This Broccoli and Chorizo Pasta is a quick and easy mid-week meal packed with flavor and ready in just 20 minutes.
The punchy chorizo sausage is key here. It gives this easy pasta dish so much flavor. It gives off its delicious paprika and garlic spiced oil as it is fried. This oil is then used to make an almost instant sauce that coats the spaghetti.
The broccoli is cooked with the pasta and adds a great earthy taste to the dish. Serve this broccoli chorizo pasta with a side salad and some bread for a quick and delicious dinner.
Pasta is always a winner, and this dish has it all! Some nice green veggies, flavourful chorizo, garlic, olive oil, pasta, and parmesan. We are talking about all the good things here.
It makes a great midweek meal, and because it has broccoli in it, you don't even need a side dish of veggies! You can serve it on its own or adds some bread and maybe a salad. So good and so easy!
About Chorizo
Most grocery stores stock Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo, both have excellent flavor, and you can use either for the broccoli chorizo pasta! So use whichever you have or whichever is easier to find. But if you have a choice, here are the differences.
Mexican Chorizo:
- Mexican Chorizo is raw and soft. It looks more like ground meat.
- It is usually pork-based, although it can be a pork-beef mixture.
- Heavily flavored with garlic and chili.
- Spicer than Spanish Chorizo.
- Sold in the fresh sausage section of the grocery store, near the breakfast links.
Spanish chorizo:
- A cured or semi-cured sausage.
- Contains chopped pork.
- Flavored with garlic and dried and smoked red peppers (smoky pimentón).
- It doesn't include much chili and tends to be milder than Mexican Chorizo.
- It is sold in the cured meats section of most grocery stores, near the ham and bacon.
The photos of this Broccoli Chorizo pasta have been taken using Mexican Chorizo, but you can interchange them.
Which pasta to choose
This is an oil-based sauce, so you want to choose a long thin pasta like spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, or fusilli lunghi. The long strands are easily coated in the richly flavored oil.
If you want to use a pasta shape, avoid anything tubular and go for something like fusilli, orecchiette, or farfalle (bowtie pasta).
Cooking the broccoli
The broccoli is cooked in the pasta water.
You can use fresh or frozen broccoli in this recipe, but note the different cooking times and adapt accordingly - fresh broccoli florets will need 3-4 minutes in the pasta water, whereas frozen broccoli will only need 2 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Get the chorizo crispy. The crispy chorizo gives the finished dish texture. To do this, cook the chorizo in olive oil over medium heat. It will crisp up and release its paprika and garlic flavored oil into the pan - this is the basis of the sauce.
- Season your pasta water well. The salt in the pasta cooking water will season the pasta as it cooks, giving you a much more flavorsome dish. I recommend 1 tablespoon of salt for a quart of water, enough for a pound of pasta.
- Before you drain your pasta, reserve two cups of pasta cooking water, this will bring the sauce together and allow the oil to slick the pasta with flavor. You won't need a full two cups, but it's better to have saved too much and not need it than to have not saved enough.
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
What to serve with Broccoli Chorizo Pasta
This is a complete meal! It has protein, veggies, and carbs. So you can serve it as it is. I often just add some garlic bread and maybe a side salad.
If you want to make it more of a meal, maybe add an appetizer like or a dessert like an easy chocolate mousse.
What wine to drink with Broccoli Chorizo Pasta
The rich chorizo brings so much paprika and garlic to the pasta that you want to pair it with something light yet juicy.
For those who prefer white wine, a Verdejo, dry Reisling, or Viognier are all excellent choices.
A light Rioja or a Beaujolais is an excellent choice when it comes to red wine, as would a chilled Pinot Noir or Gamay.
Enjoy x
If you try this Broccoli Chorizo Pasta, please leave a 🌟star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that the recipe is trustworthy.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Broccoli Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt (Note 1)
- 12 oz long pasta (Note 2)
- 1 small head broccoli cut into florets (Note 5)
- ¼ cup olive oil (Note 4)
- 2 cups raw chorizo sausage (Note 3)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- salt and pepper
- parmesan for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to a boil, and add the salt. Add the pasta and set a timer for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time.1 tablespoon salt12 oz long pasta
- When the pasta has 2-3 minutes left to cook, add the prepared broccoli. (see note 3)1 small head broccoli
- Before draining the pasta, reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
While the pasta is cooking
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the chorizo, use a spatula to break it up in the pan, and fry for 5 minutes, occasionally turning, until golden and crispy. (see note 2 if you have a cured chorizo sausage).¼ cup olive oil2 cups raw chorizo sausage
- Remove the chorizo from the frying pan, keeping the oil behind.
- Add the minced garlic, paprika, smoked paprika, Italian herbs, and pepper flakes (if using). Give this a good stir and then immediately add a ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid to the pan and bring to a boil.4 cloves garlic½ teaspoon paprika½ teaspoon smoked paprika½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add the drained pasta and broccoli and toss to coat the pasta well in the oily sauce. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add ¼ cup more of the cooking water and stir the pasta to coat. Test your pasta. It should be perfectly cooked and well seasoned. Add extra salt and pepper as needed.salt and pepper
- Add the chorizo and any oil that has collected on the plate.
- Serve the pasta, adding parmesan if you want.parmesan
Notes
- It seems like a lot of salt, but don't reduce it. It is what seasons the pasta inside as well as outside. It makes so much difference I promise.
- A long pasta like spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, or fusilli lunghi works perfectly for this recipe! If you want to use a pasta shape, avoid anything tubular and go for something like fusilli, orecchiette, or farfalle (bowtie pasta).
- If you want to use a cured or semi-cured Spanish-style chorizo sausage, then slice this into thick disks before frying in the olive oil.
- Depending on your chorizo you may need to add extra olive oil to your pan.
- Cook fresh broccoli for 3 minutes in the pasta water, and cook frozen broccoli for just two minutes. If you like very soft broccoli, you can add an extra minute.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Hazel Palmer says
Going to try it tonight will give review. From Marondera Zimbabwe Africa
Greta says
I made this for lunch today and everyone loved it. I recommend it. Super delicious
Sherrie says
This was delicious! Pasta makes my heart happy and I could eat this on repeat! What a great flavor combo!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so happy you enjoyed it Sherrie.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Cx
Gen says
I’ve made broccoli & sausage pasta before but never broccoli & chorizo - it was amazing. I’m hooked. We will definitely be making this again.
Claire McEwen says
Oh that makes me smile so much!
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Cx
Shelby says
My kids love broccoli so this was a huge hit. And I couldn't believe how quickly it came together! Made a great dish to whip up before running out the door for after-school activities.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I hear that loud and clear!! There is always someone running out of the door for something in our house too!
So pleased you enjoyed it.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Cx
Jennifer says
I could happily eat your pasta dishes every night of the week! This was another winner, and you're right, good chorizo is the key!
Claire McEwen says
I would eat pasta pretty much ever night of the week too!
So happy you enjoyed it.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Cx
Disappointed says
No good, very bland. I used the second type of chorizo mentioned (the cured one) so maybe that's why? But I found it honestly a bit unpleasant. I would recommend extra garlic, and having a lot of parmesan on hand if you're going to try this
Claire McEwen says
So sorry you didn't enjoy the pasta.
With all the garlic, paprika and chorizo it shouldn't be bland.
Did you add the full tablespoon of salt to the pasta? Under-salting pasta water definitely makes a difference to pasta dishes.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment. Hopefully you find other recipes to enjoy.
Cx
Alex says
Party The flavor in my mouth! What a great recipe and flavor combination I love it! I'll be making this all summer.
Sachi says
Broccoli and chorizo is such a great combination! We loved this recipe. I swapped in spaghetti squash for pasta.
Robin says
Great flavor combination! Will make this pasta again for sure!