Welcome to Day 4 of my meal plan week, where we’re making orecchiette pasta! In case you haven’t been following, here are Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. This week, I’m posting easy real-life meals where each one leads into the next, making cook/prep time a breeze. This is the way I love to cook – it’s fun, it’s flexible, and I hope it helps inspire your own meal planning. And speaking of meal planning, here’s a shameless plug for our new meal journal, The Love & Lemons Meal Record & Market List, which is a handy tool to help you organize your meals. Now that we’re later in the week… pasta!! Why? Because pasta is fun, and it’s the perfect vehicle to use up bits and bobs of leftover vegetables. I also always have it in the pantry. I chose orecchiette pasta for this recipe because orecchiette, broccoli, and sausage are a classic combo. I skipped the sausage, of course, but I love how this pasta shape scoops up the chickpeas and mirrors the round Brussels sprouts in this recipe. Let’s cook!
Orecchiette Pasta Recipe Ingredients
You can make this orecchiette pasta recipe as part of our meal plan, or not. Here’s what you’ll need, whether you’re weaving it into the week of meals or whipping it up on its own: That’s all you need! And don’t worry if you don’t have these exact ingredients on hand. Read on for some of my favorite variations!
Orecchiette Pasta Recipe Variations
This orecchiette pasta recipe is super flexible, so feel free to swap in the vegetables you have on hand or make it to suit your tastes. Here are a few of my favorite ways to change it up:
Substitute basil pesto for the kale sauce. Skip the pesto, and finish everything with a big squeeze of lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Change up the veggies! Broccoli, broccoli rabe, asparagus, cauliflower, or spinach would all be great here. Swap the pecorino for Parmesan or feta. Roast the chickpeas for extra crunch. Add a handful of toasted pine nuts. Make it vegan by skipping the cheese and adding 2 teaspoons of capers. Use gluten-free pasta to make it gluten-free. (I’m a fan of brown rice penne!) Skip the orecchiette and serve the veggies and the sauce over a bed of roasted spaghetti squash.
Let me know what variations you try!
If you love this orecchiette pasta recipe…
Make it as part of our 5-Day Meal Plan, or try my penne pasta, pasta pomodoro, spaghetti bolognese, pesto pasta, or lasagna next!
