This recipe for air fryer broccoli is a quick and easy way to prepare a healthy low carb vegetable side dish! Perfectly roasted broccoli seasoned with lemon and garlic comes together in less than 20 minutes, making it a great addition to busy weeknight dinners.
My love for air fryers (specifically my beloved Ninja Foodie) runs deep. I have pretty much said that in all of my air fryer posts, but the reason I love them as much as I do is because they make simple healthy food FAST.
Air fryers are essentially countertop convection ovens, so they naturally heat up very quickly due to the circulating air.
To be honest, I mostly use the air fryer feature of my Ninja Foodi to make vegetables because air fried vegetables have a beautiful crispy texture that would take much longer to achieve in the oven.
If you haven’t purchased an air fryer yet, check out my guide here as well as the air fryer and pressure cooker combo, the Ninja Foodi that I use 4-5x a week!
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🤔Why Make Broccoli In Your Air Fryer?
Broccoli is one of those veggies that the air fryer was MADE for, and it’s even BETTER flavored with lemon juice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Garlic makes everything better and lemon cuts down on any broccoli bitterness, so even the kids will eat it!
You can use any seasoning or flavor you enjoy.
It’s inherently gluten-free, low-carb, Keto, Whole30 and Vegan.
It’s simple! 6 healthy ingredients and an air fryer is all you’ll need to achieve oven-roasted flavor in a short amount of time.
You can make air fryer broccoli with a bag of frozen broccoli in a pinch.
🥦Ingredients You'll Need
Fresh Broccoli Crowns - For a consistent tender texture with crispy roasted edges, make sure to chop the broccoli into even-size florets.
Fresh Garlic - There are very few savory recipes that don’t involve garlic. This flavor just goes well with most things.
Lemon Juice - The citrus cuts down on the bitterness of the greens.
Avocado Oil - Tossing broccoli in a small amount of cooking oil before air frying helps achieve broccoli that is crisp on the outside and fork-tender on the inside aka the perfect al dente bite.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper - balances the contrasting flavors of lemon and garlic and makes everything taste better!
📖How To Make Air Fryer Broccoli
1️⃣ First, chop the broccoli crowns and stems into equal size pieces.
2️⃣ Next, add the chopped broccoli to a large bowl along with two cloves of minced fresh garlic, two tablespoons of avocado oil (or coconut oil) and salt and pepper. Toss everything together thoroughly.
3️⃣ Dump the contents of the bowl into your air fryer basket and cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, giving the air fryer basket a good shake halfway through. This temperature and timing will result in broccoli with a crunchy outside and a fork-tender inside.
4️⃣ Once the broccoli is cooked to your liking, gently toss with fresh lemon juice and serve hot!
👩🏻🍳Chef's Tips
For a consistent fork-tender texture with crispy roasted edges, make sure to chop the broccoli into even-size pieces.
Broccoli stems get thrown out often, but I recommend roasting them right along with the florets. They’re super nutritious!
Gently toss the broccoli with the garlic, avocado oil and seasonings until everything is well-distributed and the broccoli pieces are well-coated in flavor.
Don’t forget to flip the broccoli halfway through! Giving the air fryer basket a good shake will do the trick.
If you like your broccoli even crispier, crank the heat up to 400 degrees for the last three to five minutes of cooking.
🔀Variations
Air fryer broccoli is perfect on it’s own, but you could also kick things up by tossing the hot broccoli with lemon or lime juice.
Sprinkle some of your favorite grated cheese on top like freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano.
Give it a kick of spice by adding some red pepper flake.
Toss with your favorite seasoning blend like curry powder or Cajun seasoning.
Swap out one of the broccoli crowns for a head of cauliflower for delicious air fryer broccoli AND cauliflower!
This recipe is also great for roasting broccolini. Follow the recipe as is using whole broccolini pieces and cook for ten to twelve minutes. Broccolini is cooked when it is tender and lightly browned.
🧊Air Frying Frozen Broccoli
You can cook frozen broccoli and many other frozen vegetables in the air fryer! Keep in mind that the texture of air fried frozen vegetables may be more tender than cooking from fresh and may need to cook longer to draw out all of the moisture.
If you would like to roast frozen broccoli in the air fryer, cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes at a time until it is cooked to your liking. If cooking from frozen, season the broccoli after it’s thawed a bit in the air fryer. Otherwise, the longer cook times may result in burned seasonings.
More Easy Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes
- Air Fryer Mushrooms
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Air Fryer Acorn Squash
- Air Fryer Cabbage
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato
- Air Fryer Diced Potatoes
- Air Fryer Hash Browns
Air Fryer Broccoli | Easy Roasted Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Broccoli Crowns
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 tbsp [Avocado Oil]
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
- ⅛ tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Chop broccoli crowns into even sized florets.
- Add broccoli, minced garlic, salt, pepper and oil into a large bowl and toss together until broccoli is fully coated.
- Place seasoned broccoli in air fryer basket and cook at 375 for 20 minutes flipping half way through. For extra crispy broccoli, cook at 400 for the last 3-5 minutes.
- Toss hot broccoli with 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Valerie Skinner is a Whole30 approved personal chef & recipe developer that bridges the gap between healthy eating and busy lives by providing simple healthy meals and recipes for you and your family.
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