How to Cook Broccoli in the Oven

Ever since first learning how to cook broccoli in the oven, I have love roasted broccoli. And these days - so do my kids! It's my favorite way to serve it.

I will never forget the time my son invited one of his best friends over and bragged that his mom makes the best “burnt broccoli” ever.

While kids may not understand the finer details of roasted broccoli, they do tend to enjoy the flavor more often than not, and I can’t blame them.

How to Select and Prep Broccoli

When selecting fresh broccoli, make sure to look for tightly closed, dark green florets and thin, firm stalks. This indicates that the broccoli is fresh.

Before cooking with broccoli, it is important to wash or soak your broccoli before roasting, steaming, blanching or stir frying.

Fill a sink or large bowl with water. Add ¼ cup salt and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar then allow the broccoli to sit for 20 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.

How to Cook Broccoli in the Oven

Roasted broccoli can be prepared alone, with or without seasoning or spices, or alongside other fresh vegetables.

You can even mix things up with our delicious roasted broccoli with buttery bread crumbs recipe, which is compltely delicious, or keep it simpler.

These basic instructions will walk you through how to cook broccoli in an oven, but you an easily switch it up from here:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a sheet pan lightly with olive oil to prevent sticking.
2. Remove the stalks and halve the broccoli florets.
3. Toss the broccoli in a light amount of oil, and add seasoning - go simple with just salt and pepper, or add garlic, red pepper flakes, and spices.
4. Roast until florets lightly brown or are fork tender. The length of time will vary with the recipe and size, but it takes about 15 minutes generally.
5. Consider adding toppings such as balsamic vinegar and grated parmesan cheese for texture and flavor.

Tip: keeping the vegetables separated on the pan will speed up cooking time. Try to prevent overlap when possible, and flip or stir the vegetables with a spatula at approximately the ten minute mark.

What Makes Broccoli a Superfood?

Roasted broccoli is easy to prepare and customize, and there’s something to be said about finding ways to enjoy a vegetable with so many obvious benefits.

Widely considered a so-called superfood, broccoli boasts anti-inflammatory qualities and is packed with loads of vitamins and nutrients.

High in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, folate, manganese and potassium, broccoli also boasts quite a bit more protein than most other vegetables.

In fact, just one cup of raw broccoli provides most of your daily needs for vitamin K and vitamin C, all while being low in carbohydrates. Who knew?!

Add all of this up together and it explains why broccoli is often counted among the top ten healthiest vegetables for us to eat regularly.

Other Ways to Cook Broccoli

Broccoli is so easy to make with loads of options for making it into a delicious, fresh side dish. It's in high rotation at my house for good reason!

Knowing how to cook broccoli in the oven is a good starting point, but we also suggesting knowing how to cook broccoli on the stove as well.

Steaming broccoli keeps it bright green, crisp and especially fresh while roasting adds a deeper, smokier flavor to the broccoli.

You can also make roasted broccoli in the toaster oven or check out our tips for how to parboil broccoli to later use in stir fry like our beef and broccoli ramen.

Planning a dinner party and need some inspiration?

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