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Sautéed broccolini with sausage is a quick skillet meal made with tender broccolini, browned smoked sausage, garlic, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Ready in about 20 minutes, this single serving recipe delivers a flavorful, balanced meal with minimal ingredients.
Featured Comment
“Such a simple and flavorful dish!”
– Crystal
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick Skillet Meal: Sautéed broccolini and sausage cook together in about 20 minutes, making this an easy meal for lunch or dinner.
- Delicious Flavor Combination: Tender broccolini, savory sausage, garlic, and a squeeze of lemon create a simple dish with bold flavor.
- Perfectly Portioned: This small recipe makes one satisfying serving without extra leftovers.
- Simple Ingredients: Made with broccolini, smoked sausage, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan, all easy to find at the grocery store.
- Easy to Adjust: Use spicy sausage for more heat, mild sausage for a gentler flavor, or adjust the red pepper flakes to your taste.
A skillet of broccolini and sausage always catches my attention the moment it reaches the table. The broccolini stays bright green with tender stems and lightly crisp tips, while the sausage browns in the pan and fills the kitchen with a rich, savory aroma. Every bite brings a balance of hearty and fresh flavors.
I love how simple yet complete this dish feels. The broccolini adds a fresh, slightly sweet bite that pairs beautifully with the savory sausage, and a splash of lemon at the end lifts the entire dish. It is a meal that feels satisfying without being heavy and one I return to often.
This dish is a great reminder of how much flavor sausage can bring to a simple meal. If you’d like to try more recipes like this, our single serving jambalaya combines sausage, shrimp, and rice in a rich Creole-style dish. Single serving chicken gumbo features tender chicken and smoky sausage in a deeply seasoned broth, and Brunswick stew for one is a thick, hearty stew filled with meat and vegetables.
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this sautéed broccolini recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Broccolini: Broccolini has long, slender stems and small florets with a mild, slightly sweet flavor. It cooks quickly and becomes tender with lightly crisp edges when sautéed. If broccolini is unavailable, substitute broccoli florets or Chinese broccoli. If you have extra broccolini, use it in beef and broccoli for one, a small batch of roasted broccolini or a single serving broccoli salad.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Olive oil is used to sauté the broccolini and sausage, helping the vegetables cook evenly while adding flavor. Extra virgin olive oil has the most flavor, but a lighter olive oil can be used if you prefer a milder taste.
- Smoked Sausage: Smoked sausage adds rich, savory flavor and makes the dish more filling. Use kielbasa, andouille, Italian sausage, or chicken sausage. Plant based sausage also works well. If you have leftover sausage, use it in bangers and mash for one, mini slow cooker chickpeas and sausage or single serving jambalaya.
- Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes: Garlic adds strong, aromatic flavor that pairs well with broccolini. Red pepper flakes add a gentle heat. Use a small pinch or leave them out if you prefer a milder dish.
- Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon juice added at the end brightens the flavor of the broccolini and balances the richness of the sausage.
- Parmesan Cheese: A sprinkle of grated Parmesan adds a salty, savory finish and brings the whole dish together. Freshly grated Parmesan melts slightly over the warm broccolini for the best texture.
How to Cut and Cook Broccolini
Broccolini is quick to prepare and cooks in just a few minutes. Trimming the stems and briefly blanching it helps the broccolini cook evenly and keeps the color bright green.
Trim the Broccolini
Rinse the broccolini under cool running water. Trim about ½ to 1 inch from the bottom of the stems to remove the tough ends. If the stems are thick, slice them lengthwise so they cook at the same rate as the florets.
Blanch the Broccolini
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and cook for 2 minutes, until bright green and slightly tender. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking. Pat dry before adding the broccolini to the skillet.
How To Make Sautéed Broccolini With Sausage
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
Blanch the broccolini:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and cook for 2 minutes until bright green. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry and cut the broccolini in half or into thirds.
Cook the sausage:
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the sausage, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring so the garlic does not burn.
Add the broccolini:
Add the broccolini to the skillet and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes until heated through and tender.
Finish the dish:
Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Taste and add salt if needed.
Expert Tips
- Blanch the Broccolini First: Briefly blanching the broccolini keeps the color bright and helps it cook evenly in the skillet.
- Do Not Overcook the Garlic: Garlic cooks quickly and can burn easily. Stir it frequently and keep the heat at medium-high so it becomes fragrant without turning bitter.
- Let the Sausage Brown: Allow the sausage to cook undisturbed for a minute or two so it develops a lightly browned exterior. This adds extra flavor to the dish.
- Add Lemon at the End: Stir in the lemon juice after removing the skillet from the heat so the fresh flavor stays bright.
- Use Freshly Grated Parmesan: Fresh Parmesan melts slightly over the warm broccolini and sausage and adds better flavor than pre-grated cheese.
Serving Suggestions
This sautéed broccolini and sausage is satisfying on its own but pairs well with a few simple sides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Regular broccoli works well in this recipe. Cut the florets and stems into smaller pieces so they cook quickly and evenly.
Broccolini cooks quickly. When blanched first, it takes about 3 minutes in the skillet to become tender with lightly crisp edges.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yes. Bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, or cherry tomatoes pair well with broccolini and sausage.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this single serve sautéed broccolini recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Sautéed Broccolini With Sausage For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ pound broccolini -rinsed and trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 ½ ounces sliced smoked sausage (¾ cup sliced)
- 1 clove garlic -thinly sliced
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Blanch the broccolini: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and cook for 2 minutes until bright green. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Pat dry and cut the broccolini in half or into thirds.
- Cook the sausage: Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the sausage, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring so the garlic does not burn.
- Add the broccolini: Add the broccolini to the skillet and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes until heated through and tender.
- Finish the dish: Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Taste and add salt if needed.
Notes
- Blanch the Broccolini First: Briefly blanching the broccolini keeps the color bright and helps it cook evenly in the skillet.
- Do Not Overcook the Garlic: Garlic cooks quickly and can burn easily. Stir it frequently and keep the heat at medium-high so it becomes fragrant without turning bitter.
- Let the Sausage Brown: Allow the sausage to cook undisturbed for a minute or two so it develops a lightly browned exterior. This adds extra flavor to the dish.
- Add Lemon at the End: Stir in the lemon juice after removing the skillet from the heat so the fresh flavor stays bright.
- Use Freshly Grated Parmesan: Fresh Parmesan melts slightly over the warm broccolini and sausage and adds better flavor than pre-grated cheese.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I really liked this recipe. I doubled the amount of brocollini. It’s a filling dinner or lunch.
Great recipe.
I used broccoli instead of broccolini – could not locate that in my small town. Yummy!
Awesome, Leanne. I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
I also love to stir fry kielbasa with large chunks of bell pepper, onion, celery, carrot and water chestnuts. I steam the veggies lightly and add to the sauted kielbasa chunks. Then I add some sesame oil and soy sauce. I serve it over cauliflower rice that I have heated up. This can be adjusted to whatever your taste is and I suppose chicken, shrimp or other meats can be used. I just like the kielbasa because it only needs to be heated up and caramelized a bit.
This was soooo good. I made it last night because hubby and the kids were gone AND it has my two favs…sausage and broccolini. Delish!
Such a simple and flavorful dish! I have to say hands down broccolini is my favorite and this comes together so easy and wonderful!