How to Make Broccoli Taste Better Than Ever, Using Any Cook Method

Delicious broccoli, every time.

3-Ingredient Spicy Roasted Broccoli

Growing up, I was a really picky eater. If it didn’t involve melted cheese or apple juice, I probably wasn’t interested. I surrounded myself with pizza, grilled cheese, and buttered pasta. There was one notable exception—raw broccoli, smothered in ranch dressing, was the only vegetable that got past my ironclad resolve. Before you’re too amazed, please understand it wasn’t my love for broccoli that had me munching on this cruciferous vegetable…it was the ranch. Really, anything smothered in ranch tastes delicious (albeit not altogether too healthy). As I’ve grown up, I’ve learned to like all kinds of vegetables, and broccoli is at the top of the list. After I taught myself some key techniques, I became a master of how to make broccoli taste better.

How to Make Broccoli Taste Better

how to make broccoli taste better

It all starts with one simple thing: don’t overcook your broccoli. Cooking broccoli unlocks some of its nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, and zinc, but overcooked broccoli depletes those nutrients and tastes terrible. It’s brown, unappetizing looking, and it’ll turn into mush as soon as you bite into it. This is the number one reason people don’t like broccoli, so let’s get that out of the way!

Next up, decide which cooking technique is best for you. Roasting adds depth of flavor, but blanching is a simple way to enjoy this fresh vegetable. All the details you need to know are below, so check it out and let us know which cooking method is your favorite!

Roasting

3-Ingredient Spicy Roasted Broccoli

Roasted broccoli has a beautifully caramelized color. Once it’s been roasted, you won’t believe that this broccoli is the same as that earthy, crunchy raw stuff! It becomes super sweet, rich, and almost creamy. The texture from the crispy edges is addictive, and they’ll have you going back in, bite after bite.

How to make it: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the broccoli into small florets and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and delicious. I like to top roasted veggies with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, or a squeeze of lemon juice to really bring out the flavor.

You might also like: 3-Ingredient Spicy Roasted Broccoli

Blanching

blanched broccoli and other vegetables

Blanching is the perfect way to eat raw broccoli and maintain lots of fiber without worrying about crunching and chewing. When you blanch a vegetable, you’re essentially boiling it for a very brief period of time. Then, you shock it in cold water to stop the cooking process and lock in the flavor. This also sets the color of the vegetable, adds a nice tender-crisp texture, and activates broccoli’s many nutrients and vitamins.

How to make it: In a large stockpot, bring a gallon of salted water to a boil. Chop your broccoli into florets and add it in batches to the boiling water, being careful not to add so much that the water stops boiling. Cook for 30 seconds until the color becomes bright green. Using a strainer, remove the broccoli to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Steaming

steamed broccoli

Steaming broccoli also sets the color (like blanching), but it actually cooks the vegetable all the way through. It doesn’t need to steam for long – only about 5 minutes. The best part about steaming is the way the broccoli keeps its nutrition. When boiling broccoli, some of the nutrients are lost in the water, but steaming keeps those vitamins inside the vegetable so you can benefit from them.

How to make it: There are two ways to steam broccoli. The first involves setting up a steamer basket in a larger pot over boiling water. The second is as simple as cooking the broccoli in a skillet with a small amount of water. This is ideal if you add more ingredients after the broccoli has steamed. Either way, you’ll want to steam with the lid on for 5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender all the way through. Season with lemon juice, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, or salt and pepper.

Sautéing

Sautéed Asian beef and broccoli

My favorite way to prepare broccoli is by sautéing it in a large skillet with a little olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt. This gives it a little bit of roasted flavor while locking in that bright green color. Sometimes I like to give my broccoli a distinctively Asian flavor by swapping in sesame oil for olive oil. Sautéed broccoli makes an excellent side dish, or you can use this as the start of a pan sauce for pasta.

Related: Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry

How to make it: In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until it is shimmering. Add the broccoli and toss to coat. Cook for 5 minutes until the broccoli has turned bright green.

More Broccoli Recipes

broccoli cashew crunch salad

Now that you know how to make broccoli taste better, you probably won’t be able to get enough of this nutritious vegetable. Want more broccoli recipes? Try these next:

What’s your favorite way to enjoy broccoli? Let us know in the comments below, or post them on our Facebook page! Also, be sure to follow us on Pinterest for more great recipes!

This post may include affiliate links.

Chef Lindsay

Lindsay D. Mattison is a professional chef, recipe developer, and food writer. After graduating from Cascade Culinary School, Lindsay worked as the executive chef of a farm-to-table restaurant in Bend, Oregon. She is passionate about using local, organic ingredients and loves teaching home cooks how to incorporate seasonal food into their diet. While she spends most of her time writing these days, she still exercises her culinary muscles on the regular, taking any opportunity to create beautiful meals for her family. She lives with her husband in Colorado, where she enjoys the trials and errors of gardening.

More by Lindsay D.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *