Need a fast, comforting dinner? Our quick mac and cheese is just the thing. It comes together in 20 minutes and uses just one pan because the pasta and broccoli are cooked in the same pot. Then you use that pot to make the easiest sauce with cream cheese, butter, Parmesan, and our secret ingredient, some reserved starchy pasta water. It’s a meal that soothes as much as it satisfies and a recipe you’ll turn to again and again. One carbo-licious bite of this dreamy dish and all your cares will melt away.
Switch up the broccoli: Feel free to swap in other vegetables, such as fresh or frozen cauliflower florets or peas, for the broccoli.
Double the recipe: Our original feeds two but it’s easy to scale up this recipe by x2 all the ingredients. The method stays the same.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces short pasta, such as penne
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets
- 2 ½ ounces cream cheese (⅓ cup)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (⅓ cup), plus more for serving
Directions
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Cook pasta:
Cook pasta in a pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes less than per package instructions.
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Remove one cup pasta water and cook broccoli with pasta; drain:
Reserve 1 cup pasta water and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to pot; continue boiling until pasta is al dente and broccoli is bright green, 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain.
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Cook cream cheese, butter, and 2/3 cup pasta water in same pot:
Return pot to medium heat; add cream cheese, butter, and 2/3 cup reserved pasta water. Cook, stirring, until mixture is smooth and simmering.
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Add pasta, broccoli, and Parmesan to sauce:
Remove from heat; stir in pasta, broccoli, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Toss with more pasta water as needed until sauce clings to pasta. Serve with more Parmigiano and black pepper.