One of the things I’ve learned about eating on a budget is that simple recipes win. The fewer ingredients you need, the fewer ingredients you need to buy, and that generally helps keep that grocery bill low (not to mention, it makes cooking easy). So, when I was planning for the first week of my September Challenge, my favorite dinner “cheat” recipe came to mind. Bowties and Broccoli, FTW.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Use Any Shape Pasta
But just to be clear, you can use any shaped pasta for this dish. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever pasta you have on hand, so it’s that one meal option that I always have the ingredients for on hand.
As I mentioned, this is my favorite substitute for “real” dinner when I’m tired and hungry. I usually have all these ingredients on hand and it only takes minutes to throw together. Sometimes, I’ll boil extra pasta, freeze the leftovers in single serving freezer bags, then I can just toss the frozen pasta and broccoli into a bowl and microwave for a minute or two until hot. Then it’s even faster than fast! Either way, these few ingredients make an incredibly tasty, filling, and easy meal on the fly. #winning
Make Six Servings or One Serving
The quantities on the recipe card below are for six servings of the Bowties and Broccoli. I generally make one serving at a time. To find the quantities for one serving, scroll down to the step by step photos.
Bowties and Broccoli
Servings 6Ingredients
- 12 oz. pasta ($1.00)
- 1 lb. frozen broccoli florets ($1.69)
- 3 Tbsp butter ($0.30)
- 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan ($0.31)
- Salt to taste ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper to taste ($0.10)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.05)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta. Boil until the pasta is al dente (7-10 minutes). Add the frozen broccoli florets to the boiling pasta water, turn off the heat, and let sit for 1-2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender-crisp. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
- Transfer the pasta and broccoli back to the pot (with the heat off) or to a bowl and add the butter. Toss until the butter has melted and coated everything. Add the Parmesan, salt, freshly cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes, then toss to coat again. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Bowties and Broccoli – Step by Step Photos
It always amazes me how just a couple of ingredients can make such a satisfying meal. This really is SO simple and SO good. I keep these ingredients stocked and eat this often. This is all I need for about six servings (not all of the butter, Parm, and pepper were used for six servings).
If you’re making one serving at a time, you can either estimate 1/6th of the bag of pasta, or check the back to see if it gives a volume of dry pasta for the serving size. The measurement will change depending on the shape of the pasta, but for this bowtie shape 1/6th of the bag is roughly 3/4 cup. So that helps me keep serving sizes in check.
First bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the pasta. Boil the pasta just until it’s tender (7-10 minutes). Once tender, add the frozen broccoli (estimate an equal volume to the pasta) directly to the pot and turn off the heat. Let it sit for a minute or two, or just until the broccoli is slightly tender, but has a bit of crunch left and is still bright green. If you prefer your broccoli a lot softer, you can leave the heat on for a minute or so and let it continue to boil, but I prefer mine to still have some tooth.
Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
Transfer the drained pasta and broccoli to a bowl, or back to the cooking pot (with the heat off). Add 1/2 Tbsp butter for each serving you’re preparing, then toss until the butter melts and coats everything.
Once everything is coated in melted butter, sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp grated Parmesan for each serving, plus salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (if desired).
Toss briefly again so that everything is coated in Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Easy, enjoyable, and just over 50 cents per bowl!
This recipe is so simple to make, but so tasty and filling. Since I’e come across it, I make it about once a week.
I loved the simplicity of this recipe, and it tasted so good afterward. Great dish that’s quick and easy to make.
Made this tonight and enjoyed it so much, thanks for all the amazing recipes.
Just made this for dinner but I made my own bechamel sauce and added the Parmesan to the sauce as well as a bit sprinkled on top. It was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
This sounds delicious but i’m really curious if you could add a splash of lemon juice to it. Beth what do you think?
You could, but I think I’d try lemon zest before lemon juice. I think that lemony essence would be better than the tartness you get from juice, but that’s just my taste. :)
You really have to take into account the size of the broccoli florets, though. Mine came probably in bigger chunks than yours and even though I boiled them for two minutes, some of the bigger one remained frozen on the inside. Not the kind of crunch I was looking for.
While not as pretty as using just bowties, it’s also a good way to use up small amounts of extra pasta. There are three of us, and I usually cook 3/4 pound of pasta for most dishes. I’m then left with multiple boxes of pasta in the pantry with about 1/4 pound each. As long as you combine pastas of similar density (and cooking time) it works. Not photo worthy, but just as tasty!
Great recipe! This is my go-to for potlucks or cookouts. I use olive oil instead of butter and sautee minced garlic and ~1Tbs of anchovy paste to hot oil in place of salt before tossing it with the hot pasta and broccoli. Anchovy paste lasts a looong time in the fridge (you can find the paste in a tube) and it adds such a great salty/unami flavor. I swear you don’t even taste the fish, it just kinda melts in with the rest of the flavors–I’ve asked people to name the secret ingredient and they never can!
Great recipe!
(For a slightly different, nuttier flavor at no additional cost, you can brown the butter while the pasta cooks. And for a little extra protein, I tossed in a handful of toasted nuts–I used almonds, but I think walnuts would be better.)
Just found your blog few days ago and I really enjoy it! I was actually thinking that I spent too much $ on my grocery bill so trying to lower it has become a challenge. I tried your recipe tonight and it’s really great! Yummy :)
I found you over a year ago and love it more each day. This challenge has come at a time when Las vegas has cut snap almost in half and I have less budget that ever,$35 a week for a family of 3, and you are my savior again. This is a recipe my 8 year old son ate last night for dinner and ask today if he could take it to school for lunch. Thank you.
This was yummy! I used all the ingredients listed here but then added a few more since I had some things on hand that needed used up in my fridge — 1 cup of leftover shredded rotisserie chicken, 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream, and a teaspoon of minced garlic. My six year old gobbled it up and even asked that I put it in his thermos for lunch today!
This was really good! I used fresh parm since I saved so much on the pasta and frozen brocolli.
Hard to beat a super easy week-night meal where you get to have pasta, veggies, butter and cheese- and feel good about it:)
Thanks for sharing this byte:)
Would you be amenable to posting your weekly meal plans during this challenge. That is, if you write them down somewhere. It would be super helpful.
I plan most of it in my head because I only make 2-3 recipes for the whole week (I only have my mouth to feed), but I talk a little about the planning process in the weekly summaries. I just posted the first summary today. :)
Just saw it and it is super helpful. Thanks!
This is my go to dinner too-it’s just so dang good!! I also add a few spritzes of olive oil and some garlic salt (and maybe some seasoned breadcrumbs if I’m getting crazy), and it’s just my favorite! I’ve been making it since I was in high school for a quick go to meal, and it’s fun to hear I’m not alone! Buttered noodles for the win :)