Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

by Anna Chwistek

Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta.
Pasta with garlic sautéed broccoli, walnuts and a brown butter sauce. It’s easy to make, broccoli-loaded and ideal for busy weeknights or on a date night. A hearty dinner with simple pantry ingredients in a luxurious jacket. Straightforward and immensely flavorful. You’ll love this great combination of broccoli and crunchy walnuts. Bonus? It comes together in about 20 minutes.

serving dumplings | Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

First, we make a brown butter sauce that’s studded with walnuts. To that we add broccoli and sauté it for a couple of minutes, this way we’ll preserve its delicious taste and crisp-tender texture. We add garlic, balsamic vinegar, sage and red pepper flakes. Then we stir in the pasta and toss until each bite is slicked with a rich and buttery sauce. The result is amazing, forcing your taste buds to try to keep up.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.

serving dumplings | Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

RECIPE NOTES

  • You can use broccoli rabe instead of the small broccoli florets
  • Swap walnuts for pine nuts, hazelnuts or sunflower seeds
  • As for the pasta, if you can’t find shells, substitute for orecchiette or any of your favorite shaped pasta that can trap and hold the sauce when it travels from plate to mouth

serving dumplings | Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

Recipe Video

Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

Yield: serves 2

Brown Butter Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

brown butter broccoli and walnut pasta
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200 g/7 oz shaped pasta, like shells or orecchiette
  • 1/2 cup/60 g walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 small broccoli
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 60 g/4 tbsp salted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup/50 ml olive oil
  • spices: 1 tsp each: smoked paprika, dried sage, crushed chili flakes, salt, black pepper
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • grated parmesan, for serving
  • crushed chili flakes and black pepper, for serving

Instructions

    1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling generously salted water. Just before pasta is al dente, scoop out 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Drain.
    2. Meanwhile, cut the broccoli in florets, the cut the florets into small bite-sized pieces. Cut the stems into pieces roughly the same size as the florets. Peel the main stem from the broccoli, and finely dice.
    3. Heat half of the butter in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Stir the butter constantly to keep it moving. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and sizzle. Keep stirring, about 3-5 minutes, until the butter starts to turn golden brown. It will smell intensely buttery and nutty.
    4. Add walnuts and olive oil, cook, stirring often, until nuts are golden brown and the bottom of the pan is browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
    5. Add broccoli and spices. Sauté, tossing frequently until crispy-tender, for about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
    6. Add 1/4 cup cooking water to butter sauce. Stir in the remaining butter and add balsamic vinegar.
    7. Add pasta to the sauce, stir to combine and remove from heat. Add more pasta water if needed.
    8. Serve sprinkled with extra chili flakes, black pepper and Parmesan. Enjoy!

Notes

Calories Per Serving: 713 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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© Anna Chwistek
Category: Pasta | Rice | Barley

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16 comments

  • Delicious, your blog is one of the best discoveries I’ve made 2021. This recipe was fantastic. Made it with broccoli rabe which I blanched before following your recipe

    Reply

    • Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try and your kind comment! Happy cooking!

      Reply

  • This is delicious! What a great recipe. I added scallops to mine it get a little more protein, but other than that I followed the recipe to a T. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Sounds amazing! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for making it!

      Reply

  • Swimming in olive oil and butter. Half a stick of butter + 1/4 cup olive oil for 7 oz of pasta?

    Reply

  • Amazing! My wife and I immediately said to each other; “keeper”! With the headiness of the sauce and how rich it is, I might add some lemon or lemon zest next time, just to cut through. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  • This was a delicious recipe. I watch your recipe videos regularly and finally made one. I made this recipe just like you posted. The only thing I would change is add more broccoli. So so good!!

    Reply

  • This was fabulous – as all your recipes are. We really enjoy your use of spices and offering of substitutions.

    Reply

  • The smoked paprika overwhelmed the other flavors and the dish did not look anything like the photograph (it was basically orange). I’ll try again without the paprika.

    Reply

    • Hi Paula, you can try to add 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika next time. Let me know how it turned out for you, happy cooking!

      Reply

  • Thoughts on substituting slivered almonds for the walnuts?

    Reply

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