One of our family’s favorite weeknight dinners, this Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pasta is a crowd pleaser and made with simple but delicious ingredients.
Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pasta
This pasta recipe is in weekly rotation at our house. It’s one of those meals that is universally enjoyed by both adults and kids. And since Luca rarely ever eats meat, I love that he’ll gobble up a big bowl of this (and it has broccoli in it!) I love that you can see the broccoli, because it’s important that kids see the vegetables they’re being offered and eating, not just hidden into their foods (but there is a time and place for that, too!)
While you could totally use regular wheat pasta here, I love using chickpea pasta, as another way to squeeze in nutrients, because, why not? Luca gets plenty of wheat in his diet, so when we make pasta at home, I like to have a ‘bigger bang for the buck.’ We love Banza Rotini, but use whatever brands work for your family – or just sub in ‘regular’ pasta.
The secret here is using a flavorful chicken sausage – I love Premio brand chicken sausage, or you could buy some ground chicken sausage meat if you can find it at your local grocery store. Whole Foods’ butcher section has some great sweet Italian chicken sausage links that I often buy for this recipe, too.
Chickpea pasta tends to not save very well in the fridge, so this isn’t exactly a meal prep friendly recipe, BUT you can definitely prep all of the ingredients beforehand (the chicken sausage and broccoli) so that when you go to make it for a meal, all you need to do is cook the pasta and toss everything together!
If you’re dairy free, you totally don’t have to use Parmesan cheese – sometimes we go without it, too. It’s still a crowd pleaser! And I love serving this to Luca in our Happy Bowl.
Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken sausage links decased
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 box chickpea or legume rotini pasta I like Banza
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste (go lightly on salt or omit for kids under 1)
- for adults: red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the chicken sausage and crumble with a wooden spoon and let cook until browned and no longer pink on the inside, about 10 minutes, breaking up as you go along. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, place the broccoli in a steamer basket and steam until fork tender. Transfer to a cutting board and chop very well. Add to the bowl with the chicken sausage.
- Fill a large saucepot 2/3 the way full with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions (if you’re using Banza, I like to cook for 8-9 minutes.)
- While the pasta cooks, set a colander over a large bowl, so that when you drain the pasta, the bowl underneath catches the pasta water.
- Drain the pasta and add to the bowl with the sausage and broccoli, along with about 3/4 cups of the pasta water, garlic powder, oregano, Parmesan (if using), salt (go lightly), and pepper. Toss well to combine. If dry, add more pasta water by the tablespoon.
- Serve. I recommend adding red pepper flakes and extra salt onto the adults’ pasta bowls for optimal flavor!
