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Ninja Air Fryer Broccoli takes less than 20 minutes to make with 5 simple ingredients. It’s the perfect side dish for any meal and takes less time than roasting broccoli in the oven. Learn how to make roasted broccoli in the air fryer with this easy recipe.
Why Make Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli
There are so many reasons to love this delicious air fryer broccoli recipe. Here are my top few reasons to add this to your list of favorite air fryer recipes:
- No oven needed: To me, the best way (and my favorite way) to eat things like broccoli is to roast it. However, turning on the oven on a hot summer day is not what I like to do. By making roasted broccoli in the air fryer, you can get the same crisp and roasted flavor without heating up the house.
- Easy Recipe: Instead of roasting broccoli in the oven, I bring out my air fryer instead, which gives me this easy side dish in a fraction of the time! And, with around five simple ingredients, cooking broccoli in the air fryer helps me get all the health benefits of eating broccoli, and really enjoy it.
- Family-friendly: if you are not a fan of steamed broccoli (or you have picky eaters), then you must try it air-fried. In my house, air fryer broccoli is a simple way to make a vegetable side dish that the whole family will enjoy.
Ingredients Needed
This easy broccoli recipe doesn’t require much. Here’s what you’ll need to gather:
- Broccoli Florets: I’m using fresh broccoli florets. To save time, I buy these prewashed and already cut from the grocery store. You can also cut a broccoli head into florets.
- Sea Salt: I’m using fine sea salt. You can use this, if you wish, to taste
- 24 Herb Sprinkle Seasoning: This has a great blend of spices (which includes black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder) and is one of my favorite seasonings to pick up from local grocery stores. But, if you want, use Italian seasoning instead.
- Avocado Oil is one of the best oils for air frying. I’m using it, but you can also use olive oil.
- Lemon: This is completely optional as it adds a fresh, bright flavor at the end.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe, including the exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step instructions.
How to Cook Broccoli in an Air Fryer
The best way to learn how to make this dish is by watching the step-by-step video tutorial located in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
- Toss the broccoli pieces with olive oil and seasonings
- Place broccoli florets in the air fryer basket or air fryer tray in a single layer.
- For best results, cook the broccoli for a cooking time of 5-6 minutes per side
- Toss the air-fried broccoli crowns in a large mixing bowl with melted butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese before enjoying.
Top Tips & Cooking FAQs
Fresh or Frozen Broccoli
I like to use fresh broccoli in my air fryer. However, I buy pre-cut, fresh broccoli from the produce department to save time.
I didn’t use frozen broccoli when testing this recipe, however, since it is already blanched, frozen broccoli takes less time to cook.
If you want to try out frozen broccoli, you should use my air fryer frozen broccoli recipe. It uses some of the same ingredients but takes half the time.
How to Store Leftover Air Fryer Broccoli
If you have leftovers from this roasted, crispy air fryer broccoli recipe, the best way to store them is in an airtight container for the next day (up to 3-4 days). You can also wrap them up tight in aluminum foil.
I simply microwave them for a few seconds the next time that I eat them.
How Long to Cook Them
The cooking time depends on the size of your broccoli florets as well as how much you are cooking at a time. Larger florets and cooking a lot of broccoli at once can take longer than small florets and broccoli that you air fry in a single layer.
Crispy and crunchy texture is my favorite, so I tend to leave my broccoli in the air fryer for about 12-14 minutes total. That way, when I air fry my broccoli, they’ll have crispy edges. You can do more or less depending on your preferences and how big the broccoli florets are.
In the video tutorial, I shared some images of what my broccoli looked like at 10, 15, and 20 minutes. Generally, it is a good idea to open up your air fryer and check on it every five minutes after 10 minutes of cooking.
Variations
If the herb and parmesan flavor is not your thing, you can omit them, and simply use salt and pepper.
You could also season the broccoli to taste with homemade seasonings or spice blends from the store like Cajun Seasoning, ranch seasoning, or Old Bay
This recipe would also be delicious paired with:
More Ninja Foodi Broccoli Recipes
- Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli
- Air Fryer Garlic Butter Shrimp & Broccoli
- Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp & Broccoli
What to Eat with this Side Dish
This Air Fryer Broccoli recipe is naturally keto-friendly and low-carb. Some main dishes that you can enjoy this with are:
- Keto Sweet and Sour Shrimp
- Keto Sweet Chili Asian Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Keto Shrimp Scampi
- Air Fryer Shrimp
- Air Fryer Buffalo Wings
Ninja Air Fryer Broccoli
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz Broccoli, florets
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp 24 Herbs Sprinkle Seasoning (Salt-free)
- 1/4 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt, optional, use DRDAVINAHS to get 15% off
- 1 tbsp Butter, melted
- 2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese, fresh, grated, preferred
Instructions
- Add the broccoli, olive oil, and seasonings to a bowl and mix. Rinse the bowl and set aside.
- Place the seasoned broccoli in the air fryer cooking pot in an even layer.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes per side. I like to cook these for 10 minutes on one side, flip the broccoli, and cook for an additional 2-5 minutes.
- Remove the broccoli from the cooking basket and place them back in the bowl. Toss them in the melted butter and parmesan right before serving.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
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