I’ve implemented a new #meanmom rule over the past few months of offering salad as the only snack option if my children claim to be hungry between 4pm and dinnertime. This is a great way to a.) sniff out if they’re actually hungry and b.) get an extra serving of veggies into them if they actually are.
Okay, okay, sometimes they opt out of salad “snack” (you’re shocked, I know) but I can still get their greens in — delivered via creamy parmesan pasta — when I serve Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli for dinner! This super simple, 30 minute dinner recipe tastes like the buttery parmesan noodles of our childhoods, mixed with healthy veggies.
Trust me when I tell you it is a HOME RUN!
Easy Pasta with Broccoli Recipe
Buttered parmesan noodles are tossed with steamed broccoli, caramelized mushrooms and shallots, plus seasoned salt and pepper in this meatless main that’s as satisfying as it is simple. So many kids, including mine, love buttered parmesan pasta. It’s tasty, familiar, and a great vehicle to introduce vegetables into their meals.
This dish is light and creamy, yet no cream required. It truly is one of the easiest pasta recipes I know.
Ingredients Needed
One of the many reasons why I love this recipe is because I almost always have all the ingredients on hand since they’re fridge and pantry staples for my family. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Pasta: I typically use gluten free spaghetti or angel hair noodles, but use whatever your family likes. Penne is great too.
- Butter: Feel free to use vegan butter if you need or want to.
- Broccoli: Broccoli is one vegetable that all three of my kids are on board with eating – they love their “little trees”!
- Mushrooms: The mushrooms are sauteed until they’re caramelized which gives them incredible flavor. If your family has passed on mushrooms in the past, give this method a try.
- Shallots: You can swap in a yellow onion if you don’t have shallots on hand.
- Homemade Seasoned Salt and Pepper: Seasoned salt is SUCH a great way to add loads of flavor to a dish with a simple dash of a shaker. My homemade blend calls for just 4 everyday ingredients – salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder!
- Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese: Use freshly grated if you can – it really makes a difference in how creamy the final dish ends up. I keep a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano, which you can find at most grocery stores these days, in the fridge then freshly grate with a microplane.
How to Make Pasta with Broccoli
Step 1: Cook the broccoli. Start by dropping broccoli florets into a large pot of salted, boiling water then simmer until tender, 2-3 minutes. Scoop out the florets then drain and set aside, keeping the water in the pot to boil the pasta.
Step 2: Cook the pasta. Add gluten-free pasta noodles to the simmering water then cook until the pasta is al dente.
BEFORE DRAINING, scoop out a cup or so of the pasta water to reserve. This is what we’ll use to make a light and silky pasta sauce in a bit!
Step 3: Caramelize the mushrooms. While the broccoli and pasta are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter inside then add sliced mushrooms and shallots. The mushrooms will release a bunch of liquid so saute until the liquid has cooked off, and then continue to saute until the mushrooms are golden brown and caramelized.
Here are my tips to get golden brown mushrooms vs steamed soggy mushrooms:
How to get caramelized mushrooms vs soggy mushrooms:
- Don’t pile all the mushrooms into the center of the pan. Spread them out so there’s some openings to the bottom of the skillet to let the moisture simmer off.
- If you don’t have a 12″ or larger skillet, add half the mushrooms then let the moisture simmer out. Scoop out onto a plate then repeat with the second half. Add the first half back into the skillet then continue cooking until the mushrooms all golden brown and caramelized.
- Wait to season with salt until the mushrooms are golden brown.
Once the mushrooms and shallots are golden brown and caramelized, season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper.
Step 4: Combine the ingredients. Add the drained pasta, caramelized mushroom mixture, more butter, and freshly grated parmesan cheese to the pasta cooking pot then drizzle in ~1/2 cup pasta cooking water and stir until everything is silky and a light sauce has formed, adding more pasta cooking water to achieve a thin sauce.
Lastly, add in the cooked broccoli plus lots of seasoned salt and pepper then stir to combine again. Scoop onto plates then get to swirling! I hope you love this decadent tasting broccoli pasta recipe – enjoy!!
More Quick and Easy Pasta Recipes
- Spaghetti al Pomodoro
- Potsticker Noodle Bowls
- Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic & Herbs
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles
- American Goulash
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Easy Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli
Description
Easy Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli combines the comfort of parmesan noodles with fresh broccoli and mushrooms. Simple, healthy, and satisfying!
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 16oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 jumbo shallot, sliced
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper (see notes for recipe)
- 6oz broccoli florets
- 10oz gluten free spaghetti
- heaping 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli then boil until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Scoop out florets then drain and set aside. Bring water back to a boil then add pasta and cook until al dente. Scoop out a cup of pasta cooking water then drain pasta.
- Meanwhile, heat a large, 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons butter then, once melted, add mushrooms and shallots. Saute until mushrooms and shallots are golden brown and tender, 10-12 minutes, then season with seasoned salt and pepper. Usually the mushrooms and shallots are done before the pasta is ready so I turn the heat down to low and let them continue to caramelize.
- Add mushrooms, pasta, remaining 4 Tablespoons butter, and parmesan cheese to the pasta cooking pot then drizzle in some of the pasta cooking water and stir until creamy, adding more pasta cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Add broccoli and lots of seasoned salt and pepper then stir once more to combine, and then serve.
Notes
- Click here for my homemade gluten free seasoned salt recipe >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This was fabulous. I added a dollop of my own garlic scape pesto and sprinkled some pine nuts. So rich and yummy! Will definitely make again.
Oooo, sounds divine, Jan! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Do you think it would be ok to sub olive oil for butter, or would that stop the caramelization?
I think you could use extra virgin olive oil instead, though I might use a touch less at the end so it’s not to oily tasting. :)
This was delicious!! I added zucchini and red and yellow pepper. So good! You can also use Nutritional Yeast to make it vegan.
Love how you pumped up the veggies, Robin! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Made this recently and it is a winner in my book! Sooo good. :)
Awesome!! Thanks so much for leaving a star rating, Lindsey!!
This is such a great dish; I will make again, and again. Thinking about changing vegetable just for fun.
Which GF noodles do you like the best?
Hi Amanda! My current favorite GF noodles are Jovial’s brown rice noodles. My husband, who can eat gluten, thinks Barilla’s corn/rice blend GF pasta tastes more like the “real thing”. Both are great, in my opinion!
This recipe is a winner! Diagnosed with CD two years ago and I enjoy your website very much. I also wanted to love the Beyond Meat but it was not for me .. it left the nastiest taste in my mouth for over an hour after eating, ugh. But glad it seems to work for some :-)
I’ve got one gluten-free kid and the other a vegetarian…so this is perfect…can’t wait to try, thanks! p.s. vegetarian 17 year old loves beyond burger..but uses mustard and mayo on it which she says is key.
YAY! Love that this recipe will be a good fit for your family!
Yum–as a child of the Midwest…bring on the buttered noodles!
I absolutely love Beyond Burgers and my husband and I make them at home all the time. I never eat them plain, but then again, I never eat a regular burger plain either.
I think what was really missing for me was a bun (GF are mostly terrible.) If I could eat it with a squishy hamburger bun, cheese, and toppings it would probably be a different story!
Thank you for keeping it real on the Beyond Meat burgers. Ugh … while they might be plant-based, I don’t love the ingredients and they just taste … off to me. this recipe, though … is a winner!
I wanted to like them so bad based on all the hype but, like you said, they just tasted off. I think if they were in a bun with a ton of ingredients like how the Whopper is served, it’d pass, but at home it was just a no go for us.