Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato and Broccoli Pasta
A simple and flavorful vegetarian pasta dish made with sun-dried tomatoes, toasty broccoli, goat cheese and red pepper-infused olive oil.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Had I typed up this post on Monday as intended, it would have been full of rants and whines. โHow come cars donโt always turn on when we need them to?โ I would have asked. โWhy do little brothers have to make big mistakes, and will that giant pile of dirty laundry just wash itself already?!โ
While weโre playing this game, why canโt I live in a world where days expand to fit workloads, and first dates are better than awkward? Rant, rant, rant.
Fortunately, I got all of that out of my system in conversations with friends and family. What I am left with is a deep sense of gratitude. Iโm so lucky to have good friends that I can always call on for help (as much as I donโt want to ask). Iโm also thankful for parents who empathize rather than chastise.
If you must know, hereโs what happened: I might have (maybe) ignored my low gas warning light (for a little too long) and run out of gas without knowing itโฆ so when I went to move my car, it wouldnโt budge from its rather unfortunate parking spot. My car got towed while I was on the phone with AAA. May Monday go down in history as the day I spent $200 on a tank of gas.
I also owe a big thank you to you, dear readers. Thank you for coming to my little corner of the web. Your visits and comments never go unappreciated and I am perpetually astonished that you cook this dummyโs recipes. Your encouraging words are all the motivation I need to keep on blogging. Furthermore, your visits and those not-so-cute ads in the sidebar helped me pay for that unexpected expense out of pocket. Itโs not much, but making money doing what I love to do is a gift. So thanks for bailing me out, friends! Your support means the world to me.
Now that the car fiasco is behind us, letโs talk about this recipe. It called my name the first time I flipped through Susie Middletonโs The Fresh & Green Table. The words โspicyโ and โgarlickyโ caught my attention, but what really captured it is the cooking method. She quickly infuses olive oil with red pepper flakes and garlic, reserving it to toss with crisp, cooked broccoli at the end. Itโs also rather creamy without being loaded with heavy cream since goat cheese melts into a rich sauce when mixed with warm pasta and leftover cooking water. Genius, right?
PrintSpicy Sun-Dried Tomato and Broccoli Pasta
Simple and flavorful, this pasta is made with toasty broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy goat cheese and garlicky red pepper-infused olive oil.
Ingredients
- ยฝ pound dried whole wheat bow-tie or spiral-shaped pasta
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if necessary
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (around 5 garlic cloves)
- ยผ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 ยฝ pound broccoli (about 4 medium, tightly packed florets), chopped into small, bite-sized pieces
- Sea salt or kosher salt
- ยฝ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 2 to 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled while still cold (around ยฝ cup)
- โ cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or Parmesan)
- 15 pitted kalamata olives, chopped (optional)
- ยฝ small lemon, juiced
- optional add-ins: 2 cups or 1 can cooked chickpeas, drained, and/or a couple handfuls of baby arugula (great with leftovers)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place a colander in the sink with a glass liquid measuring cup or heat-safe bowl next to it. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, as directed on the package instructions. Remove the pot from heat and ladle/pour about 1 cup of the pasta water in the glass measuring cup. Drain the pasta in the colander and let it rest, covered loosely with a pot lid or plate.
- Place a small, heat-safe bowl near the stove. In a large cast-iron or non-stick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the red pepper flakes and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic begins to simmer. Cook for about 30 seconds more to infuse the oil with spicy, garlicky flavor, but do not let the garlic brown. Pour and scrape the seasoned oil into the heatproof bowl and set aside. Wipe out the pan with a clean kitchen rag or paper towel.
- Return the pan to the stove. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-low until shimmering. Add the broccoli and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli has shrunk to a single layer in the pan and turned bright green, and most have some browning on them (about ten minutes). Donโt quit cooking prematurely here; you want the broccoli to be nice and toasty.
- Get out the panโs lid or a cookie sheet and keep it handy. Add the sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Measure out โ cup pasta water (keep the rest for later) and pour it into the pan. Cover the pan with your lid or cookie sheet and continue cooking until the water has simmered down to almost nothing, about 15 to 30 seconds. Uncover and remove the pan from heat.
- Add the drained pasta to the pan and drizzle in all of the infused oil. Give it a stir, then add the goat cheese and most of the Parmigiano. Stir until everything is well distributed. Add another 1 to 2 tablespoons pasta water, the chopped olives and lemon juice, and stir until the goat cheese loosens up and gets creamier. Season to taste with salt and add a tablespoon more pasta water or additional goat cheese if youโd like it to be more creamy. If it seems dry at all, add a little splash of olive oil and mix well. Mix in the chickpeas and/or arugula, if using.
- Serve right away, garnished with the remaining Parmigiano.
Notes
- Adapted from The Fresh & Green Table by Susie Middleton.
- This pasta keeps well in the fridge for a few days. I treated leftovers like pasta salad, serving them cold with arugula and an extra squeeze of lemon juice.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Just wanted to say that this is my partner and my favourite pasta recipe and my probably my partnerโs favourite recipe in general. It is so good! We always make it with chickpeas and it fills us up so well. I love how many ingredients there are in the dish so you donโt have to use too much pasta. Everyone I make this for absolutely loves it. Thanks for introducing it to us!
Made this for my dinner today andโฆ Well, I canโt describe how good it tasted. I used feta (didnโt have goat cheese) and it was still delicious. Iโm vegetarian, but my dad believes that itโs better to eat poison than no meat for dinner, butโฆ He said that perhaps I could make it for all family one day. Umh, Iโm still not sure itโs possibleโฆ Wow.
Thank you. :)
Thank you, Elza! So glad you enjoyed the pasta. :)
Slowly making our way through the entire recipe collection lol.
This was the first one I wasnโt 100% five stars on, but I know it was just the goat cheese. The only cheese Iโm just not a fan of. But the rest of the flavors were awesome and Iโm still doing 5 stars because a) I know if I just swap out feta Iโd completely love this (just wanted to give goat cheese a fair shot) and b) all three kids asked for seconds!
We will definitely eat this again, thanks for another great recipe!
I made your dish this evening for my family and they absolutely LOVED IT!!! There were so many flavors that blended together perfectly in this meal. My 15-year-old said โI donโt like olivesโ, but she ate every bite on her plate. I loved that you included so many healthy veggies for little ones to enjoy. I will be making this again.
Hooray! Thank you, Reese! :)
I just made this and thought it was very good. I forgot to buy a lemon, but will try that next time. The sun-dried tomatoes really lift this above the usual. And of course, so does the goat cheese! I am looking forward to the leftovers for lunch! Thank you.
Awesome! Thank you, Julie!
Wow! crazy good:)))
Thank you!
Thanks, Cecilia! :)
Iโm not a fan of goat cheese, so I was going to leave it out altogether, then decided last minute to whip up some cashew cream instead (1/2c raw cashews, 1/4c water, pinch salt blended until creamy) to give it that creamy consistency that I would me missing out on had I left out the cheese, and HOLY COW, it was like vegan Alfredo with a sun dried tomato โkickโ to it.
We also used brown rice pasta instead of whole wheat and find that it more closely resembles the texture and taste of regular pasta.
Just thought Iโd give my two cents for any vegans out there! Iโm not vegan, so I added a pinch of parmesan to the finished product, but could have definitely left it out. Making it again tonight!
Ohhh, great idea! Thanks, Alanna!
Hey Kate,
Made this for dinner last night. It was really tasty, I was just not a fan of goat-cheese in this dish. I think feta wouldโve worked better.
Still a satisfying, healthy and quick weeknight dinner and great for leftovers lunch.
Cheers,
D
I made this for lunch. I followed the recipe exactly and added the olives. Its an excellent dish. The saltiness of the olives, the hint of lemon and goat cheese come together tastefully. Thanks Kate!
Youโre welcome, Claudia! Iโm happy you enjoyed it.
Iโve made this dish several times and it turned out great every time. It has become one of my go-to dishes for week dinners.
Next time Iโm post a picture in instagram ;)
Thank you, Catarina! Iโll keep an eye out for your pasta on Instagram! Yay. :)
Made this tonight and it was delicious, super excited to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Thanks, Amanda!
I love this dish, made it several times now, and overtime switched to millet and roasting broccoli in the oven. It looks less pretty with millet than with pasta, but I am a fan of this grain and all the flavors together. I also always add chickpeas.
I made this tonight and followed the recipe EXACTLY. It was fantastic! You could serve this in a restaurant and I loved the infused garlic thing. Donโt skip that step. Thanks for the great recipe. I just stumbled on your sight and Iโm trying lots of things.
I made this tonight for my mum and impossibly fussy stepdad (subbed goatโs cheese for crumbled feta, and added some chicken on top at the end for him because he refuses to eat โrabbit foodโ :P ). He said hands down it was the best meal heโs had in ages, and asked me to cook it again ASAP, which has never happened before in our house!! (He even called dibs on the leftovers to take for lunch tomorrow!) Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe that brought so much happiness to me and my family :) I can definitely see this becoming a staple weeknight dinner in our house! xx
This dish is one of my favorites ever! Do you have nutritional information (calories, fat grams, etc.)?
Hi Debra! Iโm sorry, I donโt offer nutrition facts yet, but you can always run recipes through myfitnesspal.com to calculate nutrition facts. That way, you can adjust the recipe to match how you made it.
I tried this out but I couldnโt get hold of bow-tie pasta so I used spaghetti instead and it turned out great!
Iโm glad! Thanks, Sabreen.
made this for dinner last night. It was wonderful. A bit tricky getting the timing right first time but I think it will be quick and easy from now on. This will be a definite go to recipe. The market didnโt have any arugula but I bet that will be a great addition. Next time I think I will add mushrooms and maybe some fresh peas.
Thanks! Now I am going to stalk your page :)
Thank you, Judy! Iโm so glad you enjoyed it.
Made this tonight for my partner and his dad (both if who eat meat) and everyone absolutely loved it! Added mushrooms and the chickpeas and used feta instead of goats cheese (couldnโt find goats cheese at my supermarket). Will definitely be making this again :)
Thank you, Chloe! Iโm so glad it was a hit. :)
Made this recipe last night. My wife and I loved it! The combination of olives and sun dried tomatoes works so well with the lemon and nutty broccoli. Itโs recipes like this that make me forget all about meat.
Thanks, Mike! Iโm happy the two of you enjoyed.
How many does this serve? Thank you!! :)
Hi, Sky! This should serve at least 4 people.
It is so delicious!!!! So delicious!!
Haha! Thank you, Kim!
I made this for the first time about a year ago and since then have been making it every week. Itโs become a household favourite as the balance of all the ingredients is just perfect.
Thank you, for your review! I am happy it has become such a staple for you.
I just made this last night. It was AMAZING. I doubled the garlic and red pepper flakes for a teensy bit more kick. Thanks for sharing!!!
Love to hear that! Thank you.
I have a new go to extra broccoli in the fridge recipe! Another winner winner broccoli dinner !!
Thanks, Sue! I appreciate the review.
This is horrendous, confusing, and needlessly complex.
You seriously wrote โ1 1/2 pound broccoli?โ I made this with 1.5 lbs of broccoliโฆ.
Iโm sorry you felt that way, Roy!
Kate โ thank you so very much for your easy and tasty recipes. I cooked this for dinner last night as a trial run for when my vegetarian son comes home for Christmas and it was delicious! Iโll admit I did add shredded chicken for my husbandโs benefit since our son is not home yet :)
Thank you for making the holidays that much less stressful and more enjoyable. Best wishes to your and your family for 2019!
Iโm glad you loved it! I hope your son loves it too. Thanks so much for sharing, Eva!
I made it tonight without goat cheese still delicious great recipe everyone loves it thanks!
Youโre welcome, Stacey!
The flavors really come together in this recipe. Thanks Kate!
Youโre welcome, Eesha!
Awesome recipe. Instead of adding the pasta water, I used 1/2 pasta water and a Lemon Mediterranean salad dressing.
Made this tonight for dinner. Easy and Delish. Thanks for sharing.
Youโre welcome, Kara! I appreciate the review.
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious. Next time we might try it with artichoke hearts, though maybe we shouldnโt mess with perfection. :)
That sounds like an interesting combination! Let me know what you think when you try it, Emily.
THis was delicious! I didnโt have enough goat cheese and added a small hunk of diced mozzarella and a pat of butter. So good!
Yum! The whole family loved this one, and said so multiple times.
I enjoyed the mix of fresh flavors, and appreciate the very clear directions. It turned out perfectly and is definitely one Iโll make again.
I made this fantastic recipe last night. Seldom does a recipe really deliver like it promises but this one does! It was SO delicious and unique. I love the tang it has from the sundried tomatoes, olives, feta and lemon. Wow. Great instructions as well. Thank you!
Another delicious C&K recipe. Wasnโt sure about the olives but nice addition to this pasta. I added a bit of kale at the end as I didnโt have arugula; I think the bitterness of the arugula is a better choice and Iโll be sure to have it next time I make this. Thanks Kate.
Delicious! I roasted the broccoli in the oven rather than on the stove top, just because I find it easier and love the deep flavor it gives. Thanks for another great recipe!
This was really good. I used brown rice rotini, added some chopped curly kale in with the broccoli, and didnโt have any goat or feta cheese so I left it out and added a bit more pasta water and parmesan. Threw in a can of chickpeas and what a tasty, filling meal! The recipe is from a while back but I couldnโt find a review from anyone who made it so I figured Iโd weigh in
I have been making this recipe for awhile now. We have it about once a month. Itโs a good recipe with nice flavor and easy to make later in the week after weekend grocery trips since broccoli is pretty hardy. My only change is to roast the broccoli.
Hi! My New Year resolution was to make a vegetarian meal every week and your recipes have made me completely enjoy what I thought would be a chore for me!
Goat cheese is one of the few foods I donโt like. Iโm wondering what cheese I could use as a substitute in recipes such as this one, where the cheese makes the creamy sauce.
Thanks!
I loved this!! I didnโt have sun dried tomatoes so I used red pepper and I used feta instead of goat cheese. It was Amazing! I have already shared this with 2 friends- and I just made it! Itโs a keeper Thank you!!
Youโre welcome!
I love your recipes so much they are always delicious! I think this one will also be delicious, I just found all the steps to be confusing. I cook a lot and can follow recipes no problem but something about this one made me a bit cross eyed. Perhaps a review and simplify would help. Thanks for all the amazing recipes!!
Iโm sorry you find this one hard to follow, Natasha. I appreciate your feedback.
Any time I had some ingredients that I want to use up, I search a recipe with the ingredients and your recipes are usually the ones I go for! This was so delicious, thank you so much!
Youโre welcome! Iโm glad you enjoyed it, Ezgi.
Absolutely loved this! Thank you for a great addition to my list of meatless pasta :) If I could make a suggestion โ I wasnโt sure what to do with the garlic as the recipe did not state if it should be discarded or tossed in with the pasta along with the infused oil. Perhaps it was obvious to other readers but not to me. I left it out, but ended up sprinkling it on my plate โ by then they were nice crunchy bits of garlic!
Had to find a way to use the leftover kalamatas I bought for your orange orzo salad and this was just wow! Absolutely knocked my socks off
Great to hear, Rachel! Thank you for your review.
Had broccoli and needed a main course recipe, so I always look at your recipes. Another winner โ thanks:)
Youโre welcome, Felice! I appreciate your review.
This was delicious! My kitchen is poorly designed so I roasted the broccoli in the oven to prevent the smoke alarm from going off โ 20 minutes at 190C.
Dear Cookie and Kate,
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I made it for a dinner with my friend, and while she has not been too impressed with things I have cooked for her so far, she took seconds and thirds from this pasta (and asked for the recipe)!
It is very well thought-out and made for a wonderful evening.
I look forward to leafing further through your recipes!
Youโre welcome, Sabine! I canโt wait to hear what you think of other recipes your try.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Iโve made it several times now and it is so yummy and a wonderful comfort food. Iโm already craving it again just writing about it!
Youโre welcome, CG!
Just made this and eating it out of the pan. So good! A new way for me to cook broccoli. Will be adding your vegan parmesan too.
Wow! What took me so long before making this โฆ yummy.
Works with gluten free pasta too.