This baked pasta from Alison Roman reminds her of broccoli-cheddar soup, “a taste I enjoyed as a child and have been chasing for the better part of my adult life, but better and with lots of texture,” she says. Her recipe offers the familiar comfort of baked macaroni and cheese but with pops of pleasantly bitter bright green broccoli rabe throughout. Breadcrumbs are extremely not optional here—they provide much-needed crunchy bits. Serve alongside a crisp salad with a simple vinaigrette to balance out the richness of the pasta.
Recipe information
Yield
6–8 servings
Ingredients
1
8
3
1
2
1
12
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking together, until just barely al dente, about 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Step 2
While you are cooking the pasta, get the broccoli rabe going. Heat 5 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium–high. Add leeks and season with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are softened (but not so much that they don’t have any texture left) and starting to brown, 8–10 minutes.
Step 3
Add red pepper flakes to leeks and stir to incorporate. Add broccoli rabe by the handful, stirring to combine and allowing each addition to wilt before adding more. Season with salt and black pepper. Once all of the broccoli rabe has been added, cook, stirring occasionally, until bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside.
Step 4
Add pasta to reserved broccoli rabe mixture along with cream, three-quarters of the cheese, ½ cup chives, and reserved pasta cooking liquid; mix well. Season with salt and black pepper and add more red pepper flakes if you prefer more heat (keep in mind that the saltiness and spiciness will increase as the pasta bakes).
Step 5
Transfer pasta to a 3-qt. baking dish (or, if your Dutch oven is ovenproof, just leave it in there). Toss breadcrumbs and remaining 3 Tbsp. oil in a medium bowl until coated; season with salt and black pepper. Scatter over pasta, then sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese. Bake until pasta is bubbling across the entire surface and breadcrumbs are deep golden brown, 30–35 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Step 6
Scatter remaining chives over pasta just before serving.
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Reviews (60)
Back to TopMy husband and I were really excited to make this. We usually love Alison Roman’s recipes! Beware! If you make this with broccoli rabe, you better absolutely love the mustardy, bitter flavor of broccoli rabe. The flavor of the broccoli rabe intensified during baking and just overpowered the whole dish. We were really disappointed with the result. (For the record, I really liked the addition of broccoli rabe in the Stew 2, so I’m not a total hater.)
Anonymous
Massachusetts
2/26/2020
This worked and was well received by my family, although they were expecting broccoli, when I said broccoli rabe. The greens did not make it too bitter, we loved the flavors together. I didn't have leeks, so used onion but no other changes. The sauce does magically become silky creamy during cooking, and so nice to be able to pop it in the oven and sit down with a drink before eating.
Anonymous
South of the south
2/27/2020
We made this with a shortage of broccoli rabe and pepper jack cheese. It was so good I'm making it again for a birthday party but will try with the intended ingredients. I love the sturdy greens mixed in with the pasta and very tasty the next day. Also easy. Will be making a double batch for the party. Grate your own cheese--it melts better and tastes better.
jbrogli
Utah
2/27/2020
Was expecting something great, what I got was not so tasty. I followed this recipe to a T and was left with a dry, bland and not so wonderful meal. I was already skeptical due to the short list of ingredients but gave it the benefit of the doubt. A teaspoon of red pepper flakes wasn't nearly enough to make this spicy, and even adding a couple more was lackluster. I made a greater volume of sauce before baking because it already wasn't nearly enough to cover everything, and after baking it still was dry. Decent concept, but this recipe is a mess and needs a whole lot more flavor.
Anonymous
Kansas
2/27/2020
Unfff, this was so good! I loved the ratio of bitter greens to cheesy/creamy pasta, and it came together really easily. This would be perfect to make for a crowd, but also great for a regular meal that makes a ton of leftovers. The recipe notes that you can leave the pasta mixture in your Dutch oven to bake, but I highly recommend moving it to a more shallow baking dish so you get a good mix of crunchy pasta and breadcrumbs with the softer interior.
soapnana
Chicago, IL
2/28/2020
Love this recipe! I used baby broccolini instead of the broccoli rabe (because I couldn't find any at TJs) and added some paprika to the bread crumbs. Perfectly spicy, super rich but not heavy, and keeps really well as leftovers! Definitely going to make this again, – thanks, Alison!
Sarahrubyj
Chicago, IL
2/28/2020
My husband and I have long commutes, teenagers to feed and a preference for GOOD food. That makes weeknight dinners pretty tough--really, ONE slow cooker recipe a week is quite enough, thank you. One thing that helps is cooking a meal or two ahead on the weekends, if we can. This recipe from Alison Roman was a SUPER DUPER winner! I made it, but didn't bake it on Sunday. Put some foil over the casserole dish and on Wednesday morning, put it in the cold oven. When I was on my way home, a texted my teenage son to preheat the oven to 350 and by the time the table was set, a salad was made and we were all home, we had this lovely, cheese-phisticated casserole to enjoy. I used a combo of broccoli rabe and broccolini and it's *possible* some of the cheddar I used was a leftover bacon cheddar that I found in the fridge. There was barely enough leftover to pack for lunch the next day! This recipe's a keeper!
Jill Maldonado
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
2/29/2020