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by Diane
Buy our air fryer e-cookbooks today This air fryer broccoli recipe is quick, easy and healthy. You’re going to love making this several times a week! Air fried broccoli is definitely one of our most popular recipes.
Easy Air Fryer Broccoli Recipe
We can eat crispy broccoli in the air fryer every day. The air fried broccoli always has a wonderful crispy texture and the flavor is outstanding! If you don’t like it crispy, you can definitely cook it for less time. Add extra garlic powder before cooking if you love extra garlic broccoli flavor. And squeeze a little bit of lemon before you eat and the bright lemon flavors are so good! Best of all, this crispy air fryer broccoli recipe will be a favorite for kids. It’s a great way to get them to eat their vegetables!
Video: Best Air Fryer Broccoli Recipe
How to Cook Broccoli in Air Fryer
- Use fresh broccoli florets. They will taste so much better!
- Toss broccoli with a little oil, salt and pepper. Or add your personal favorite spice or seasoning blend.
- After first toss/shake you’ll see the broccoli crisp a little.If needed, toss and shake a second time to get everything cooked crisp.
- The more you shake/toss the broccoli during cooking, the more even they will cook.
- All recipe details are in the recipe box below.
Can you Air Fry Frozen Broccoli?
Yes, you can but it’ll definitely be mushy if you don’t cook it hot and fast. The hot and quick method will make the broccoli little more crispy and less mushy. We recommend air frying frozen broccoli at about 400F for about 5 minutes. Check the broccoli and add addition 1-2 minutes of air frying OR until it’s cooked to your desired texture. Also, different brands of frozen broccoli are not all the same sizes. That’s why you should check after the first 5 minutes of air frying to make sure it isn’t burnt or if you should add additional time.
Tips for More Flavor and Serving Air Fried Broccoli
If you want extra flavor, the possibilities are endless. Raid your spice pantry and experiment with different spices on the broccoli.
- We love making an Indian inspired broccoli with ground cumin.
- Or make a spicy version with some chipotle!
- Cheese is always a hit too, so adding your favorite cheese like cheddar or parmesan will never be boring!
- Serve the broccoli with a side of steak or anytime you need a quick vegetable side dish.
- We love making a big batch of this (cooked in several batches) and everyone goes crazy over the flavor. The hot air really gives this air fried broccoli and nice char and maximum flavor.
- Make a big batch for the week. Store in an air tight container and warm up on the stove or in the microwave when you’re ready to serve.
What are the Best Air Fryers for this air fryer broccoli ?
There’s so many on the market now. You just need to research and find the ones that fits your needs, capacity and style. We group the basket style air fryers into 2 main size groups: 3-4 qt range & the 5-6 qt. range. Here’s our favorites:
Cosori 3.7 qt. Digital Air Fryer – “That’s a stylish Air Fryer” was said as we unboxed the Cosori. Beyond being stylish, it has cooked great. The basket is not as tall and wider than most in its size group, which is perfect. You’ll have a lot better results in an air fryer with single layered, spread out foods, then with ones piled high and thick.
The non-stick basket style (non-wire base) & smoothness of the basket tray is also great for clean up.
Ninja 4 qt. Digital Air Fryer – Has a great ceramic coated basket, one of the longest lasting we’ve used. Super powerful fan that will often cook recipes even faster than other air fryers. We initially returned our first one because we thought we wouldn’t like the basket style. After reconsidering, we bought another and are super glad we did. We love it’s basket and just a platform insert. One less bulky thing to wash. This is a great air fryer.
Good Larger Air Fryers
Tiluxury 5.8 qt. Digital Air Fryer – It’s a good larger air fryer capable of cooking for larger families, especially when you need to cook more food. It’s great for cooking bigger batches (ie 4 salmon fillets instead of 2 or 2 lbs of fries instead of 1).
We like that this Tiluxury 5.8 qt has the non-stick basket (non-wire base). Makes for less sticking for delicate meals (ie baked fish fillets). And we like the digital interface (easier cleaning).
Gourmia 6 qt. Digital Air Fryer – This is quickly becoming one of our favorite larger basket style air fryers. Great basket size, good controls, cooks nice. Clean up is great. It has become one of our kitchen favorites. We’ll often find it as Costco at a great price too!
Air Fryer Crispy Broccoli
Yield: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 15 minutes mins
The broccoli will cook down and shrink, so if it the basket feels full at first, there will be half the amount after it shrinks. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your broccoli and the power of your air fryer. After your first batch, you'll know the best timing for your preferred texture.
5 from 11 votes
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Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) fresh broccoli , cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil (approximately)
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) garlic powder
- salt , to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper , to taste
- Fresh lemon wedges
Equipment
Instructions
Add broccoli to large bowl and drizzle evenly with olive oil. Season broccoli with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Add broccoli to air fryer basket/tray in an even layer.
Air Fry 380°F for 12-15 minutes, flipping and shaking 3 times through cooking. Or cook until crispy. More flipping/shaking will allow broccoli to cook more evenly. Serve with lemon wedges.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories: 101kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 37mg, Potassium: 358mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 705IU, Vitamin C: 101.1mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 0.8mg
Hope you enjoy our air fryer broccoli recipe.Here’s more great broccoli recipes for your family to enjoy:
- Microwave Cheesy Broccoli
- Roasted broccoli salad with bacon
- Easy beef and broccoli stir fry is better than take out!
- Click Here for —-> Our Best Air Fryer Recipes
- This recipe was originally published in 2018.
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posted in: 30 Minute Recipes, Air Fryer, Gluten Free, Healthy, Paleo, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian 15 comments
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Rick — Reply
This got my kids to finally eat broccoli. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂 -
Mandy — Reply
I was just about the buy an air fryer this weekend! This was SO helpful. Thanks a bunch! -
Melissa — Reply
I love discovering new ways to cook/eat broccoli. This one is exceptional. Glad I don’t have to use a lot of oil to get great tasting broccoli. -
Rachel — Reply
Thanks for the suggestion! Never thought cooking broccoli would be so easy! -
B. Wyant — Reply
I will never cook broccoli any other way. Fabulous!-
Best Recipe Box — Reply
Agree! It texture and flavor is amazing.
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Tye — Reply
This recipe leaves the broccoli crispy and tasty! Definitely a keeper. -
Barbara A OToole — Reply
I followed instructions to a tee, however, my broccoli was NOT crispy! What could I have done wrong?
Thank you.
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Best Recipe Box — Reply
Hi Barbara, perhaps you cut them bigger and they just needed more time. Or you can cook them a little hotter at a higher temp next time. Every air fryer cooks a little differently. Let know if you make any changes and what your results are! Thank you.
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Willene — Reply
Can you use thawed frozen broccoli in this recipe?
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Best Recipe Box — Reply
Hi Willene, Yes you can but you’ll have to cook it just a little longer. There’s still lots of moisture in thawed broccoli. But if you like broccoli soft rather than crispy, then thawed broccoli is perfect!
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Jake Stryker — Reply
Maybe our air fryer is more powerful than most. The time and temp that is recommended left me with broccoli that was a little burned.
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Amber — Reply
I’m in love with the way you seasoned the broccoli. The air fryer cooked it nice and crispy. Love it. -
Naomi — Reply
This was great for Thanksgiving as it saved so much time. I’m doing this method again for Christmas. -
Lori — Reply
It is so Yummy! Cooked 8-10 and was a perfect crunch.
