This creamy cheesy broccoli pasta bake is so easy to put together even on a busy weeknight, with no need to precook anything, not even the pasta! Just assemble and bake! It is a super simple and budget friendly recipe; you can add other ingredients and adjust the flavorings as you wish to make it perfect for you.
Dump and bake pasta for the win!
This is a cheap and simple one pan dinner that is easy to love! You do have to like broccoli, but broccoli in creamy cheesy sauce tends to be the best broccoli, so hopefully even the broccoli-neutral types can get on board here.
After the popularity of my Easy Baked Gnocchi with Frozen Vegetables, I decided the world needed another super simple “dump and bake” style recipe so I adapted it to be made with normal pasta and broccoli. And this one is also incredibly cheap to make. It is delicious with even the most budget versions of all of the ingredients, which is what I have been using to test it.
And it just couldn’t be simpler. You add all the cold ingredients to a pan and put it in the oven! That’s it! We’ll take off the foil and add some cheese to the top at one point, but otherwise truly hands off. The flavorful sauce forms from veggie stock and cream, with the starch from the pasta helping to thicken it up and make it creamy.
Just like this…
Ingredient Tips & Swaps
- My recipe uses fresh broccoli, but if you want to swap for frozen broccoli, it can be done. I would just recommend that you defrost the broccoli first and chop the florets into smaller pieces. Placing the broccoli into the dish from frozen will change the liquid ratios and extend the cooking time, and I find that frozen florets are too big for this recipe anyway.
- Choose your stock or bouillon wisely, because it one of the main sources of flavor in the sauce so we want it to have a taste that we like. I use Oxo’s meatless chicken style stock cubes. I wouldn’t recommend low sodium (if that’s all you have available, just make sure to add a good amount of salt and pepper).
- Let’s talk cheese! For simplicity, the recipe calls for 3 cups of cheddar. 1 cup will go in the sauce and the other 2 cups are for topping the pasta bake. Cheddar works great, but you can mix and match the type of cheeses you use. For the sauce, you could use a parmesan style cheese or something like gruyere; the only thing I’d particularly recommend is that you grate it off the block and not use pre-shredded bagged cheese (the starchy coating could negatively affect the texture of the sauce, though it might be fine … they are all different and it’s never an exact science). For the topping, you could use mozzarella or a blend, and you’re find to use the bagged pre grated stuff here (I actually prefer that for topping, because it’s drier and crisps up faster!)
- For flavor, I add some thyme, mustard powder and smoked paprika which gives a savory base and enhances the cheese flavor. You don’t have to stick to this exact trio though. I have tried other herbs such as tarragon and Italian seasoning – feel free to raid your spices and herb collection and see what you feel like!
Easy side dishes to prepare while it bakes
Easy Broccoli Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 g) broccoli, florets chopped into small bite sized pieces – a little more or less is fine
- 12 oz (350 g) dried penne pasta
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cups (200 g) grated cheddar cheese
- 3 cups (700 ml) vegetable or meatless chicken style stock
- 1 cup (240 ml) double (heavy) cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F / 200C / 180C Fan.
- Brush a large casserole dish with oil, and add the dried pasta, garlic, thyme, mustard powder, smoked paprika and 1/3 (one third) of the cheese (save the remaining cheese for the topping). Mix it all together.12 oz dried penne pasta, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp mustard powder, 3 cups grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Pour the cream and the vegetable stock over the top and mix it a little. We want the pasta to be as completely submerged as possible, but a few sticking over the top is OK.1 cup double (heavy) cream, 3 cups vegetable or meatless chicken style stock
- Add the broccoli florets over the top. Press them in a little but don't mix through – we want to keep the pasta submerged and it's OK if the broccoli isn't. It will steam as the pasta cooks.2 cups broccoli
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then remove and give it a good stir through. The pasta should be soft (it may still be a little al dente, but it should be almost done).The sauce should be much thicker than before, but we still want to see some excess liquid. If it sauce has thickened up too much, add another 1/2 cup or so of broth.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2/3 (two thirds) of the cheese on top and place back in the oven, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes, until the topping is crisp (if the topping doesn't brown enough in this time, put it under the broiler).3 cups grated cheddar cheese
- Let sit for 5 minutes (longer if the sauce is still on the runnier side – it will thicken fast!) and serve.
Very watery……will not try again
Sue, I am so sorry to hear this. Can you tell me what kind of pasta you used? I wonder if your pasta was more thin and drank in less of the liquid. And what kind of cheese (pre-grated or shredded off the block)? In my experience even if it is very liquidy straight from the oven, if it sits out for 10 minutes all of the liquid will settle into a rich creamy sauce. I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you.