Roasted Broccolini

Roasted Broccolini is Cast-Iron Broccoli & Cheese‘s more sophisticated cousin. It’s simple, quick, and delicious. What you see above is a small-batch version, which I’ve detailed below under the Switch it Up heading.

Roasted Broccolini Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Roasted Broccolini recipe:

• Broccolini: Broccolini is a relative of broccoli. I am broccoli’s biggest fan so I won’t say that it tastes better, but some people think that. If you were to bite into a raw piece of broccoli you might say that it was sharp, or bitter. If you were to bite into a raw piece of broccolini you would note that the flavor is very similar but milder. There’s not really any of that bitterness that broccoli has.
• Olive Oil: As usual, you can substitute the fat of your choice, but I think the flavor of olive oil is perfect for this. Note: I like to add a pat of butter right before I pull my Roasted Broccolini from the oven, then toss the broccolini in the melted butter before plating.
• Kosher Salt, Black Pepper: Yes, this is it! Simple is best, sometimes.

How to Make Roasted Broccolini

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Roasted Broccolini recipe:

• Prepare the broccolini. To prepare broccolini I always trim a couple of inches of the stalk off the bottom and remove the small leaves growing on it. If the stalks are thicker than the circumference of my index finger (i have large, meaty hands!) I will cut them in half.
• Roast the broccolini. Arrange the broccolini on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle over some kosher salt. If you like to can toss to coat everything, but I don’t find it necessary. Stick the sheet pan in the oven on the middle rack for about 15 minutes – start checking doneness around 10 minutes in.
• Eat the broccolini. After pulling it from the oven crack over some black pepper, then dive on in!

Switch it Up: 

This recipe is as simple as they get and serves as a great springboard! There are endless variations that you can make with this Roasted Broccolini recipe, so please feel free to customize yours to taste!  For example, you could…

• Small-Batch: Reduce all of the ingredients by half and the cooking time by about 5 minutes.
• Stovetop Broccolini. I recommend parboiling them first for the best texture, but you can pan-sear and cook these over medium-high heat instead of putting them in the oven.
• Lemon Parmesan Broccolini. Basically, just cook them the way you would my Lemon Parmesan Asparagus.
• Spicy Roasted Broccolini. Add some crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of hot chili powder.

Obligatory Pinterest graphic to follow:

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