This sausage and broccoli pasta is absolutely delicious. It's not only easy to make, but it's bursting with flavor, feeds a family, and keeps for days in the refrigerator for leftovers!
Ingredients
1teaspoonolive oil
1poundground Italian sausage, spicy or mild
2teaspoonsminced garlic
3teaspoonssalt
1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
½teaspoononion powder
1teaspoondried parsley
½teaspoondried oregano
4cupslow sodium chicken broth
1cupmilk
1poundpenne pasta
1pound frozen or fresh broccoli florets
⅓cupsour cream
1teaspooncornstarch + 1 teaspoon water, stirred together
Instructions
In a deep skillet or dutch oven, add the olive oil and cook the sausage over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spatula as it cooks until browned— about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, parsley, and oregano.
Stir in the chicken broth and milk. Allow the mixture to come up to a boil, then add in the pasta. Stir and place a lid on the pot and allow the pasta to start cooking. After 3 minutes, add in the broccoli. The cook time will vary depending on the type of pasta, but for penne is 10-11 minutes.
Once the pasta is cooked, stir in the sour cream and the corn starch mixture. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The sausage can be cooked up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The day of, start at step 2. This recipe can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat as desired.
Chicken Broth: This adds more flavor, but you can also use water.
Milk: Any type of milk works— I've used dairy-free milks too, typically oat milk.
Pasta: This recipe works best with a short pasta like penne, rotini or rigatoni. The cook time will vary depending on the pasta that you use.
Sour Cream: This helps create creaminess. I find that any type of sour cream works for this.