Recipes Ingredients Meat & Poultry Pork Recipes One-Pot Pasta With Broccoli Rabe and Bacon 3.4 (86) 1 Review This easy pasta is a quick and easy dinner for when you don't feel like cooking. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 4, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Jason Donnelly Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe This broccoli rabe and bacon one-pot pasta is a cozy, filling dish that’s made in—you guessed it—just one pot, and it's just what you need when you don’t really feel like cooking. Fifteen minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking, then dinner will be on the table—and you'll only have one pan to clean up. The assertive flavor of broccoli rabe is balanced with salty, fatty bacon, while toasted walnuts bring a crunchy-sweet contrast, and garlic and Parmesan round out the dish. It's a combination that’s so good with a chunky, short pasta like penne or fusilli. Easy One-Pot Pasta Recipes to Make for Dinner Tonight What Is a One-Pot Pasta? Most of the time when you make a pasta, there's the pasta and a sauce, each cooked in a separate pot. When you make a one-pot pasta, everything cooks together in a skillet, the dried pasta and the ingredients for the sauce go in the same pot. It’s a revolutionary technique that streamlines prep and cleanup—and it's usually a simple and quick dish too, with the noodles being cooked just right and sauced perfectly. Different Approaches to One-Pot Pasta Our most famous one-pot pasta uses cherry tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan. The recipe is inspired by a pasta one of our editors tried in Puglia, Italy. Since then, our test kitchen team has developed several more one-pot pasta recipes that use different ingredients and tweak the technique a little. This one-pot pasta with broccoli rabe and bacon, for instance, calls for cooking the pasta, then adding the broccoli rabe to the pasta for its last two minutes of cooking. The pasta is drained and some of the pasta water reserved. Then, the same pan is used to cook the bacon and toast the walnuts. Finally, the pasta and broccoli rabe are added back to the pan and everything is tossed together before the dish is finished with some Parmesan for serving. Why Pasta Water Is the Secret Ingredient The water you boil your pasta in might not seem like a magical ingredient, but it is. It's a well-known secret of chefs and Italian grandmothers that ladling in a bit of starchy pasta water at the end of cooking a traditional pasta will make it better. The starchy water can add body to a thin tomato sauce, or even become the actual sauce when a little butter and cheese is added at the same time. One-pot pastas take this idea even further, making the pasta water the key ingredient from the very beginning. Vegetarian Variation You can make this one-pot pasta dish vegetarian by omitting the bacon and substituting 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead. It's not as fully flavored when made without the bacon, but the dish still has broccoli rabe, walnuts, garlic, and Parmesan, so it's a punchy dish. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients Coarse salt and ground pepper 1 pound short pasta, such as fusilli or penne 1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ¼-inch pieces ⅓ cup walnut halves, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced Grated Parmesan, for serving Directions Jason Donnelly Cook pasta; add broccoli rabe: In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Add broccoli rabe 2 minutes before pasta is done cooking. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and set aside; drain pasta mixture. Jason Donnelly Cook bacon: Add bacon to pasta pot and cook over medium-high until some fat renders, 2 minutes. Jason Donnelly Toast walnuts: Add walnuts and cook until nuts are toasted and bacon is lightly browned and crisp, 3 minutes. Jason Donnelly Cook garlic: Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Jason Donnelly Add pasta and broccoli rabe to pan: Add pasta mixture; toss to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. To serve, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan. Jason Donnelly Frequently Asked Questions Is broccoli rabe the same as rapini? Yes, broccoli rabe is the same as rapini. Rapini is another name for this leafy, cruciferous vegetable that’s closely related to the turnip. Despite its name, broccoli rabe is not closely related to broccoli, the two vegetables come from different families. How do you cook broccoli rabe so it's not bitter? Broccoli rabe can be cooked to lessen its bitter flavor. Not everyone wants to do this because many fans love broccoli rabe for its assertive, bitter flavor that’s somewhat similar to the taste of Brussels sprouts or kale. If you do want to downplay its assertive side, cook it in chicken stock, or with fatty meats like sausage, or rich, creamy ingredients such as heavy cream or Parmesan. What vegetables are similar to broccoli rabe? Other vegetables that are similar to broccoli rabe include spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, and collard greens. We’re not including broccoli in this list because, while you can certainly swap in broccoli in a recipe that calls for broccoli rabe, regular broccoli doesn't have the punchy, almost bitter flavor of broccoli rabe, so the two are not good substitutes for each other. Originally appeared: Everyday Food, November 2010 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.