Garlicky Broccolini Pasta Recipe
This garlicky broccolini pasta recipe is an easy dinner to make on a busy weeknight.
My mom made this dish for me recently and I all but died and went to heaven. Even my son couldn’t stop eating it. It has simple flavors that meld beautifully in one, tasty dish.
It’s also one of the quickest and simplest pasta dishes I’ve ever made. It’s definitely a great meal for anyone who is short on time for making dinner.
Make a huge pot so you have plenty to take with you for the next day as well because I promise, you’ll want this for lunch too.
And just a side note: Did you know that broccolini is a hybrid combination of broccoli and Gai Lan, also known as Chinese chard?
Broccolini Pasta With Sausage
You can absolutely add sausage to this.
I recommend slicing it and cooking it up with the broccolini. Two sausages would be about right for this.
Healthier sausages with clean ingredients that I currently know about are from the Applegate brand. There may be others, but I haven’t found them yet. Their sweet Italian sausage would work well here.
(Not paid to promote them).
Vegan Broccolini Pasta
This is simple enough to make vegan, as it’s already vegetarian. Simply switch the parmesan cheese for a vegan brand and you’re good to go!
Chicken Broccolini Pasta
Chicken is a wonderful addition to this dish. When I add chicken, I cut up 1 to 2 boneless chicken breasts into bite-size chunks and sauté that first with a little extra oil (or chicken broth if I want to cut down on fats). Once the chicken is mostly cooked, I add in the broccolini and go from there.
You can season the chicken any way you like. My favorites for this recipe are garlic powder and a little salt. But you can also add some Italian seasoning or parsley. Keep your spices on the Italian side and the flavors should meld pretty well.
Broccolinis Pasta With Bacon
Bacon is probably my favorite addition to this dish. I recommend cooking 6 slices for this. I cook mine separately in my air fryer. But if you cook it in a pan, you can use the bacon fat instead of oil to cook the broccolini in. It adds a ton of flavor.
There are healthier bacon brands on the market. Wellshire Farms is a wonderful brand with incredible flavor. I personally use Applegate turkey bacon. I love the stuff and have used it in quite a few of my recipes here so far.
(Again, not paid to promote any of these companies. This is just what I use.)
Broccolini Lemon Pasta
A little bit of fresh lemon juice squeezed over this can be good. But a better bet is to sauté the broccolini with some lemon zest and then sprinkle on the lemon juice to taste. The lemon and garlic pair up nicely here. Some chopped sun dried tomatoes will also pair nicely with the lemon and garlic.
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Garlicky Broccolini Pasta Recipe
Garlicky Broccolini Pasta
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Ingredients
- ½ lb. whole grain pasta
- 8 oz. fresh broccolini (coarsely chopped)
- 6 medium garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- salt to taste
- parmesan cheese to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Cook your pasta according to package directions, adding 2 tsp. to 1 tbsp. of salt to the water (depending on the size of your pot and amount of water.)
- When the pasta is done, strain it and set it aside.
- While the pasta cooks, wash and chop your broccolini. Thinly slice the stems, and roughly chop the florets, keeping them separate. Mince the garlic as finely as possible.
- In a large skillet, sauté the broccolini stems in the oil for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minutes.
- Stir in the florets and sauté for another minute.
- Stir in the pasta and mix well to coat the pasta with garlic.
- Season with salt as needed and sprinkle on some parmesan cheese to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 1/29/10.
would this be good with tuna fish mixed in??
I’ve never tried it. I’m not so sure the garlic would mix well with the tuna, but you could always give it a try!
Sorry I can’t be more help,
Tiffany
is it really 1/2 tsp olive oil for 6 cloves garlic? wouldnt the pasta be rather dry without either pasta water or chix broth or something of that nature?
Kristen –
I haven’t found that to be the case at all. I enjoy this pasta as it is. If you want to use a bit more oil or add some water, feel free. It’s a matter of personal taste I suppose. But I like it as is.
I should say that it’s only 1/2 tsp. olive oil if you are using a non-stick pan and cooking on a low heat. Otherwise, you would need more oil.
Hope that helps!
Where can I find broccolini? I don’t remember seeing it in the grocery store.
Christy – We usually don’t notice it because it looks like broccoli. But it’s in the produce section. I would ask your grocer if you don’t see it.
Has anyone tried this with sauteed tomatoes?
Carrie – I bet that would be really yummy!
Is the broccolini lighter in taste than regular broccoli? I have a bunch of broccoli haters here! lol But to me it looks great!!
Cher – Yes, it’s lighter in flavor. The taste is slightly different too, though it’s still similar.
Great, thanks 🙂
Could I use regular broccoli if I can’t find broccolini? The tomato idea sounds divine. I’d probably end up skewering broccoli, grape tomatoes, purple onions and brushing them with olive oil, salt/pepper. I just got a 2-burner grill pan that I’m in love with. This just seems like a meal you could really make versatile!
Lynnette – Yep! It would be quite tasty!
I know this recipe was posted quite some time ago, but how much Parmesan cheese do you use? There is no measurement given. Thanks!!:)
As much as you want. If there’s no measurement, you just add to taste. 🙂
My family is just starting down the “No Added Sugar” path and I am so happy to have found your recipes and tips. This is going to be easier than I originally thought.
Where do we use the olive oil in this recipe? Do we sauté the garlic in it, or do you just add it to the pasta when it is all done, or do you add it to the pasta as it is cooking?
Tripletmumm – Oops! The recipe is all fixed. Thanks for pointing that out! 😀