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This easy sausage and broccoli pasta uses only a handful of everyday ingredients and comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Italian sausage and pasta is such a good combo. I used spicy Italian sausage in this pasta dish, but feel free to use mild Italian sausage, chicken sausage, or any sausage of your choosing!
This broccoli and sausage pasta recipe is ideal for busy weeknights or when you don’t want to buy a lot of ingredients.
How to make pasta with sausage and broccoli
Either slice the sausage like I did, or crumble it while you’re sautéing it. I like to cook the sausage first and then add the broccoli to the pan for about 4 minutes to get it tender-crisp.
This easy broccoli pasta with sausage has a creamy (but not too creamy) garlic sauce.
I swapped the heavy cream with half-and-half to make this dish lighter (but still satisfying!).
Red pepper flakes add a bit of spice (especially if you use a mild sausage), but feel free to leave them out if spicy sausage pasta isn’t your thing!
Looking for more sausage and pasta recipes? You may also like my Cajun sausage pasta or my roasted tomato and sausage pasta.
Will you give this sausage pasta recipe a try?
Let me know in the comments below!
Simple Sausage and Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 (17.6 oz/500g package) Italian sausages cut into small pieces (or crumble it)
- 1 head broccoli cut into small florets
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a large, salted pot of water and cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Prep your sausage. Add it to a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until it's browned and mostly cooked through (about 8-10 minutes).
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the broccoli. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic.
- Add in the half-and-half. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes, ensuring the brown bits at the bottom of the pan are scraped into the sauce. Test if broccoli is cooked to your liking. If not, cook a bit longer.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and season with salt & pepper and red pepper flakes as needed. Once the pasta is done, drain it and toss it with the sauce. Enjoy immediately.
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Natasha, Do you think it’s a good idea to make this ahead of time and then heat up? Thanks
Hi Rick! This one is best fresh (especially the broccoli part), but if you’re reheating it, make sure to do so over a low heat.
Super easy and flavorable!
Thanks, Nicole!
This recipe is delicious!! My husband and I have had it several times. We use regular beef sausage in place of Italian sausage though. Wonderful!
I’m so happy it’s a fave, Brooke! Thanks for your review!
Recommendations without the half and half?
Heavy cream would work.
Easy, quick AND DELICIOUS!!
Thank you, Marie! 😀
Could you replace the broccoli with green beans. I love broccoli but my family does not.
I think that should work just fine, Katie! 🙂
I made this for supper and it was fabulous delicious ! And a big hit in my family !
Excellent!! I’m so pleased you all enjoyed it, Cindi! Thanks for letting me know.
This was good but…all the pasta did not cook, I stirred it a couple of times but still had pasta that was not cooked.
Hi! Just to clarify, what do you mean by the pasta? The pasta is cooked separately in a pot of boiling water according to package directions. Do you mean that the broccoli in the sauce wasn’t quite tender enough? In that case, I’d cook it for a little longer next time or cut it into smaller pieces first.
This was incredibly delicious! Even though my children wouldn’t eat the broccoli, they absolutely loved the pasta and sausage. I left out the extra salt and found that the cheese made the dish salty enough. I microwaved the sausage for 3 minutes prior to cutting them. It sped up the cooking process by 10-15 minutes. This recipe is definitely a keeper:))
Well that’s a win!! I’m so glad you liked it!
Made this tonight with a rope of smoked turkey sausage and garden fresh broccoli. It was delicious! Simmering the broccoli and sausage in the cream for a few minutes made the sauce smokey and amazing!
That’s awesome! So glad you liked it! 🙂