• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Your Guardian Chef
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Amazon
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start Here
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Amazon
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Pasta with vegetables

    Italian Classic Cavatelli And Broccoli Recipe

    Published: Nov 10, 2022 · Modified: Apr 8, 2025. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    Recipe Jump to Video
    Cavatelli and broccoli pin
    Cavatelli and broccoli pin

    To make creamy Cavatelli and broccoli, the Italian pasta con broccoli, you need to keep it simple. The main ingredients are only three, Cavatelli, fresh broccoli, garlic; salt, and olive oil for seasoning, served with Parmesan cheese. You can add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.

    Cavatelli and broccoli served on a plate and a fork lifting a bite

    Pasta with broccoli is very common in Southern Italy, usually made with chunky fresh pasta from Puglia, Orecchiette, or Cavatelli.

    The name cavatelli comes from the little hollows, in Italian cavati means scooped.

    I have seen recipes adding stock or cream, which is not necessary. You can still have creamy, flavorful pasta using only broccoli and sliced garlic.

    The secret is that broccoli and pasta are cooked in the same water, and a few spoons of that water are enough to create a creamy sauce.

    The entire recipe will take less than 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights dinner. For more traditional Italian pasta with vegetables, you can also check Pasta with zucchini and ricotta, Pasta Caprese, Pasta with Genovese pesto, Pasta with Trapanese pesto, Pasta with pistachio pesto.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • How to serve cavatelli and broccoli
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tips
    • 📋 Italian Cavatelli And Broccoli (No Stock)

    Ingredients

    You only need these simple ingredients:

    Ingredients for cavatelli and broccoli
    • Cavatelli or Orecchiette (also called orecchie di prete, priest's ears): either pasta goes well with broccoli. They are both from Puglia. Fresh pasta is better, but the dry ones will do as well. To make your own homemade cavatelli you can find the recipe on the pasta project: homemade cavatelli. 
    • Broccoli: always use fresh vegetables. Frozen broccoli is too soggy
    • Garlic: peeled fresh garlic cloves
    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Salt
    • Parmesan cheese: freshly grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese to serve
    • Chilli peppers (optional): if you like spicy food, chili peppers go very well here
    • Sausages (optional): If you want to make a complete meal, you can also add sausages

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    The cooking is very simple. Here are the steps:

    Boiling the broccoli

    Boiling water in a large pan
    1. Bring to boil a large pot of salted water
    Boiling the broccoli
    1. Boil for 10 minutes the broccoli that has been rinsed and cut into florets

    Hint: If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.

    Preparing the broccoli sauce

    While the broccoli is boiling, we start preparing the sauce:

    Stir frying the garlic
    1. In a large skillet, stir fry two chopped garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil
    add chili flakes
    1. If you like spicy food, add some chili peppers
    Drain the broccoli
    1. When the broccoli are ready, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon.
    keep the water where the broccoli have boiled
    1. Do not drain the water. Keep the water rolling boil and add some more if necessary

    Hint: once you remove the broccoli, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta

    Add the broccoli to the frying pan
    1. Add the broccoli to the frying pan
    Stir fry the broccoli with the garlic and the chili flakes
    1. Stir fry with the garlic and the chili flakes

    Boiling the pasta

    Boil the cavatelli in the same water of the broccoli
    1. Boil the Cavatelli in the same water as the broccoli
    put the lid on if the water stops boiling
    1. If the water stops boiling when you add the cavatelli, cover the pan until the water boils again, then remove the lid

    Hint: do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.

    Finalizing the dish

    Add some cooking water to the sauteed broccoli
    1. Once the Cavatelli have released some starch into the water, take a ladle of pasta water
    Let the broccoli simmer
    1. Pour the cooking water over the sauteed broccoli and let them simmer

    Hint: the water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock or the heavy cream are not necessary

    The smaller broccoli florets will break to form a sauce
    1. While the Cavatelli are boiling, the smaller broccoli florets will slightly break down, forming a creamy sauce
    Add the cavatelli to the broccoli
    1. Add the cavatelli cooked al dente and stir until the sauce and the pasta are combined

    Hint: You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.

    1. Serve Cavatelli with broccoli sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino
    Cavatelli and broccoli served on a dish and a fork lifting a bite

    How to serve cavatelli and broccoli

    Cavatelli and Broccoli is a quick, filling meal for a cold winter day, done in less than 30 minutes.

    That is why it should be simple and without too many ingredients.

    If you want a complete meal, you can add sausages, but do not add chicken.

    Traditionally, we never add chicken to a pasta dish or pizza in Italy.

    Chicken is too refined for these originally peasant dishes!

    Cavatelli and broccoli served on a dish and a fork lifting a bite

    Substitutions

    You can use the same procedure with different types of broccoli:

    • Cauliflower: you can also use cauliflower instead of broccoli, but broccoli is much better
    • Broccoli rabe or Friarielly: they are similar to broccoli but with a bitter flavor
    • Romanesco cabbage is a cross between cauliflower and broccoli with beautiful fractal florets.

    You can make the same with regular pasta or gluten-free pasta. However, short and chunky pasta like cavatelli and orecchiette is a better combination.

    Orecchiette with broccoli is another classic Italian dish

    romanesco cabbage

    Variations

    Other variations of this same recipe are:

    • Spicy - add chili pepper flakes with the garlic and stir-fry them
    • Sausage - you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage.
    • Chicken - NEVER, if you want to keep it authentic Italian, never add chicken to a pasta dish.

    Equipment

    There is no need for special equipment, just a large pan to boil the broccoli and the pasta and a large frying pan to combine the dish.

    As you need to drain the broccoli without throwing away the water, you can use a pasta pan with a strainer insert to easily remove the broccoli.

    Alternatively, you can use a colander strainer spoon.

    Drain the broccoli with a drain insert to preserve the boiling water

    Storage

    Like any pasta dish, this pasta is best eaten immediately.

    If you have leftovers, I suggest mixing them with an egg and frying them.

    That is what Italians do with pasta leftover: Fried pasta: Pasta a frittata

    Pasta a frittata Italian fried pasta

    Top tips

    • If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.
    • Once you remove the broccoli from the boiling pan, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta
    • Do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.
    • The water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock or heavy cream are not necessary
    • You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.
    • Add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.

    Adding sausage:

    • you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage
    Cavatelli and broccoli served on a dish

    If you are making this Cavatelli and broccoli the Italian way, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.

    Cavatelli and broccoli on a plate

    📋 Italian Cavatelli And Broccoli (No Stock)

    5 from 1 vote
    Laura Tobin
    Servings 4 people
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Print Recipe Save Saved! Pin Recipe
    To make creamy Cavatelli and broccoli the Italian way, you need to keep it simple. The main ingredients are only three, Cavatelli, broccoli, garlic; salt, and olive oil for seasoning, served with Parmesan.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Pasta pan 8-Quart 3-Piece
    • All-Clad Fry Pan
    • Wooden Turner Set

    Ingredients
     

    • 1 lb Cavatelli or Orecchiette
    • 1 head Broccoli
    • 2 cloves peeled garlic cloves
    • 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon salt in the boiling water
    • 3 dried hot chili optional, the quantity depends on how spicy they are

    Instructions
     

    Boiling the broccoli

    • Bring to boil a large pan of water with a tablespoon of salt
      1 tablespoon salt
    • Boil for 10 minutes the broccoli that has been rinsed and cut into florets
      1 head Broccoli

    Preparing the broccoli sauce

    • While the broccoli is boiling, stir fry two chopped garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil
      2 cloves peeled garlic cloves, 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • If you like spicy food, add some chili peppers
      3 dried hot chili
    • Remove the broccoli without draining the water
    • Keep the water boiling and add some more if necessary
    • When the broccoli is ready, add them to the frying pan
    • Stir fry with the garlic and the chili peppers

    Boiling the pasta

    • Boil the Cavatelli in the same water as the broccoli
      1 lb Cavatelli
    • If the water stops boiling when you add the cavatelli, cover the pan until the water boils again, then remove the lid

    Finalizing the dish

    • Once the Cavatelli have released some starch into the water, take a cup
    • Pour the water over the broccoli and let them simmer
    • While the Cavatelli are boiling, the smaller broccoli florets will slightly break down, forming a creamy sauce
    • Add the cavatelli and stir until the sauce and the pasta are combined
    • Serve Cavatelli with broccoli sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino

    Video

    Notes

    • If you like broccoli with a tender but firm texture, boil them for only 10 minutes. If you like them soft, boil them for 15 to 20 minutes, although they will fall apart.
    • Once you remove the broccoli from the boiling pan, if too much water has evaporated, add some more water and bring it to a boil before adding the pasta
    • Do not leave the lid over the boiling pasta pot, as eventually, the water will spill over.
    • The water with the starch from the cavatelli will make the sauce creamy. That is why the chicken stock is not necessary
    • You want to have some broken creamy broccoli to form a sauce and some firm and chunky florets to give some texture.
    • Add chili pepper if you like it spicy or sausage for a more complete meal, but there is no need to add any stock or cream.
    Adding sausage:
    • you can mix chopped sausages in the pan with broccoli to make it a complete meal. They should be previously cooked in the oven as they will not cook enough in the pan with the broccoli. You can also cook the sausage in the frying pan, then add the broccoli if you want to flavor the sauce with the fat from the sausage.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 567kcalCarbohydrates: 95gProtein: 19gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 1802mgPotassium: 740mgFiber: 8gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 947IUVitamin C: 136mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Please consider Leaving a Review!
    important notes on ingredients

    More Pasta with vegetables

    • Pasta With Creamy Sicilian Pistachio Pesto Sauce
      Pasta With Creamy Sicilian Pistachio Pesto Sauce
    • Pasta and potatoes hold on a fork
      One Pot Pasta And Potatoes Recipe
    • Sicilian baked eggplant pasta Anelletti
      Vegetarian Baked Eggplant Pasta Anelletti
    • How to make pasta better than this
      38 Tips On How To Cook Perfect Pasta Like An Italian (Video)

    Your Guardian Chef Mug Collection

    Reader Interactions

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Laura Giunta Tobin

    Hi, I’m Laura. Welcome to my blog! While many talk about Italian food, I’ve lived it firsthand. Here, I share real Italian home cooking, just as it’s made in Italy. Won’t you join me?

    More →

    Popular posts

    • Stuffed Round Courgettes
      Stuffed Round Courgettes - Round Zucchini
    • Italian gelato recipe vanilla, chocolate and pistachio balls in a serving bowl
      Italian Gelato Recipe (Vanilla, Chocolate and Pistachio)
    • Pasta a frittata Italian fried pasta
      Pasta a Frittata: Italian Fried Pasta
    • Chiacchiare Italian fried cookies
      Chiacchiere - Italian Fried Cookies

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Acceptable use policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About
    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Your Guardian Chef

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.