An air fryer is a hidden gem that allows you to enjoy deep fried food without any of the guilt. My favorite recipe that I cook regularly is air fryer frozen broccoli.
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I’m always searching for a little more veggies in my life and air fryer frozen broccoli is a perfect way to whip up a great side for lunch or dinner!
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is a countertop convection oven that deep fries food with hot air rather than oil. Hot air rapidly rushes through the food basket, making the food hot and crisp.
I use this air fryer from Elite Platinum . While it’s a little bulky, to me it’s worth making a little room in my pantry for it.
I can control the temperature and cooking time using the LED display and adjust as needed.
What can you make in an Air fryer?
I’ve found the most success cooking frozen foods in the air fryer. Other meals that have worked wonderfully are zucchini chips and Chinese dumplings!
If you have an air fryer, play around with a few different recipes and see which ones you prefer air fried!
How to: prepare the air fryer for cooking
Run your empty air fryer for 5 minutes before beginning. This step is optional, but it really helps to warm up the fryer before cooking your food.
Then, light spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray. I use an olive oil mister that I absolutely love!
how to: prepare frozen broccoli
Depending on the size of your air fryer, grab enough frozen broccoli to fill the basket and keep some space in between each piece. It’s essential for the basket to not be crowded to allow the hot air to flow throughout. A quart size baggie holds just enough broccoli for two servings.
In a plastic sandwich baggie, toss the broccoli in some olive oil and shake to cover. Add in some of your favorite seasonings and continue shaking. My perfect combo is a little bit of garlic powder and cayenne pepper, and A LOT of red pepper flakes!
how to: air fry frozen broccoli
Place the broccoli into the frying basket, spreading them out as much as you can.
Set the temperature to 400 degrees and cook for 7 minutes.
After 7 minutes, flip the broccoli. You’ll see that they are already starting to get nice and crispy florets! Continue cooking for another 7 minutes.
The smell of charred broccoli will start wafting and you’ll know they are about ready! The broccoli should be nice and crispy and ready to be devoured.
Serve alongside your favorite meals or enjoy as a snack!
Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 olive oil spray
- 1 cup frozen broccoli about 10-12 pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat the empty air fryer for 5 minutes.
- Toss frozen broccoli in a plastic baggie with olive oil, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Spray the frying basket with olive oil spray. Place the broccoli in the basket with space in between each piece.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Flip broccoli. Cook for an additional 7 minutes, adding more red pepper flakes if needed.
Customization
Alter the seasonings to create variations of this side dish.
- Italian: toss in basil, oregano, and breadcrumbs
- Garlic: add diced garlic to the last half of the cooking time
- Chinese: toss in sesame seeds light soy sauce
- Curry: toss in curry powder and ginger
- Lemon: toss in lemon juice and basil
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What are you favorite ways to cook broccoli? Are there any other air fryer recipes that you’d loved to share? Let me know if the comments below and I’ll check them out!
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Oooh this looks delicious! I have an air fryer and a Costco bag if broccoli that needs using! It’s not frozen though. I wonder if this could work for fresh broccoli? 🤔
Yes fresh broccoli would work at well, it just may not crisp up quite as much. I’ve used fresh before and it’s still tasty though!
What a great idea! I’ve been reeeeeeally tempted to buy an air fryer. And I love the idea of using it for proteins AND veggies. Thanks for the inspiration!
This broccoli looks so amazing! I’ve been hearing so much about air fryers lately. We moved and my kitchen is now tiny, so have to room for any other small appliances. Maybe one day!!
Yes! Broccoli is my son’s fav. When we’re eating any veg he won’t eat, I usually throw some frozen broccoli in the microwave for him, but this looks way better!
Heck yes my kind of recipe. I can literally taste the toasty broccoli with the pepper flakes. So mouthwatering. I feel like this would go great on pasta or salads.
This looks super yummy! I love broccoli so much 🥦😋
We don’t have an air fryer but this looks absolutely lovely! I’m always looking for more exciting ways to have vegetables because I LOVE broccoli but never know what to do with it haha x
They look delish! I have rediscovered broccoli a couple of years ago and absolutely love them! We have been looking around to get an air fryer and I guess we will need to get one asap! Thanks for sharing x
This broccoli dish looks so easy yet so delicious. We received an air fryer as a gift and have only used it once. I definitely want to try this next.
This looks yummy! I have got to get an air fryer! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Broccoli is one of my favourite veggies AND we just recently got an air fryer so this is kismet! This sounds amazing!
Omg this looks so good! I’m trying to eat more veg but also find it so boring, might have a wee look into some recipes with the air fryer and then convince the parents to let me get one! Gonna go check out some more of your recipes for inspo now!
Hi Kalin. This sounds great. It may be a strange question but … how big are air-fryers? All of the gadgets are wonderful but they take-up so much room! Food mixer, bread-maker, ice-cream maker, smoothie-maker, deep fat fryer (although presumably this last one could be swapped for the air-fryer!)…
These broccoli look so yummy and spicy! I love the different seasoning mixtures you suggest, especially the curry one.
I never like brócoli 🥦 but this sound promising 😉
Thanks for sharing this recipe
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So stinking good! Have tried AF broccoli before. Big thumbs down. With your recipe I just used sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder & red pepper flakes for the Asian style. Def a do again!