Broccoli Pasta Bake (No-Boil)

This Broccoli Pasta Bake is only 7 ingredients and takes 15 minutes to prep. Dinner has never been easier than this baked pasta recipe, you don’t even have to boil the noodles! The oven does all the cooking for you.

If you are looking for a home-cooked meal with little cleanup and only a handful of ingredients, this Broccoli Pasta Bake is about to be your new favorite recipe. The only cooking equipment you need is one 9×13-inch baking dish to add all of the ingredients to.

The oven cooks everything to perfection, letting you be hands-free on a busy weeknight! It’s truly a rich, veggie-filled broccoli pasta casserole recipe that the whole family will love. You can add a protein like cubed or shredded rotisserie chicken, or swap the chicken stock for veggie stock to make it completely vegetarian.

This baked pasta with broccoli is one recipe you don’t want to miss! The sauce is so creamy and flavorful thanks to our secret ingredient, garlic and herb cream cheese.

If you love a great pasta recipe, so do we! Try our Pizza Pasta or Chicken Garlic Parmesan Pasta.

“Just pulled this out of the oven and it’s delicious! I couldn’t find the whipped chive cream cheese, just the regular chive and it worked perfectly. I also added some rotisserie chicken to it to make it a complete meal. This is definitely a keeper!” – Leslie

“Cooked perfectly! This is a keeper. Thank you, Laura.” – Nikki

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• 7 Ingredient Dinner Recipe. When you know a crazy week is ahead, be sure to buy these affordable ingredients to keep in your kitchen. There’s no need for takeout when it only takes 15 minutes to prep this comforting dinner.
• One baking dish is all you need! There is minimal cleanup for this baked pasta. It’s all combined into the casserole dish and baked to perfection.
• Add protein or customize with other veggies. You can add a protein like shredded chicken, smoked sausage, or cooked ground turkey or beef. If you want more veggies, feel free to add those too!

Laura Ashley’s Pro Tip: We love to use this one-dish creamy broccoli pasta recipe to make all different flavor combinations. Adding bell peppers, spinach, and chicken sausage, and spices is one of our other favorite combos.

Ingredients

Scroll Down to the Bottom of this Post for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Printable Recipe Card 

• Philadelphia Whipped Chive or Garlic & Herb cream cheese: The key secret ingredient to making a creamy sauce.
• Pasta: We recommend rotini, penne, cellentani, or fusilli as the different shapes to try.
• Shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese: Always need more cheese to make each bite delicious. It’s best to buy a block and shred it yourself.
• Chopped broccoli florets: Buy a whole head or use pre-chopped to cut down on time.
• Olive oil: Cooking oil that helps cook everything to perfection.
• Chicken broth regular or low sodium: Cooking liquid that helps to ‘boil’ the noodles in the oven to perfection.
• Heavy cream: Adds extra creaminess as well as rich flavor in each bite.
• Seasoning Salt or Salt and Pepper: This adds depth of flavor with a blend salt, black pepper and garlic. I prefer Livia’s Seasoning Salt.

Tools You’ll Need

• 13″x9″ Baking Dish
• Liquid Measuring Cups
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Spatula

How to Make Broccoli Pasta Bake

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. In a 13×9-inch baking dish, place the whipped cream cheese in the center. Distribute the uncooked pasta, half of the shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped broccoli around the cream cheese. 
3. Sprinkle seasoning salt and drizzle olive oil evenly over the top of the pasta, cheddar cheese, and broccoli. 

4. Pour chicken stock over the mixture. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and stir the ingredients together. Recover with foil. Return to the oven and bake another 30 minutes.

6. Remove the foil and stir in the remaining shredded cheddar cheese and heavy cream until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy. 

7. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Expert Tips

• Layer the ingredients correctly. In order for the pasta to cook correctly and the sauce to be creamy, be sure to layer the ingredients in the casserole dish as instructed.
• Cover tightly with foil. This is the key secret step in this broccoli pasta bake. It’s what cooks the pasta perfectly!
• Swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock. To make this recipe completely vegetarian, use vegetable stock.
• Add a protein. We love to use shredded rotisserie chicken or smoked sausage for ease!

Variations and Mix-ins for Creamy Broccoli Pasta

There are so many ways to customize this baked pasta with broccoli. Here are some of our favorites:

• Make it Cajun: Add cooked chicken sausage or andouille sausage, bell peppers, and cajun seasoning.
• Philly Cheesesteak Flavors: Cook thinly sliced beef on the stove top and let cool. Stir in the beef and add sliced bell peppers.
• Herby Lemon Chicken: Stir in lemon zest and shredded rotisserie chicken. Garnish with chopped fresh dill, parsley, and chives.
• Veggie Primavera: Add cooked yellow squash, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Stir in fresh or frozen, thawed, and squeezed spinach.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through.

You can freeze this creamy broccoli pasta bake after it is baked and cooled for up to 2 months. Thaw and rewarm in the oven. We don’t recommend making this pasta bake ahead of time as it’s important to layer in the ingredients right before cooking.

FAQs

More Easy Pasta Recipes

• Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms
• Sausage and Pepper Pasta
• Baked Macaroni and Cheese
• Taco Pasta