  1. Cook the pasta as per the packet's instructions 

  2. While the pasta is cooking, cut the tenderstem broccoli stalks into chunks leaving the florets as they are. 

  3. 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. 

  4. Mix the mascarpone and milk together. This will take a minute or so to combine thoroughly. 

  5. After a couple of minutes, the water will have evaporated from the broccoli. Add the garlic, salt and pepper.

  6. 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.

Nutrition Facts
Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta
Amount Per Serving
Calories 605 Calories from Fat 252
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 28g 43%
Saturated Fat 16g 80%
Cholesterol 56mg 19%
Sodium 1356mg 57%
Potassium 167mg 5%
Total Carbohydrates 58g 19%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 2g
Protein 17g 34%
Vitamin A 15.6%
Vitamin C 1.1%
Calcium 21%
Iron 5.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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19 thoughts on “Easy Cheese & Broccoli Pasta”

  2. Mandy


    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.

    Reply ↓
    1. Curly Post author

      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 šŸ™‚

      Reply ↓
  10. Anca

    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.

    Reply ↓
    1. Curly Post author

      I do get quite excited with different pasta shapes! I love any excuse to add tenderstem broccoli to a dish.

      Reply ↓
  16. Lucy Parissi


    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.

    Reply ↓

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