Here’s my super long story before the recipe:
This morning I found this article (via Joy the Baker) from Thought Catalog called I’m Sick of Summer. It completely sums up how I feel about summer, especially since we’re in the middle of a heatwave right now.
Except, I don’t have to deal with the monotony of year-round job and I do have the excitement of a new hockey season each fall to remind me that something new is coming. But really, this is the reason I look forward to fall every year.
This recipe is totally unrelated to being sick of summer. I have no interesting story to tell you about pasta with Italian sausage and broccoli, other than saying that I love this meal.
I used to make it all the time, but somehow I forgot all about it. It’s been forever, but it’s just as delicious as I remember it. And, I now I’ve made it dairy free.
This recipe would be great with: tomato bruschetta / strawberry poppyseed salad / chocolate chip cookie bars
Ingredients:
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
- Italian sausage – Mild, spicy or sweet. You can use whatever Italian sausage style you prefer. I normally use sweet because I love that extra fennel flavor.
- Nutritional yeast – This is my dairy free alternative for parmesan cheese in this recipe. It blends nicely into the “sauce”, but you can use vegan parmesan (or if you can have dairy, feel free to use cheese).
- Broccoli – Fresh broccoli is best here. If you need to use frozen, it will not need as long to cook. I would only add it in the last two minutes or so.
Melissa’s tips for recipe success:
- My trick for adding fresh broccoli to any pasta dish – instead of cooking the broccoli separately, add it to the pot about 4-5 minutes before the pasta is supposed to be done (check the package instructions). Strain the pasta and the broccoli together, and you’ll have less dishes to do.
Frequently asked questions
More pasta recipes you’ll love: sesame noodles / butternut squash pasta sauce / penne bolognese / shrimp fettuccine / pasta fresca
Italian Sausage Pasta with Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 pound farfalle pasta
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, *see notes
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the farfalle according to package directions, adding the broccoli to the pot 4 minutes before straining.
- Brown the sausage. Heat a large, nonstick skillet to medium-high. Add the sausage meat and brown, breaking it into small pieces. Continue cooking, stirring as needed until the sausage is golden brown and caramelized.
- Make the sauce. Add olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat and continue cooking until the pasta is ready. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before straining the pasta and broccoli.
- Toss everything together. Add broccoli and farfalle to the skillet – adding 1/4 cup of pasta water at a time until the sauce has reached the right consistency. Stir in the nutritional yeast before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe inspired by Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes.
What is the serving size?
One serving is about 1 ½ cups when the pasta is cooked.
Loved this as it was very easy. Next time, I will add the broccoli with only 2 minutes to go in the cooking process as I found the broccoli to be overcooked. I also added twice as much red pepper flakes to spice things up.
Hi I am going to be making this recipe with the next few days and I was wondering how much of the pecorino cheese I would need thank you
We loved this dish! I made this as written only adding three TBS of butter at the end of cooking to add a little richness. My hubby raved about this! I will definitely be adding this to my rotation!
I can’t pin this recipe!
So tasty!
Great recipe. Very easy and turned out great. Only thing I added was sautéed onions while browning the Italian sausage.
I was surprised at now good this was. Thanks for sharing, I’ll make this dish again.
This was wonderful! I added sun dried tomatoes, Trader Joe’s black garlic & Soffritto Seasoning blend. My husband had too go gluten & dairy free & he loved it. Will definitely make again!
Is the nutritional yeast necessary?
We use nutritional yeast as a substitute for grated parmesan cheese in our house. So, no it is not necessary for the recipe, you can skip it or try using vegan parmesan shreds instead.