This meal comes together in a pinch and uses a few simple ingredients to create a killer bowl of pasta. Broccoli and a big hunk of feta cheese get baked together until that broccoli is charred and the feta has warmed all the way through. Halfway through the bake time, tiny little meatballs get scattered onto the sheet pan to bump up the protein. When it’s all cooked, you simply dump it into a pot of cooked pasta and mix it all up with some pasta water until you magically get a creamy feta sauce that coats the noodles and gets all up in the broccoli. It’s so simple and so good!
Ingredient highlight
Broccoli! This mighty cruciferous veggie is packed full of nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, fiber, iron and calcium. It’s also loaded with antioxidant compounds like sulforaphane, kaempferol, and quercetin. Plus, it’s large tree-like flowery heads absorb sauces extremely well, making it one of my favorite veggies for things like stir-fry’s and anything with a sauce or dressing!
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 22 minutes Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped broccoli (from ~ 1.5 lbs)
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 (8 oz) block feta
- 8 oz penne, rigatoni, or other short pasta shape
- 8 oz ground meat of choice (lean beef, turkey, chicken, sausage, etc…)*
- Black pepper, for topping
- *You could also use chicken thighs or breast, cut up into cubes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the broccoli, 3 tablespoons oil, and salt and toss to coat. Spread out into an even layer. Make a space in the center for the feta and place the feta there. Drizzle the feta with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and rub it around.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until the broccoli is beginning to char.
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain and transfer the pasta back to the pot (you can drizzle/toss with oil if you want to prevent sticking).
- While the broccoli roasts, roll the meat into about 16 tiny meatballs. Add the meatballs to the baking sheet and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Immediately add all the sheet pan contents into the pot along with about ½ cup pasta water (to start). Break up the feta into chunks and continue to stir everything together until the feta has broken down and mixed with the pasta water to form a sauce that coats the noodles (this will take a minute or two). Add more pasta water along the way, if needed (I ended up using about 1 cup).
- Serve the pasta topped with black pepper. I like to cut the little meatballs in half before digging in.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Chop 6 cups broccoli (from ~ 1.5 lbs)
- Roll 8 oz ground meat into 16 tiny meatballs
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, leave out the meatballs or add a sliced vegetarian sausage or can of beans.
- To make vegan, see above + skip the feta. Instead, mix in 2 tablespoons of mellow white miso pasta into ¼-½ cup pasta water and stir that in (if you have nutritional yeast, add some in there). Top with toasted nuts.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Leftover saucy pasta always soaks up all the sauce and ends up being a little bit dry. To reheat, add a splash of water and microwave until warmed through, stirring after every 30 seconds and add water as needed. The water will add more moisture to the sauce/pasta.
- Serve leftovers topped with parmesan and a squeeze of lemon and any fresh herbs you have lying around.
- Put a fried egg on it!
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