Broccoli Pasta Bake
Penne and broccoli in a mustardy cheddar sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and baked until golden.
Photograph credit: Grilled Broccoli & Cauliflower Pasta by Mack Male · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Flickr · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Compare it with a macaroni cheese and the difference is the broccoli: it adds colour, a little bitterness and a way of making the dish feel less heavy. The sauce is the same cheese sauce, made the same way.
Cook the penne for 8 minutes, and drop the broccoli florets into the same pan for the last 3 minutes, so that both are drained together. Both cook again in the oven, so stop while the pasta is a little too firm. Drain the broccoli well. Wet florets thin the sauce.
Make the sauce by melting the butter, stirring in the flour for 1 minute, and adding the milk a splash at a time, stirring until smooth and thick. Take it off the heat, add three-quarters of the cheddar and the mustard, and stir until melted.
Fold the pasta and broccoli into the sauce and tip into a baking dish. Scatter over the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs. Bake at 200°C / 390°F for 15 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges bubble. If your oven runs hot, check at 12 minutes.
Broccoli Pasta Bake: Step by Step
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Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Boil the penne for 8 minutes, adding the broccoli for the last 3 minutes. Drain well.
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Melt the butter, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then add the milk gradually and stir for 5 minutes until thick. Off the heat, stir in 110 g of the cheddar, the mustard and salt.
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Fold the pasta and broccoli into the sauce and tip into a baking dish.
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Scatter with the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs and bake for 15 minutes until golden.
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A Few Pointers
- Drain the broccoli well.
- Stop the pasta while still firm.
- If your oven runs hot, check at 12 minutes.
- Add the mustard for depth.
What to Serve With It
Green salad · Garlic bread · Tomato salad · Cold lemonade
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Braised Red Cabbage, Dairy-Free Scones, Duck Fat Roast Potatoes.
Keeping and Reheating
Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat in a 180°C / 355°F oven for 15 minutes.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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