Ziti with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe

Always comforting, but not always healthy, Ziti with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe in a garlic olive oil sauce with sharp parmesan gets a redo that’s quick and healthy to enjoy any time of the week.

Sometimes, it’s just nice when you can rely on things that don’t change. That’s how I’ve been feeling lately at least because SO much is changing around here. Isn’t that one reason why comfort food is so comforting? It reminds us of home or when things were less complicated. It’s something familiar. Comfort food at its core for me is pasta. It can cure about 75% of my problems. Let’s face it: trusting and believing that change is the right thing for you in that moment takes guts. I’d much rather be doing that with a plate of spaghetti, thank you.

I don’t make pasta every week (I know, surprising). My reasoning is because if it were up to me, I’d make it on the side of just about every meal. For one thing, weight loss, but its also forced me to try other grains. When I was in grad school, we would make this meal on repeat. Albeit it was the full fat, tons of olive oil and cheese version with approximately 900 calories per serving. This recipe for Ziti with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe attempts to lighten things up a whole lot (now 427 calories per serving). Pasta that promotes weight loss is a diet I believe in.

I’m crediting this recipe to Rocco DiSpirito though because I did not come up with this one on my own. He’s a master of healthy cooking and you know, was the feature chef on Biggest Loser. I did tweak it a little to fit my cooking though.

This recipe has become a good one to fallback on for us because its stupid easy and comes together in 25 minutes without fail. Let’s get to it.

Start by heating a large pot of water with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Next, take the casings off the sausage. Don’t worry about it getting messy, were going to crumble it up anyway. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. Add the sausage and break up with a spoon. When the sausage is cooked through, after about 6-8 minutes, drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.

While waiting for sausage to cook, thinly slice the garlic cloves and cut the broccoli rabe into smaller bite-size pieces and remove any hardy stem parts. Add the pasta to your boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Two minutes before the pasta is finished, add the broccoli rabe to the pot. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the water the pasta cooked in.

To the pan you cooked the sausage in, add your sliced garlic cloves on low heat. Let them become fragrant after a couple minutes. Add in red pepper flakes and chicken broth and bring this to a simmer. Add in the pasta, broccoli rabe, and pasta water as well as the sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in parmesan and another drizzle of olive oil on top. Stir all together until combined. Serve immediately or the pasta will absorb the sauce.

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Ziti with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 427 kcal

Ingredients

• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 3 Chicken Sausage links
• 6 Garlic cloves
• 1 Head Broccoli rabe
• 8 oz Ziti
• ⅛ tsp Red pepper flakes
• ½ cup Low Sodium Chicken broth
• ⅓ cup Parmesan

Instructions

1. Start by heating a large pot of water with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Next, take the casings off the sausage.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. Add the sausage and break up with a spoon. When the sausage is cooked through, after about 6-8 minutes, drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.
3. While waiting for sausage to cook, thinly slice the garlic cloves and cut the broccoli rabe into smaller bite-size pieces and remove any hardy stem parts.
4. Add the pasta to your boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. Two minutes before the pasta is finished, add the broccoli rabe to the pot. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the water the pasta cooked in.
5. To the pan you cooked the sausage in, add your sliced garlic cloves on low heat. Let them become fragrant after a couple minutes. Add in red pepper flakes and chicken broth and bring this to a simmer.
6. Add in the pasta, broccoli rabe, and pasta water to the pan with the sauce as well as the sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in parmesan and another drizzle of olive oil on top. Stir all together until combined. Serve immediately or the pasta will absorb the sauce.