Learn how to make the easiest, yummiest Pasta in Brodo (broth) as a delicious meal to share with the kids. It’s nutritious, fast, and packed with delicious flavor.
I have shared my method for cooking pasta in Vegetable Broth many times over the past year, and it’s become one of my absolute favorite kid-friendly meals to share with my kids. This is a simple meal that’s easy enough for a weeknight and can be adjusted for preferences and allergies as needed. It’s one of the recipes that reminds me of my childhood, along with my Pastina Soup.
You can also make classic Italian dish this with chicken broth, bone broth, or turkey broth, according to what you prefer.
You can use more broth to give this a soup consistency, or less broth to have it more like a saucy pasta recipe for kids. Totally up to you!
(You may also like Tortellini in Broth and my top hidden vegetable recipes.)
Table of Contents
Cooking Pasta in Broth
The method for cooking pasta in broth is to bring the broth to a boil, then simmer and add the pasta and cook until just al dente. This allows the pasta to absorb the broth, packing in flavor and thickening the mixture as it goes.
It does continue to absorb broth as it sits, so you can add more or simply serve it thicker.
(You may also like my Chicken Noodle Soup for kids, Tortellini in Broth, Orzo Soup, and Vegetable Sauces for Pasta.)
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at the ingredients you need to make this easy pasta recipe so you know what to have on hand.
- Water (or reduced-sodium chicken broth): You can use either of these to start with if you plan to simmer and blend in the vegetables. If you aren’t planning to add vegetables to the base, use chicken broth, bone broth, or whichever other broth you prefer.
- Onion, carrot, celery, garlic: You’ll need these if you’re planning to add vegetables to the broth. You can use fresh or frozen mirepoix if desired.
- Small pasta: Try stars, stelline, orzo, ABC pasta, O-ring pasta, acini di peppe, or pastina pasta. (Feel free to vary this by using tortellini if you prefer, too.)
- Unsalted butter or olive oil
- Salt and black pepper, parmesan cheese, marinara sauce, minced parsley to taste (optional).
Step-by-Step Instructions
Below is an overview of how to make this recipe so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full amounts and timing.
- Peel and roughly chop the vegetables. Add to the pot with the water (or chicken broth) and bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until tender.
- Blend smooth. Return to the pot.
- Add the pasta and cook until soft.
- Add optional seasonings and serve warm.
Add more liquid, if desired, if the broth is absorbed by the pasta as it sits. That is to be expected and is totally fine. And know that you can make this with straight chicken broth and skip the vegetable part if you prefer.
Broth to Use in Pasta in Brodo
For the base of this recipe, you can use my Vegetable Broth (and skip the steps where you make it here), chicken broth, turkey broth, store-bought vegetable broth, or bone broth.
You may want to use reduced-sodium broth when making this for kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brodo is broth and can be chicken broth, vegetable broth, beef broth, or another type.
It means in broth, or a style of cooking where you cook or poach a food in broth or stock.
It means pasta in broth, or pasta cooked until soft in broth.
How to Store
You can make the Vegetable Broth up to a week ahead of time, or up to 6 months ahead of time if you store it in the freezer.
Store leftover Pasta in Broth in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Add more broth or water to reheat to the same consistency.
Best Tips for Success
- Add a little tomato sauce for flavor similar to Spaghettios.
- Season to taste as you like with salt and pepper.
- Add Parmesan, butter, or a little tomato sauce for additional flavor.
- Use star pasta, small O pasta, or orzo. You can also use any other small pasta shape.
- Try this as a kid-friendly recipe or a baby meal, or pair with a simple side such as Healthy Meatballs, Salmon for Babies, or Yogurt Chicken.
Related Recipes
Easy Pasta in Brodo (Pasta in Broth)
Ingredients
- 1 onion (small)
- 4 carrots (medium)
- 4 celery ribs
- 8 cups water (or reduced-sodium chicken broth)
- 8 ounces small pasta (stars, orzo, ABC pasta, O-ring pasta, or pastina)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
- Salt and pepper (to taste, optional)
Instructions
- Peel and roughly chop the vegetables. Add to the pot with the water (or chicken broth) and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, covered, for about 20-25 minutes or until everything is soft when poked with a fork.
- Blend smooth. Return to the pot over medium-low heat.
- Add the pasta. Cook, stirring often, until the pasta is just soft. This is typically 2 minutes more than the cooking time on the box.
- Add optional seasonings and serve warm.
- Add more liquid, if desired, if the broth is absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the butter, if desired.
- (To make this with straight chicken broth, bring 6 cups to a simmer in a pot over medium-low heat. Continue with Step 3.)
Equipment
Notes
- You can make the Vegetable Broth up to a week ahead, or up to 6 months ahead if you store it in the freezer.
- Store leftover Pasta in Broth in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Add more broth or water to reheat to the same consistency.
- Add a little tomato sauce for flavor similar to SpaghettiOs.
- For the pasta, use stars, orzo, ABC pasta, O-ring pasta, or pastina
Can the pasta and sauce be frozen together? So glad I found this recipe 🙂
Sure
No toddlers here but I wanted to try this recipe. Used gluten free stelline and served with a variety of toppings – grated cheese, croutons, pesto, and crunchy onions. Family liked adding texture but I just had mine with cheese. Hearty and flavorful. It really is similar to spaghetti-o’s! Thank you.
My toddler is such a picky eater. If she even sees any chunks of veggies in anything, it’s an automatic no. She absolutely loved this. She finished her whole bowl!
Made this tonight, cooked it until it thickened a bit more, used ditalini pasta, and at the very end mixed in a little heavy cream and parmesan… it was literally heavenly. This will definitely be in the rotations from now on.
My toddler loves this. So this time I made the borth and froze it. Not wanting to make a whole box of pasta. What would the broth to pasta ratio be?
About 1 cup liquid to a little over 1 ounce pasta
Just curious – -it mentions adding butter or olive oil in the recipe list but doesn’t specify when to add in the instructions. Did I miss a step? I’m assuming its at the end?
You can stir it in at the end
I made this last night for my kids since they both have the flu! I wanted to make a brothy soup and my oldest (9) year old is soup averse. This is a great “entry level” soup for kids they may not like a bowl of soup with a lot of different ingredients like minestrone or chili. My son complained about the idea of “soup” but eventually tried it and LOVED this !!!
How could I add chicken to this recipe? I wouldn’t want to blend the chicken but rather cook the chicken in the broth somehow and serve the dish with chunks of chicken. I have very little experience with cooking! 🙈 Thank you!
I’m planning on cooking the chicken in a separate pan and then adding it to the pot to let the flavors blend
Hi Amy! This dish looks so delicious, but when I followed the proportions in the recipe- it seems like the liquid is doubled (very watery) compared to your video about it on Instagram.. trying to troubleshoot- should the recipe say 4 cups of liquid instead of 8 as it says? Thank you!!
Hi- it should be the consistency of chicken broth. Hope that helps!
I just cooked my broth for quite a bit longer to let it thicken up a bit more before adding the pasta in, since a stronger flavor and a more “spaghettio”-type consistency was what I was personally looking for. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! Question on the onion – does it have to be a purple or white onion?
I usually use yellow or white.
This was really good! Added some cream cheese at the end for a little extra creaminess and fat. Kids loved it
Love that add!
You don’t say what to do with the butter in the instructions…..
Stir it in before serving.
I always come to you Amy in order to get ideas to feed my 5-year-old picky eater. Thank you for saving my sanity!
You’re so welcome!
I don’t know why when you have children it’s like I lost my mind how to cook delicious and simple things. THIS is exactly that. We beefed ours up with a little shredded chicken and peas… But made the base to recipe. Perfect! TY, Amy, for keeping us sane (and fed 😂 ).
So glad to be able to help a bit!