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One Pan Orecchiette Pasta

This delicious orecchiette pasta recipe only has a handful of ingredients, is very cheap to make, and most importantly, only uses one pan or pot for the entire procedure. Every year when it's time to go back to school I get inundated with requests from students to post recipes that are super-easy, cost pennies, and require a bare minimum of kitchen equipment — this is one of them!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course lunch/dinner
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 people
Calories 1691 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large, deep skillet For cooking the entire dish
  • 1 Wooden Spoon For stirring and scraping fond
  • 1 Chef's knife For dicing onion and preparing sausage
  • 1 Cutting Board For safe ingredient preparation
  • 1 Ladle For serving the pasta

Ingredients
  

Main

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ onion diced
  • salt to taste
  • 8 ounces spicy Italian sausages casings removed
  • 3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth divided, or as needed
  • 1 ¼ cups orecchiette pasta or more to taste
  • ½ cup roughly chopped arugula or to taste
  • ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or to taste

Instructions
 

  • Gather the ingredients. Allrecipes/Qi Ai
  • Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion with a pinch of salt; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in sausage and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Allrecipes/Qi Ai
  • Pour 1 1/2 cups chicken broth into sausage mixture and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Allrecipes/Qi Ai
  • Add orecchiette pasta; cook and stir pasta in hot broth, adding remaining broth when liquid is absorbed, until pasta is cooked through and most of the broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Allrecipes/Qi Ai
  • Stir arugula into sausage-pasta mixture until arugula wilts. Allrecipes/Qi Ai
  • Ladle pasta into bowls and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Allrecipes/Qi Ai

Notes

Achieving deep flavor starts with proper browning of the sausage; don't rush this step. Deglaze thoroughly with the first addition of chicken broth to incorporate all the savory fond from the pan. For the pasta, managing the broth absorption is key: add the remaining broth incrementally, allowing the orecchiette to cook to a perfect al dente while soaking up the rich liquid. This method yields a creamy, sauce-like consistency without added cream. Stir the arugula in just before serving to preserve its fresh, peppery bite and vibrant green color. For an elevated finish, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end can brighten the dish, and a sprinkle of high-quality chili flakes will amplify the 'spicy' element of the sausage.