One-pan pasta with broccoli and mushrooms is a sanity saver on crazy nights when you can’t stand the thought of dirtying more than one pan! It’s comfort food at its best and I am pretty sure that with all those vegetables you can call it healthy too. Broccoli, mushrooms, onions, pasta, chicken broth (or vegetable broth), butter, a little cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and a sprinkle of cheese. Why wouldn’t you make this easy one-pan dinner?
I have always marveled at people who are able to turn out a “meat and three” meal on a weeknight. I have been cooking for more than 25 years and I still haven’t figured out the art of timing multiple dishes to be ready at the same time when I am in a hurry to get something on a plate after a day at work.
I tend more toward soups, Instant Pot meals, and one-pan preparations like this pasta. One skillet to wash. The cutting board, measuring cup, and dishes you use to eat this dinner don’t count. Those can all go in the dishwasher. There is nothing I hate more than having multiple pans to wash and this dinner eliminates that problem.
I am not saying that this is a Rachael Ray 30-minute meal, but it’s pretty dang close. We’ll call it a Chattavore 45-minute meal. How’s that? It’s perfect when you need to get a relatively healthy but still delicious and comforting meal on the table without too much fuss.
I first posted this broccoli and mushroom pasta recipe on my blog in January of 2014, when I was in the middle of preparing for my BCBA exam and I was a freaking hot mess (I will never forget sitting down in the middle of the floor one night while making dinner and sobbing because I had missed a step). And I still managed to get this cooked, photographed, and on the table without tears because it’s pretty much as easy as you can get. I’ve simplified it even more this time around!
Tips for the Best One-Pan Pasta
- Use a large enough pan: a 12-14 inch pan with straight sides is best here. I used a sloped-sided skillet and things got a little dicey, but I watched my pasta closely so I survived.
- Stir frequently: this will keep the liquid from bubbling over but will also keep the pasta from sticking to the pan.
- Don’t get too precious with the pasta: feel free to use any short pasta shape you’d like here! I am paring down my kitchen and once I get rid of most of the pasta I have sitting around, I plan to default to medium shell pasta as my short pasta shape.
- If you don’t like mushrooms, just leave them out and skip the mushroom step. You can half the amount of olive oil in the recipe.
- Use as much cheese as you would like in this recipe!
- Sun-dried tomatoes packed dry and sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil will both work equally well in this recipe.
You can also find broccoli and mushrooms here: broccoli-cheddar cobbler
Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate and The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!
Mary
Yield: 4 servings
This recipe is adapted from America's Test Kitchen .
10 minPrep Time:
45 minCook Time:
55 minTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Medium onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced-I used my garlic press)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8oz cremini mushrooms (wiped clean and quartered or sliced)
- salt and pepper
- 8oz penne, medium egg noodles, or other small pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 2 3/4 cups water
- 1 2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth (low-sodium or homemade)
- 2 heads broccoli (chopped into florets and stalks peeled & chopped)
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1oz grated Asiago cheese
- juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms until golden.
- Add the pasta, two cups of the water, and the broth to the skillet. Turn the heat up to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has absorbed almost completely into the pasta, 12-15 minutes.
- Add the broccoli, the sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining water to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until the broccoli is almost tender, 3-5 minutes.
- Uncover the skillet and return the heat to high. Stir in the heavy cream, the cheese, and the mushrooms. Cook and stir until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and serve with additional cheese for topping.
Notes
This is a meatless dish that can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
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