Pasta with Cheese Sauce and Broccolini
⏱ 5 min prep · 🍳 15 min · 🍽 2
Broccolini looks like broccoli's slimmer cousin, and that's exactly why it works on a kids' plate: thinner stalks, no tough core to hide, and a sweeter, milder flavor that doesn't announce itself the way regular broccoli can. Most kids clear it without comment, especially the thin stalks dunked straight into cheese sauce.
Grab a tub of ready-made cheese sauce from the dairy case when dinner needs to be on the table in 20 minutes flat. If you've got an extra 15 minutes, build your own from butter, flour, milk, and shredded cheese - it's the version that lets you control exactly how much salt and fat goes in.
Five minutes of prep and fifteen minutes at the stove means the sauce and vegetables finish right around when the pasta does - the kind of timing that actually survives a weeknight when nobody wants to hover over a pot.
Ingredients
- pasta
- brokkolini
- ostesaus
- parmesan, revet
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Kok pasta etter anvisning på pakken.
Kok brokkolini i lett saltet vann i ca. 2 minutter til de er møre men fortsatt faste, og hell av vannet.
Sil av pastaen og rør inn ostesausen.
Smak til med salt og pepper.
Ha opp pasta og pynt med brokkolini og revet parmesan.
This is the dinner for the nights when after-school pickup ran late and nobody has the bandwidth for a vegetable negotiation - broccolini's thin stalks tend to disappear from the plate without a fight, especially warm and dipped straight into the sauce. It also suits parents who've quietly retired the rule that cheese sauce has to be made from scratch every time; a store-bought tub buys back fifteen minutes you'd rather spend at the table than at the stove. The recipe is scaled for two, so it lands well as a low-key dinner for one adult and one child, or for whoever's eating later once the rest of the house has gone quiet - just double the pasta and sauce for a family of four. Think of it as the answer for an ordinary weeknight with a hard stop, when fifteen minutes at the stove is all anyone's got before hunger turns into a mood.
FAQ
Can I use regular broccoli instead of broccolini?
Yes - cut it into smaller florets and slice the stalk thinner, since regular broccoli has a slightly stronger, more bitter edge that some kids notice more. Give it 1-2 extra minutes in the pot since the stalks run thicker. If you're not sure how your child will react to green vegetables, start with broccolini - it's the gentler introduction.
How long do leftovers keep, and what's the best way to reheat them?
Leftovers keep for 2 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat gently in a saucepan with a splash of milk or cream, since cheese sauce firms up and can separate slightly once it's cold - the milk brings it back to a smooth, pourable consistency. Skip the microwave on full power, which tends to make the sauce grainy.
Can I make the cheese sauce from scratch instead of buying it ready-made?
Yes - melt 2 tablespoons of butter, whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour to form a roux, gradually add about 1 1/4 cups of milk while whisking, then stir in 3/4 to 1 cup of shredded cheese over low heat until smooth. It takes about 10 minutes and gives you full control over the salt, which is useful if anyone in the family is sensitive to it.
How do I adapt this for a kid who won't eat visible vegetables?
Chop the broccolini finely and stir it into the cheese sauce itself instead of serving it on top, so it becomes part of the sauce rather than something to pick out. Alternatively, serve the broccolini in its own small bowl on the side so your child decides whether and how much to take. Plenty of kids eat more of a vegetable when it's optional than when it's already on the plate.
Can I freeze this dish?
Pasta with cheese sauce doesn't freeze especially well, since the sauce tends to separate and turn grainy once thawed. If you do freeze it, keep portions small and reheat slowly with extra milk to bring the sauce back together. A better option is to make a double batch of cheese sauce, freeze half unsalted, and boil fresh pasta on the day you need a fast dinner.
How do I scale this up to feed the whole family?
The recipe is written for 2 servings, so for a family of four just double everything - pasta, broccolini, and cheese sauce. Use a bigger pot for the pasta so it doesn't clump, and cook the broccolini in two batches if the pot gets crowded, since it needs room to become tender without overcooking.