Air Fryer Broccoli

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Air Fryer Broccoli is such an easy and healthy side dish. Get the great taste of roasted broccoli without all the oil and even faster in the air fryer.

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Roasted broccoli is one of our staple side dishes. It is something everyone in my family can get behind and it comes together so easily.

Recently, we have been making this recipe in the air fryer, and I think my kids like it even more. The broccoli gets nice and crisp on the outside without the inside turning to mushy overdone vegetables.

In addition being faster, love how much healthier this option is. When roasting in the oven we coat the broccoli in olive oil. In the air fryer, we give it a light spray with some olive oil based cooking spray. It’s the same great flavor without all the calories.

How to Cook Broccoli in Air Fryer

Prepare the broccoli. I like to cut off all the florets, discard the stems, and cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces. That being said, the stems are totally edible, and if you peel them you can toss them in too.
Preheat the air fryer. While I’m preparing the broccoli, I like to let my air fryer warm up.
Spray the broccoli with cooking spray and season. Spray the basket of the air fryer first with cooking spray. Then add half the broccoli. Spray the broccoli with cooking spray and season with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt. Repeat with the remaining broccoli.
Cook the broccoli. Cook it for 5 minutes and then open the air fryer and toss the broccoli. Cook it for an additional 5 minutes or until it reaches your desired tenderness.

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Buying Broccoli

When picking out broccoli in the store there are a few things to look for.

Look for broccoli that has a firm stem. If the stem is at all wilted you want to move on.
Pick a broccoli head that has bright green buds. Look it over and make sure you don’t see any that are yellowing or worse, turning brown and black.
Grab a broccoli head that has buds that are still tight together.

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Cosori Air Fryer

How to Store Broccoli

After buying your broccoli, keep it in it’s bag in your refrigerator. Broccoli can be stored in the refrigerator for about 4 to 5 days before you cook it.

Cooking Spray for Air Fryer Broccoli

Not all cooking sprays are created equal, so you want to give a little bit of thought to this before you buy yours. I suggest using olive oil for the best flavor. It is also a heart healthy fat. But other options that still fit those two criteria would be avocado oil spray and grapeseed oil.

According to the American Heart Association , you want to look for an oil that contains less than 4 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. The oils listed here are all less than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. They are perfect for broccoli in the air fryer.

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It is! As mentioned above, we are using a small amount of cooking spray (in the form of olive oil – a healthy fat), to crisp up the broccoli in the air fryer. We are also using a small amount of salt in our garlic salt, but that could be cut back, or replaced with garlic powder, depending on your health needs.

Air frying vegetables is a great way to maintain it’s nutrients. You will always loose some nutrients when cooking vegetables, but you loose less when air frying compared to, for example, boiling.

I’ve tried a few and I love this Corsi Air Fryer . It holds more than others, has better controls, and air fries perfectly.

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What to Serve with Air Fryer Broccoli

As I mentioned, this is a frequent side dish for us. It works well with so many main dishes. Here are some of our favorites:

Pesto Chicken
Stuffed Shells
Easy Top Round Roast Beef

If you make this broccoli air fryer recipe or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

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Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli florets cut off and into bite sized pieces (about 12 cups
olive oil cooking spray
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees.
Once the air fryer is preheated, spray the basket with cooking spray. Add half of the cut broccoli. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with half of the garlic salt. Add the remaining broccoli, spray again, and add the rest of the garlic salt.
Cook the broccoli for 5 minutes. Toss and cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

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