Call it a side or a main dish. These cheddar broccoli pasta shells are honestly the perfect side to any meal. Whether you’re planning your Thanksgiving menu or looking for something quick to make for the whole family on a random Tuesday night, broccoli and cheddar shells totally fit the bill. What I love most about this recipe is that it comes together in one pot! So we’ll boil the pasta, then add the broccoli to the same water. Drain everything and then make the golden brown cheese sauce in the same saucepan before we toss it all together in the most decadent and delicious cheese sauce. Would this work with your Thanksgiving turkey? YES. Would this work with sauteed garlic butter chicken? YES. Would this work with steak and shrimp? YES. Could you make a meal out of this with a salad? 100% YES. It’s honestly the yummiest, most versatile dinner recipe loaded with veggies, creamy cheese sauce, al dente noodles, and all the comfort one wants from a broccoli and cheese dish! It’s mostly pantry staple ingredients and, honestly, even better than Panera’s broccoli cheddar mac and cheese.
Ingredients for cheddar broccoli pasta:
Pasta: I like to use shells for this recipe, but you could use any pasta shape you like.Broccoli florets: I like to grab a bag of florets from the store that I just break down to make them roughly the same size as the shells.Butter: We’ll use the butter to make a roux with the flour. Flour: We’ll use less flour so that it doesn’t affect the cheese sauce’s texture but still aids in thickening it.Half and Half: This is typically sold in the United States and is a 50:50 ratio of whole milk and heavy whipping cream. You can make your own half and half or use storebought.Cream Cheese: this ingredient aids in thickening the sauce further. I prefer to thicken the recipe with more cream cheese than flour because cream cheese doesn’t produce a gloopy sauce mixture.Chicken Bouillon: A sprinkle of granulated chicken bouillon adds so much flavor to the cheese mixture. The cheese flavor wouldn’t be as concentrated if we used liquid chicken broth. So I like using the granulated variety or a crumbled bouillon cube.Seasonings: This is my favorite blend for broccoli and shells. I use a smidge of ground nutmeg, some white pepper, and mustard powder. These ingredients work beautifully with cheddar cheese and add the best taste to the cheddar broccoli shells.Cheese: Feel free to play around with the cheese. I typically use a good medium cheddar, but this recipe would work with sharp cheddar cheese, gruyere, or even a handful of parmesan cheese and Swiss. If you aim to get that beautiful yellow hue, use more cheddar cheese and less of the other ones. Remember that it’s best to use freshly grated cheese for the best melty sauce.
How to make Panera’s broccoli cheddar mac and cheese:
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Keto Broccoli Cheese SoupGruyere Mac and Cheese with French Onion Crust5-Ingredient Mac and CheeseCreamy Lemon Garlic Pasta (Pasta al Limone)Garlic Parmesan Orzo Risotto
Half and Half: Half and half is a product sold in the US, which is a 50:50 combo of whole milk and heavy whipping cream use 1¼ cup of each if you can’t find half and half.
