Broccoli, right from time, has always been popular as a side dish, perhaps due to its high nutrient content and ease of preparation. When you cook broccoli in the air fryer, in particular, you get the crispiest broccoli you’ve ever had. This is an excellent dish to start with if you’ve never used your air fryer before.
If you’re not sure about what it entails, this article will teach you how to cook broccoli using your air fryer. We advise that you pay attention to our instructions, tips, and timing guidelines in order to ensure the best possible results.
Tips for Cooking Broccoli in the Air Fryer
The following tips have been compiled to help you get the best out of your air fryer broccoli recipes, so pay close attention:
Why you should eat broccoli – It’s always a good idea to eat your broccoli; it’s packed with vitamins and minerals! Iron, folate, fiber, vitamin C, manganese, and potassium are just a handful of the nutrients contained within broccoli.
Antioxidants are also abundant in both olive oil and broccoli. Olive oil is also high in vitamin E, and vitamin K. So let nothing stop you from eating air-fried broccoli since it’s beneficial for your health and really delicious.
Make use of even-sized broccoli pieces – It’s advisable to cook with broccoli florets that have been cut up or torn into small, relatively even pieces. Consider mini-florets. Your broccoli will have a delicate, tender texture and attractively browned edges when finished.
Necessary ingredients – The ingredients you’ll typically need to cook broccoli in the air fryer have been discussed below:
- Olive oil: While air fryer broccoli can be made without oil, it doesn’t appear to caramelize as well as when you use oil and doesn’t taste as gratifying. To ensure that the broccoli cooks correctly in the air fryer, you just need some olive oil, even if it’s just a small amount.
- Seasonings: The classic seasonings are salt and pepper. For a little something extra, you can sprinkle garlic powder on top. Garlic powder tends not to burn when put inside the air fryer, which is a plus.
- Toppings: Broccoli recipes are typically delicious straight out of the air fryer, but there’s still room to dress broccoli up a little more to make it especially nice.
Seasoning ideas for air fryer broccoli – While steaming and boiling methods of cooking broccoli might result in it developing a diluted rather than strong flavor, air frying tends to bring out the natural sweet quality of the broccoli stalks while caramelizing their frilly tips. As a result, the most effective approach to season broccoli when cooking it using the air fryer is to keep things simple. Below are some pointers:
- Using a light coating of oil, lightly coat the broccoli. This will aid in the adhesion of the seasonings to the florets.
- Simply season with salt and pepper. It is important to keep the seasoning simple; use some kosher salt, red pepper flakes, as well as some freshly ground black pepper. This way, you’ll get a flexible side dish that goes with any main dish.
- Also, don’t forget the final touches. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast for delicious results.
Don’t overcrowd your air fryer basket – To guarantee that the broccoli florets get crispy on all sides, arrange them evenly and in one single layer in the air fryer basket. It will be difficult for them to prepare if the basket is overfilled.
How to cook ahead of time – You can certainly prepare air-fried broccoli in advance. Allow time for it to cool after it has finished cooking. Then refrigerate it for 3 to 4 days in a storage container that has a tight-fitting lid.
Please remember that if you refrigerate the broccoli, it will lose its crispiness when you reheat it in a microwave. Simply warm it for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it is heated throughout.
Warm the broccoli inside the air fryer for 3 to 5 minutes until it gets hot for optimal results. This way, it’ll be crispy and taste just like it did the first time you prepared it. Just be careful not to overheat it, or it will get burned.
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Cooking Time for Broccoli in the Air Fryer
Follow the timing guidelines in the table below if your plan is to get delicious and crisp results with your air fryer broccoli recipes:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Cooking broccoli in an air fryer at 390 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit | 10 to 12 minutes |
Air Fryer Broccoli (4 Servings)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds of broccoli (2 medium)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- Finely grated Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, optional ingredient for serving
Instructions
- Prepare your broccoli by getting its stems removed. Cut the broccoli florets into one- to one-and-a-half-inch pieces. Trim the stems’ tough, woody ends, peel until you reach the lighter smooth stem sections, then slice the florets crosswise into ¼-inch pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the stems and florets of the broccoli. Toss them with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, ½ a teaspoon of kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Preheat your air fryer to a temperature of 390 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside the tray or basket of a 5½-quart air fryer (you can also use a larger size), spread the florets and stems of the broccoli in a uniform layer. Cook them for 10 to 12 minutes in total, making sure to flip them every 5 minutes until the broccoli florets and stems are cooked and they show golden and crispy edges.
- If preferred, garnish the broccoli with nutritional yeast or freshly grated Parmesan cheese on a serving dish.
This recipe for air-fried broccoli tastes delicious with the Parmesan toppings, and you may find yourself stuck beside your air fryer for a few days. Try this recipe for a healthy and delicious way to enjoy your veggies, you’ll thank us later.
If you’d like to see more ideas or get more inspiration on how to cook broccoli using an air fryer, then we advise that you check out this video recipe.