The creamiest broccoli cheddar pasta bake is an easy, meat-free weeknight dinner recipe the entire family will love.
Ingredients
Full recipe and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Butter.
- Flour.
- Milk.
- Cream. Heavy/Whipping/Half and half.
- Garlic powder.
- Cheddar cheese.
- Parmesan cheese. Use a vegetarian alternative if required.
- Fresh Thyme.
- Broccoli.
- Salt and pepper.
- Pasta. Any short pasta shape will work. I prefer Fusilli, Orecchiette and macaroni.
How to make broccoli cheddar pasta bake
- Make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a deep pan or saucepan then whisk in the flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes then whisk in the garlic powder and thyme. Add the milk, stirring/whisking continuously, until smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened and the flour has cooked through. Stir in the cream, grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the broccoli and pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 7-10 minutes. The pasta should be quite firm still as it will continue cooking in the oven. Add the broccoli florets and cook for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water and drain.
- Assemble and bake: Combine the pasta and broccoli with the cheese sauce. Add a little pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Transfer to a baking dish and top with grated cheddar cheese. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5 minutes then serve.
Can I make this ahead?
The pasta bake can be assembled and refrigerated for a day in advance or frozen for up to 3 months, before baking. I would suggest freezing in foil containers to make for easy baking from frozen (no thawing needed). Leftover baked pasta can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheated in a hot oven.
What to serve with broccoli cheddar pasta bake
Pasta bake recipes
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 cup cream
- 2 tsp thyme
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese + 1 cup for topping
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 500 g (1lb) pasta
- 500 g (1lb) broccoli florets
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 7-10 minutes. The pasta should be quite firm still as it will continue cooking in the oven. Add the broccoli florets and cook for the last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water and drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a deep pan or saucepan then whisk in the flour.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes then whisk in the garlic powder and thyme.
- Add the milk, stirring/whisking continuously, until smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened and the flour has cooked through.
- Stir in the cream, grated cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the pasta and broccoli with the cheese sauce. Add a little pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Transfer to a baking dish and top with grated cheddar cheese. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5 minutes then serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 521mg | Potassium: 472mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1303IU | Vitamin C: 76mg | Calcium: 357mg | Iron: 3mg
Made this recipe tonight and it was delicious! Will definitely be making again. Thanks for posting such an awesome recipe!
Used one-third gruyere/two-thirds cheddar. Didn’t have cream but half-and-half worked.
Milk was a mix of oatmeal/almond. Thyme was dried (so one-third the amount). And I didn’t have enough broccoli so used half asparagus. After all that, loved it! Looking forward to making again, thanks for sharing.
PS: I added the parmesan on top just before baking, I think I missed that direction.
Loved it. Used one-third gruyère/two-thirds cheddar. Didn’t have cream but half-and-half worked. For milk I used oatmeal/almond. We didn’t have fresh thyme, so I used dried (one-third the amount). And we didn’t have enough broccoli, so I used half asparagus and it came out great!
Quick question, when does the parmesan come in? I added it to the cheese I put on top just before baking. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This recipe is definitely a comfort classic and a big hit with all my boys! Delicious, decedent, and quick to whip up, it totally fit the bill for my easy weeknight dinner search. This recipe is a fantastic base and could easily be modified with meat and veggies of your choosing. I followed it exactly and was very happy with the results. I divided it up among two pans to have dinner in the freezer for another night. It’s a winner!
Hi, I was just wondering if tis recipe would work using creme fraiche instead of cream.
Thanks
Absolutely!
What temperature oven? I assume 350 but the recipe doesn’t state.
Recipe has been updated.