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by Jessica October 6, 2021
This skillet ricotta pasta is a perfect weeknight meal! Silky smooth ricotta sauce that comes together in minutes, coats your favorite noodles and gets tossed with roasted broccoli. Easy as can be!
I’m on team #easydinner this week!
Getting back into the swing of things this season has been crazy in our house, so weeknight dinners have been as simple as can be. Bonus points if it’s something we all love and can be made in 30 minutes or less!
Because here’s the thing – this is SO embarrassingly easy. I mean, majorly easy.
The entire dish takes about 20 minutes – maybe a bit longer if you account for the time it takes to preheat your oven. Because roasted broccoli is getting thrown into this pasta and it’s the best thing ever.
Broccoli is the current favorite vegetable in our house. I make it at least four or five days a week. The kids love it – Eddie likes it, even though he prefers raw over roasted (eeeek) and I find myself actually craving it.
I mean, how? Who am I?!
This creamy ricotta sauce is made in a skillet and comes together in a minute or so. It makes the pasta dish feel incredibly light, but also gives that comforting creamy coating to the pasta. It’s like a big cozy indulgent hug, without being heavy.
Here’s how it goes down:
Boil some pasta – any shape! – and reserve a little bit of the starchy pasta water.
Roast the broccoli to your desired roastiness. I find it to be perfect after 20 minutes in the oven at 425. This is my go-to roast time and temp for broccoli.
While the broccoli roasts, saute some garlic in olive oil. Whisk in ricotta cheese until it turns silky and sauce-like. Whisk in the reserved pasta water so it becomes even MORE silky. Salt and pepper.
Throw in the broccoli. And done!
That’s right. There isn’t even parmesan in this, although it would be a welcomed addition if you wish.
As usual, the best part is that you can use this as a base for whatever you have in the fridge! Add a bunch of vegetables, add some grilled chicken or even shrimp. It can be incredibly simple or next-level clean-out-the-fridge loaded. Your call!
Skillet Ricotta Pasta with Roasted Broccoli
Skillet Ricotta Pasta with Roasted Broccoli
Yield: 2 to 4 people
Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
Skillet ricotta pasta is a perfect weeknight meal! Silky smooth ricotta sauce that coats your favorite noodles, tossed with roasted broccoli.
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4.97 from 222 votes
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Ingredients
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt and pepper
- 8 ounces cavatappi pasta (or any noodle you like!)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ to ¾ cup reserved pasta water
- crushed red pepper flakes, for topping
- parmesan cheese, optional, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the broccoli florets on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or use a spray olive oil if you wish!). Season all over with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until golden and slightly charred.
While the broccoli is roasting, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the directions. Remember to reserve your pasta water!
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the ricotta cheese. It will take a few minutes for it to become creamy. Add a big pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the lemon juice and ½ cup of reserved pasta water until the sauce is smooth and silky. You can add a bit more pasta water if you find it needs to be thinner or smoother! This will all depend on the brand of your ricotta. Taste the ricotta mixture and add more salt and pepper if needed. Don't skip tasting it!
Add in the pasta and toss well to coat in the ricotta mixture. Toss in the roasted broccoli.
Top with crushed red pepper flakes and serve! Sprinkle with parmesan if you’d like!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: How Sweet Eats
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
It’s killer creaminess!
posted in: Pantry Meals, Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian, Weeknight Meals 36 comments
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Leave a Reply
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T — Reply
This looks SO GOOD! Question: I’ve got a cup of ricotta sitting in my freezer. Do you think it would work in this recipe? I know when I thaw it the texture won’t be quite the same as fresh, so I can’t use it in something that isn’t cooked/ baked.
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Jessica — Reply
it definitely should work!
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Amy Howenstine — Reply
Would this work with fat free Ricotta?
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Chris — Reply
Can this be made ahead? Thinking about making for a homebound friend.
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Melissa — Reply
Oh I’m sooo excited to make this tonight. I was looking for a good recipe to use ricotta cheese with instead of the usual things. Can’t wait to taste this!
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Christina — Reply
I made this last night and also added roasted cauliflower as well. So easy and delicious!
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Brenda Ribar — Reply
This is delicious! Who knew that you can melt down ricotta to make a sauce? I’m just happy there is some left over for lunch tomorrow.
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Jennifer — Reply
This was hands down one of the best and easiest dishes I have had in a very long time. Thank you Thank You Thank you for introducing this to me. It was like an adult version of Mac & Cheese, but a lighter version.
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Jessica — Reply
ahh that makes me so happy!
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Mimi — Reply
Made this last night. It was easy and delicious! My very picky teen loved it so much he requested I make when his friends come for dinner. Thank you!!
See Also40 Vegetarian Keto Recipes -
Carol — Reply
I love this! I always let my broccoli go bad because I don’t like it that much. So I tried this. Didn’t have ricotta but saw I could substitute sour cream. It turned really yummy. Thank you.
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Erin — Reply
I tried making this tonight and the sauce was not creamy. When I added the lemon juice the sauce curdled. I’m wondering if it could have been the type of ricotta. I used organic valley from Whole Foods which does have a grainier texture.
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Kiley — Reply
I had the same issue with the same ricotta! Although mine never got creamy, even before the lemon juice. It was such a bummer. We’re still gonna eat though, obviously. 😅🤤
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K Donovan — Reply
Same issue here. I used whole milk ricotta. I was disappointed with the texture but I should have known this would happen.
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Jennifer — Reply
Absolutely delicious and super easy and quick to make for a weeknight supper. Everyone loved it!
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Monica C — Reply
This pasta is so easy to make and tastes delicious!! I make it with my chickpea pasta and it’s so yummy!
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Caitlin — Reply
Super easy to make! Takes a couple pots/pans, but truly is easy. I think you could add more pasta to get more servings, and just use more pasta water to thin the sauce out. Shouldn’t take away from flavor much, and just add more lemon and pepper/salt if needed.
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Natalie — Reply
So tasty! Great easy dinner.
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Lindsay C — Reply
If I’m pairing this with your cedar plank salmon, can I do the broccoli on the grill (in place of the asparagus in the salmon recipe)? I mean, I know I CAN, but wondering if you think it will get as nicely cooked/charred and for how long you might leave it on the grill. I’ve done lots of veg baskets on the grill but I’ve never done straight up broccoli.
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Alicia A — Reply
I always have numerous bags of frozen broccoli florets in my freezer.
You should try Chipotle pepper flakes, the slight Smokey flavor brings it up a notch!
This will be dinner tomorrow night! -
Danielle — Reply
This was a total bust for me. My ricotta never got creamy and was a curdled mess. Still tasted good tho. 🤷🏻♀️ I used giant eagle whole milk ricotta. I know, people are gonna tell me to use ~quality ingredients. It would’ve been nice to know that in the recipe notes ahead of time. Oh well!
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Kacy Lawrence — Reply
Made this last night and it was so delicious! I never thought to make such a simple sauce.
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Gianna Dazzo — Reply
Hi,
I had some issues with the ricotta melting. Any tips to avoid this next time?
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Sofia — Reply
Perfection!!! Was so so so yummy, cheap and quick to make, thank you so much!
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Judith Cavill — Reply
Made this last night because I had some ricotta that I needed to use up. DELICIOUS. Next time, I’ll double the broccoli because we’re broccoli people. So easy. So good.
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Shannon — Reply
Loved this! Trick is to take off the heat when you add the ricotta to combine. Then gradually heat to prevent the sauce from separating. This is a keeper. Gosh we enjoyed the heck out of it!
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Sarah — Reply
Made this tonight and had issues with the ricotta getting super grainy and not melting. We used Whole Foods whole milk ricotta; it’s not the most quality ricotta but it’s bad. Not sure how to get that creamy texture others seem to have gotten; ours was also way thin with 1/2 of pasta water and I ended up adding extra ricotta. And a ton more salt than was called for, it really needed it. All in all not my favorite, though after the salt the flavor was fine! Still love How Sweet Eats recipes though, this is the first time I’ve ever had one go sideways for me!
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tori — Reply
I just made this for dinner and let me tell you it was so good!!!!!
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Brooke — Reply
I thought this was awesome. Added ground Italian sausage for some protein.
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Lisa a — Reply
Made this tonight. So yummy!! Added lemon zest, Parm, and chopped spinach at the end. The ricotta still had some lumps in it, but overall would make again.
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Alison — Reply
Just made this with spaghetti and brussels sprouts since it’s what we had and it was delightful! Love the creamy bright lemon flavor. Also served it with a side of homemade meatballs.
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Jessica — Reply
Followed the recipe exactly and this turned out great! Will definitely be making again.
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Judy — Reply
This was good. I added grillled chicken. In think next time I will try it with shrimp.
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Lisa M Pettinato — Reply
This dish came out perfectly. I doubled it to have leftovers and added rotisserie chicken. It was a big hit! Thanks Jessica 😊
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Rh — Reply
I read these comments. Put it in a blender then back into a low heat pot or pan. Slightly add water not too much water. Slowly heat
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Katie — Reply
This was absolutely delicious! Great option for a no meat dinner and was so flavorful. I never measure the ingredients… just eye balled! Will make again next week!
