The Best Broccoli of Your Life

You know you’ve done something right with broccoli when the person you made it for describes it to someone else the next day as “better than biting into a steak.”

Those were Craig’s words and they were a marked change from the first words he uttered about the broccoli, before he bit in: “You made broccoli for dinner? Broccoli and sweet potatoes?”

Then he did bite in and his eyes lit up. “Oh my God,” he said. “This is the best broccoli I’ve ever had in my life.” Later he said: “If parents made this broccoli for their kids, kids wouldn’t hate broccoli. They’d beg for it.”

Broccoli Secrets Revealed

So what did I do to the broccoli to make it taste so good?

I can’t take any credit. The credit goes to that formidable force in my foodie life; namely, The Barefoot Contessa. From the very beginning, when I used to go to book stores and copy recipes out of her books on little index cards that I kept in my pocket, Ina Garten’s recipes have proved to be that perfect combination of simple yet sophisticated; she maximizes flavors in ways that are both ingenious and incredibly replicable. Anyone can do an Ina recipe yet when you taste the finished product, it doesn’t taste that way; it tastes like it was made by a pro.

I’m going to have a hard time this week not posting all of the recipes from her new book, Back To Basics. In the past few days alone, I’ve made her roasted pears with blue cheese and walnuts; her roasted sweet potato wedges (which I wrote about in the previous post); and from her “Parties!” book, her butternut squash soup and her roasted pork loin. As you can tell from these recipe titles, The Barefoot Contessa loves roasting.

Specifically, she loves roasting vegetables at a high temperature until they caramelize. That’s the basic premise of most of her vegetable recipes in most of her cookbooks and that’s precisely what makes her broccoli recipe the best you’ve ever had.

Normally, broccoli gets squishy when you cook it. Not this broccoli; it develops an amazing brown crust in spots. Then you toss it with lemon juice, lemon zest, and Parmesan cheese and you’re in heaven.

Let’s Get Specific

Seriously, this recipe is so easy I can recite it without looking at the book. (Ok, I’m lying, I’m about to open the book just to double check….)

You preheat the oven to 425.

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

best broccoli

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”

I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

The Big Finish

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

You won’t miss it: the magic combo of the crispy broccoli, the garlic, the lemon and the cheese will make this the best broccoli of your life. I guarantee it; you will go ga-ga over it. I’m so ga-ga over it that I would seriously consider a trip right now to the store just so I could make this for lunch. Broccoli for lunch? After trying this, you’ll never want to eat anything else for breakfast, lunch or dinner ever again.

Print

The Best Broccoli of Your Life

Roasted broccoli so good that it tastes like steak.
Servings 4 people (or 2 very hungry people)

Ingredients

  • 4 to 5 pounds broccoli, cut into florets
  • 5 Tbs olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425.
  • Wash and dry your broccoli very well (optional: don't wash the broccoli at all…on the theory that the oven will kill any germs)! But don't tell anyone I said that. The point is you want it very dry.
  • Toss the broccoli well with the olive oil, the salt, pepper, and garlic. Place on a cookie sheet and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing every so often with a spatula, until the florets are golden brown and crispy.
  • Remove from the oven; drizzle on some extra olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the Parmesan. Serve right away.

Related Posts:

Leftover Broccoli Sauce

Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli

The Ultimate Weeknight Chicken and Broccoli Dinner

Pasta with Longer Cooked Broccoli (Smitten Kitchen)

Roasted Broccoli with Vinegar Mustard Glaze (Ali Slagle, NYT)

433 thoughts on “The Best Broccoli of Your Life”

  1. In the same way that people now realize that most problems with pets are the fault of the owner, so is the kids-vegetable conundrum often the fault of the cook.

    Kids don’t hate vegetables, they hate soggy, defrosted, flavorless GMO vegetables.

    It’s all relative: kids would also hate candy if it were full of snakes.

    http://www.teaandfood.blogspot.com

    1. I don’t think that kids necessarily care about GMO. If they were that concerned, they wouldn’t want candy either. It’s generally not a health food, lol.

      Your overall point is well received though!

        1. pssst FYI most fruits and vegetables grown today are not GMO’s. I believe only a couple of varieties of squash, sweet corn and papaya are commercially produced GMOs.

            1. Its sort of accepted convention, especially if you follow either food or ecology closely. Large manufacturing farms breed products obsessively to create one thing: higher profits (because thats what any decent business should do). However, this comes at the expense of taste. You breed a product to be disease resistant, resistant to spoilage for a longer shelf-life, and to have a tough outer layer to prevent cosmetic faults. Breeding for flavor at this point is just not part of the thought-process.

              1. “Hybrid” is not the same as “GMO”. Please do not confuse the issue of tasteless hybrids that are bred to be shipped long distances to supermarkets with foods that have foreign genes spliced in, the consequences of which may be benign … or not. Many – certainly not all – hybrids are less flavoursome, but no-one thinks they are potentially dangerous.

                1. ePressureCooker

                  There are a couple of reasons why this happens (this also happened in the rose industry, where breeding roses intensively for their shape and color resulted in a loss of fragrance).

                  For whatever reason, when you selectively and intensively breed plants (and animals) for a certain characteristic, it often negatively impacts other characteristics. For example, chickens only produce a certain amount of shell material, so if you breed them to produce larger eggs, they don’t create more shell material, so you end up with thinner egg shells. Or if you breed plants to produce larger or more pest resistant fruit, part of that “resistance” may happen because the fruit becomes less fragrant, and therefore harder for the insects to find, but the loss of fragrance impacts the taste of the fruit. Over the past few decades, farmers have bred beef and pork to have less fat, and while they’ve achieved that aim, unfortunately, a lot of the flavor that makes a piece of meat taste like “beef” or “pork” comes from the fat.

        2. Get off the anti-GMO bus. It’s too general a term. Let’s just investigate specific by specific and see where we go.

          It’s total nonsense to claim anything about flavor – that’s dependent on so many other things!

          And anyhow the amount of GMO stuff on the market is miniscule. But there are millions of bad cooks!

      1. It’s not that they care or don’t care about GMO, they can taste how awful all that messing around with our food tastes.

        1. Procrastinateher

          Just FYI: we’ve been messing around with our food and how it tastes for the last 10,000 years (since the birth of agriculture). It’s not just a GMO thing.
          If you want to see just how much, check out the doco “Animal Pharm”.

    2. Honestly, everyone hates poorly cooked food, kids just don’t have the impulse control to be polite about it, but a lot of kids go through picky eating phases too that have nothing to do with the cook or what’s on the plate. I’ve known kids who would only eat peanut butter sandwiches, kids that would only eat chicken nuggets (which are often defrosted, heavily processed, and come from hormone drenched chicken), and kids that absolutely loved their vegetables (GMO and all) but would turn up their nose at everything else. Sometimes it is just the kid’s preference, no fault of anyone.

      http://www.kitchenova.com

    3. Aaron, this was a really funny comment. It’s unfortunate so many people went crazy debating GMOs and didn’t even make a nod to your snakes.

    4. Sara Desjardins

      I have a house full of toddlers. I am also a fairly good cook. The boys like raw vegis. When they help me ‘cook’, they end up ‘stealing’ stuff while i’m making dinner. To date, not one of my toddlers has even touched anything I’ve cooked. They haven’t had time to decide if they dislike it because it’s defrosted or soggy. They dislike it because it’s shaped weird or because it’s wednesday in october. Who knows. It does seem to get better as they get older though.

    5. Good share and Nice post

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  2. It looks so good, I’m craving it now!

    I wonder if that would work well with Romanesco cauliflower, too. After all, it would be a shame to take the coolest looking vegetable ever and turn it into mushy fractals.

  3. It looks so good, I’m craving it now!

    I wonder if that would work well with Romanesco cauliflower, too. After all, it would be a shame to take the coolest looking vegetable ever and turn it into mushy fractals.

  4. Roasted veggies are my favorite–I just made a slew of them this way last night for dinner. I learned a tip from a chef friend that if you let your pan preheat in the oven so it gets scorching hot, and then toss the veggies on, you’ll get maximum crispy/caramelizing for your buck. sometimes i even put the pan right on the floor of the oven. So good with brussels sprouts!

    1. everything you say is cool… but a word of caution some ovens advise against stuff directly on the bottoms… mine actually would not be covered under its warranty if I did… spot on about the INITIAL heat mind :-)

  5. I didn’t know I was a Barefoot Contessa desciple, but I also think roasting vegetables is the way to go! For me, it started with asparagus, which is absolute heaven roasted and sprinkled with parmesan (or better yet, with pancetta wrapped around them). Broccoli is a close second on the list (and ditto the previous comment on cauliflowers!). If you are still trying to feed your kids mushy boiled vegetables, then you have to give this a try.

  6. Adam, so glad you found roasting veggies. I do this all the time, Ina’s broccoli was one of my first attempts. I now have at least 20 versions. Sometimes insteat of Parmesan I use the zest mixed with more raw garlic, parsley and toasted bread crumbs. Very yummy! Also for clients who like a kick I’ve used crushed red pepper along with the garlic and a dash of cayenne in the olive oil makes it very interesting!

  7. Roasted broc and cauliflower are kick ass. But Adam, I wash vegetables to get rid of chemicals and dirt as much to get rid of “germs.” A quick rinse followed by a spin in a spinner or a few minutes to let it air dry should be all you need.

  8. Adam,

    I have roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts (my kids new favorite – they would NEVER have eaten BSprouts before) but not broccoli…This is going on the family rotation this week. Thank you!

  9. Adam,

    I have roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts (my kids new favorite – they would NEVER have eaten BSprouts before) but not broccoli…This is going on the family rotation this week. Thank you!

  10. Adam,

    I have roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts (my kids new favorite – they would NEVER have eaten BSprouts before) but not broccoli…This is going on the family rotation this week. Thank you!

  11. Looks delicious. Just to let you know about washing broccoli – it’s still smart to wash it to remove pesticides, but you’re right about the bacteria not surviving the oven.

  12. Looks delicious. Just to let you know about washing broccoli – it’s still smart to wash it to remove pesticides, but you’re right about the bacteria not surviving the oven.

  13. If you buy organic, you don’t have to worry about pesticides. Sure it’s more expensive, but if it means no more mushy broccoli, it’s probably worth it.

      1. more dangerous? you should really look into what they spray on conventional veggies…… agent orange is much worse for you than manure

        1. Organic doesn’t mean pesticide free. There is FAR more than just manure going into the vast majority of organic food. Modern synthetic chemicals are designed in such a way to have literally no effect on humans, whereas ‘organic’ certified ones are just plain toxic to everything.

          Sure, there’s a lot of entirely pesticide free food available at farmer’s markets and whatnot, but pretty much all grocery-store ‘organic’ food is heavily doused in chemicals that modern farming no longer uses because they are more toxic to humans that synthetics and less effective on pests than modern synthetics.

          No, modern synthetic pesticides aren’t exactly something I want to eat, but given the choice between lower-priced, higher-yielding crops, or supermarket ‘organic’ food, costing 2-3x as much and covered in chemicals known to, without a doubt, have ill effects on humans, I’ll take the regular food. Sure, the synthetics MAY have bad effects, but the organic pesticides are worse.

          And when they’re open, I do the vast majority of my shopping at farmer’s markets, where I know the food has neither synthetic nor ‘organic’ pesticides, but I’m certainly not going to try to fool myself into thinking stuff at the supermarket with the organic tag is somehow only grown using manure and sunshine.

  14. If you buy organic, you don’t have to worry about pesticides. Sure it’s more expensive, but if it means no more mushy broccoli, it’s probably worth it.

  15. So is the broccoli still crunchy? I like the flavor of most vegetables, but I can’t stand the crunch of them and how they chew up in my mouth. I have to eat them boiled soft or I’ll gag. It’s weird.

    This recipe sounds like it’s simple and healthy, and I need both of those being a college student. :)

  16. I roast my veggies alot also or saute’ them in olive oil and garlic..I also like to make a pouch w/ aluminum foil and spray it w/ nonfat spray and throw a medley of vegetables in w/ garlic, basil and onion, and bake until brown, I use a fork to poke holes in the top and shake it while roasting. using creativity and your taste buds and you can fix it however you like.

  17. mmm I’ve been roasting broccoli for about 3 years now and it’s awesome. When I was broke and in college I would buy bunches of it and roast it and eat it for days on end. So delicious, but all the fibre certainly does a number on your insides if you eat an entire bunch for a meal….TMI?

  18. Obviously this dish is about taste, but I have a heath question. Broccoli typically loses nutrients when boiled (rather than steamed) because they diffuse into the water they’re boiled in and you hardly get as many. Does anyone know if roasting the broccoli does anything similar?

    (I’m assuming it’s similar to steaming in that anything in there that’s damaged by heat is going to be damaged, but besides that it’ll be delicious and nutritious… just with a bit of olive-oilly fat)

    Thanks

    p.s. broccoli is my favorite veggie! I’m always on the lookout for new recipes and the lemon juice seems like it will be amazing!

  19. Looks tasty, but like Erin, I suspect this technique pretty much destroys any nutrients in the broccoli. Apparently microwaving is the best way to preserve them.

    1. Normand Bertrand

      this technique does not destroy nutrients like boiling does and because of the addition of olive oil its healthier than steamed…the fat from the olive oil actually makes more nutrients available for digesting…microwaving is NOT better or healthier…healthy eating people usually do not use a microwave and some methods of microwaving are actually not healthy at all

    2. Microwave is the best way to kill all nutrients in food since the radiation waves are much hotter than the oven
      heat ……….thats what i read :)

  20. That looks lovely ! I am glad you are bringing broccoli back baby ! But I can maybe challenge you to another recipe that is as tasty AND it saves way more energy (and hence our mother earth).

    Well, the secret to saving energy is that I cook in on stove top, and from start to finish, it takes about 15 mins:

    Warm about 2 tsp oil (not olive oil, but something neutral with higher smoking point: peanut/canola maybe). When the oil is free flowing (hence warm), add cumin and garlic pods. Add the broccoli florets and stir them and leave them alone for about 2-5 mins so that they brown on some sides. Add some chopped tomatoes and salt (and chili flakes if you fancy some heat). Cover and cook until the tomato is well incorporated and broccoli is cooked yet crunchy. This is a version of Indian home cooking (not the orange gloop stuff that is characterized as Indian in US. )

  21. Oops…by ‘cumin’, I meant ‘cumin seeds’ and not ‘cumin powder’. The cumin seeds should sizzle when they are dropped in oil, but other stuff quickly so that the seeds don’t burn.

  22. It definitely works with asparagus and brussel sprouts. super yummy. I also love barefoot contessa. I love her cookbooks so much I’ve given a good number of my friends her cookbooks as gifts.

    I think people just need to learn how to cook veggies and kids would love them. I got lucky, my mom always cooks awesome veggies and thats why I love them as an adult.

  23. I heart Ina. I have been holding off buying this book until Christmas, but think I can wait no longer. I’ll test Craig’s theory tonight to see if the kiddos will eat their broccoli, in fact beg for it. You, Craig and Ina will all garner saint status in my book if so.

  24. Dang. Wish I had this for last weekend – had to take a side dish to a shower, and it would have been perfect! (My roasted balsamic carrots were more than adequate, but this would have been far superior…)

    Also, I almost bought Back to Basics at Costco today. Not sure why I didn’t put it in the cart – maybe on my way home from work tomorrow!

    In any case, this is going in my veggie rotation, for sure – along with that braised cabbage from a few weeks ago. I must have made that at least 3 times since – LOVE IT!

  25. Tasty!I think the lemon is the key part – lemon and broccoli seem to go so well together. I’m not sure I got the ratios quite right as I eye-balled it too, but I loved it.

  26. I made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing. It went perfect with my chicken with lemon thyme gravy and roasted red potatoes. WOW! I will definitely be making this again. thanks for the post!

  27. My girlfriend and I made it this afternoon, and I am afraid I have to agree with bb. You are the best salesman around, but this was underwhelming at best. Thanks for the recipe though!

  28. i made this for dinner just now, with the pine nuts but without the lemon zest {too lazy} or the extra dollop of oil {too fattening} or basil {none to be had at the greenmarket}.

    it was, i must say, pretty much the best broccoli i’ve ever had. delicious! thanks for the recipe!

  29. Oh. My. God. I made this last night (without the basil, it seemed like overkill). It was glorious. The absolute best. I think I ate about 3/4 lb. broccoli myself, and my boyfriend ate about 1 lb. Thank You!!!

  30. Oh. My. God. I made this last night (without the basil, it seemed like overkill). It was glorious. The absolute best. I think I ate about 3/4 lb. broccoli myself, and my boyfriend ate about 1 lb. I am eating leftover broccoli as we speak! Thank You!!!

  31. Made this last night and, no big surprise, it was FANTASTIC! My only error was that I didn’t make enough. I made it as a side along with a Spanish chicken and rice dish for my bf and I, so I figured one smallish head of broccoli would be adequate. I was SO WRONG! We could have eaten three times that.

    Off to the store now to buy more broccoli and gorge myself on it.

  32. ya know I’ve roasted all kinds of veggies with olive oil, s&p and love them. Did I ever once consider broccoli? Nope. I love it! Thanks for bringing this one to our attention. Bet ya never thought a post on broccoli would be so well received, huh?

  33. Gorgeous. And I agree with the other commenters: There is nothing wrong with vegetables…there is something wrong with the way we cook them. Properly cooked vegetables are a delight and I’d argue that they have far more complex flavors than meat.

    Great post!

  34. “Kids don’t hate vegetables, they hate soggy, defrosted, flavorless GMO vegetables.”

    It’s hard to separate the two, but the factory (not family) farmed factors in more than the GMO.

  35. I never imagined asparagus would come out anything but tough if roasted, but its another veggie that tastes amazing that way. Cut up some asparagus, red or yellow bell peppers, red onion, zucchinis, yellow squash. toss it with some olive oil, salt & pepper (I use a curry + salt mix) and put it in a 400 F oven for 30 – 40 minutes. Watch it towards the end as you want browned bits, not blackened bits. This is carmelization at its best!!!

  36. I have been roasting broccoli with olive oil, lots of fresh ground black pepper, plenty of garlic, and salt for a while now and we love it. It always seems I can never make enough. I tried using thawed frozen broccoli once(it was all I had) and it didn’t work nearly as well.

  37. My boyfriend absolutely hates broccoli. I made this tonight and he loved it! He realized tonight that he actually loves broccoli, just hates poorly cooked broccoli. Great recipe – we’re going to have this again Sunday. Thanks :)

  38. Hey, that looks like a pretty sweet meal :)

    Broccoli has to be crispy in my opinion though, the number of times I have been to a resteraunt to have my tastebuds assailed by some wilted broccoli is amazing!

    Mind if I use this recipe on my friends website? http://www.myveganplanet.com ?

  39. okhere is my question. How does the garlic flavor get into the broccoli if all you do is throw cloves in along side, and not fully incorporated with them? You didnt tell us how much zest of lemon to use… or how much lemon juice either. sounds good, but unless I know those things I wouldn’t even try this.

  40. I’ve been roasting veggies for awhile now,

    just about all of them (except lettuce).

    have you tried it with brussels sprouts?Unbelievable, and with kale,too. When I’m

    feeling a bit lazy, I dress them with

    Newmans Own Lite Sesame Ginger Dressing

    forget the meats and potatoes,I’ll just take a big bowl of green stuff!

  41. Gritty dirt – it can easily get trapped in the florets. If you don’t wash them you can bite down on grit. It can ruin a dish. That’s one of the reason you wash vegetables. Especially ones with a lot of nooks and crannys like broccoli, or leafy ones where the biofilm can cause grit to adhere.

    Although it’s amazing how clean most vegetables are that you buy. They wash them pretty heavily before shipping. Not like the old days where you needed to triple wash stuff like this before cooking.

    Even if the vegetables are organic, you don’t know what might have fell on them on the way to the store or in the store.

    ANYWAY – had these before and they really are great. This posting inspired me to make them again and they are currently cooking ( post wash0 in my oven.

  42. I made this for a friend Wednesday. But after I tasted one, I had a hard time saving the rest to share. Broccoli crack.

    To the person confused about the garlic and amounts of lemon juice — quit worrying. The garlic ends up infused in the broccoli as well as eaten directly with it. When you cut it thick it makes fantastic caramelized garlic chunks. And you put on as much or as little lemon as you like. It’s cooking, not baking. You can’t screw it up.

  43. Hi,

    I have been meaning to make my family see (taste) the good side of veggies and this one caught my eye when I was searching for a good broccoli recipe for someone.

    Tried this right now, and both my husband and son agree that broccoli never tasted better, plus, we will be having broccoli more often now.

    Oh, I tried it with basil, pine nuts and low-fat cheddar cheese.

    Thanks a ton!

  44. I’ll have to try this. I don’t wash to get rid of bacteria, I wash to get rid of any dirt and bug shit that might be on my vegetables.

  45. Thanks for sharing! I went out and got some yesterday after stumbling upon this and I plan to try it tonight, but my mouth is already watering.

  46. Thanks for sharing! I went out and got some yesterday after stumbling upon this and I plan to try it tonight, but my mouth is already watering.

  47. Okay…it’s hard for me to see what all the fuss is about here. My mother has been making broccoli like this forever – we eat it about twice a week. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ina Garten and watch her almost religiously, but this recipe is REALLY basic. I don’t understand how this kind of preparation of a vegetable doesn’t just come naturally to most people.

  48. When I moved into my new condo, I only bought 3 roasting pans and one large commercial saute pan. This is the ONLY way I cook all my vegetables (green beans, brussel sprouts, etc.) and virtually the only way I cook period. This is the best way to get the most out of the vegetable for nutrition and natural flavor. To steam/boil/microwave a vegetable is absolutely disgusting – and that’s why most people do not eat enough fresh produce.

  49. Yeah?

    Like, this is the way to cook floretville veggies like caulis and brocs, or any vegetable for that matter.

    So what’s the big blogging deal?

    How about some really groundbreaking gourmet food discovery? I mean, really.

    (I love Ina too, her ice creams and party stuff are awesome.)

  50. I converted my hubby to liking brussel sprouts by roasting them with a bit of olive oil and black pepper. And we love to roast cubed root vegetables as a side dish at a meal.

    Mary, mom to 10

  51. To the snarkers above: cooking broccoli this way doesn’t come naturally to me because my mother “cooked” vegetables from cans. I have converted myself to fresh but I just usually boil or steam it. It’s wonderful that some of you people are so amazingly talented that this is a no-brainer, clearly the rest of us need a little help. It’s not a crime to not know how to cook broccoli. A damn shame maybe, but not a crime.

  52. To the snarkers above: cooking broccoli this way doesn’t come naturally to me because my mother “cooked” vegetables from cans. I have converted myself to fresh but I just usually boil or steam it. It’s wonderful that some of you people are so amazingly talented that this is a no-brainer, clearly the rest of us need a little help. It’s not a crime to not know how to cook broccoli. A damn shame maybe, but not a crime.

  53. Wow, I cant wait to make this for Thanksgiving. I am in charge of the vegetables and this is definitely going to be on the list along with Emeril’ls brussel sprouts with bacon and sour cream. His recipe is absolutely killer. I think Craft in Century City here in California has a version of it on their menu.

    Robert

    http://www.lapcfixer.com

  54. I made this a couple of nights ago. SHUT. UP. It seriously is the best broccoli I’ve ever had in my entire life. And I LOVE broccoli, so that’s tough to do. I didn’t use the pinenuts or basil either, and I’m not sure I will! The cheese and lemon were just superb.

  55. Variation on a theme -I followed the roasting directions for broccoli, carrots, and a quartered onion. I was out of garlic!? Skipped the pine nuts but did add the lemon, parmesan a basil. I planned on taking it to work for lunch for the short week. But, I had to try it, right? It IS the best roasted vegetable dish ever. I will follow Ina’s recipe sooon, but on this cold Indiana Sunday evening, I’m very satisfied with my version. THANKS, ADAM! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Craig and all your families.

  56. I just made this and it was yummy. I’m not sure I love the lemon with the broccoli; next time I’m going to cut down on that but include the basil, but the roasting method is great. I’m also going to pop it back in the oven briefly after adding the cheese in the future, so it can melt. My lemon juice cooled the veggies down enough that it didn’t melt just from the heat of the broccoli.

    I wanted to try it with mizithra cheese, because that stuff it *amazing* on broccoli, but the store didn’t have it. (I’ve only gotten it one time in a restaurant in Salt Lake City.) The parm is OK, but I am not a huge parm fan normally.

  57. I just made this and it was yummy. I’m not sure I love the lemon with the broccoli; next time I’m going to cut down on that but include the basil, but the roasting method is great. I’m also going to pop it back in the oven briefly after adding the cheese in the future, so it can melt. My lemon juice cooled the veggies down enough that it didn’t melt just from the heat of the broccoli.

    I wanted to try it with mizithra cheese, because that stuff it *amazing* on broccoli, but the store didn’t have it. (I’ve only gotten it one time in a restaurant in Salt Lake City.) The parm is OK, but I am not a huge parm fan normally.

  58. I stumbled across this post last night, and thought it looked so good that I emailed the link to my sister, the family chef, asleep in the bed across the room. When I woke up this morning, she was roasting broccoli.

    I’ve never had better breakfast broccoli.

    Does life get any better than this?

  59. I am planning on making this for our Thanksgiving dinner. Ina always talks about making things in advance, and I’ll have to do that since I am travelling to our dinner.

    Do you think this would do well made the night before and reheated?

  60. OK, this really IS wonderful. I’m not a vegetable person, but this sounded so intriguing I had to try it. I bastardized it about every way you COULD and it still was so delicious I finished it all off myself. I used dried lemon rind, bottled lemon juice, and dried basil, and left out the pine nuts. I didn’t add more olive oil at the end because there seemed to be plenty left (maybe I used too much to begin!). The only thing I’d do differently next time is to cut back on the salt — to me, it seemed just a shade too salty. But my goodness, this is an absolutely wonderful way to eat broccoli and I am SO glad I found it.

  61. OK, this really IS wonderful. I’m not a vegetable person, but this sounded so intriguing I had to try it. I bastardized it about every way you COULD and it still was so delicious I finished it all off myself. I used dried lemon rind, bottled lemon juice, and dried basil, and left out the pine nuts. I didn’t add more olive oil at the end because there seemed to be plenty left (maybe I used too much to begin!). The only thing I’d do differently next time is to cut back on the salt — to me, it seemed just a shade too salty. But my goodness, this is an absolutely wonderful way to eat broccoli and I am SO glad I found it.

  62. What can i say..W O W

    Best brocoli I’ve ever had, I’m certain I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life. I made this today for thanksgiving, only took a couple florets to hook everyone on brocoli. Its so healthy and simple and delicious! Everyone should try this

  63. Wow, thanks for the recipe! I loved broccoli before and I love it even more now (just had a whole tray of this stuff by myself)…looking forward to trying more recipes :)

  64. This is a great recipe. Thanks for passing it on. I wasn’t sold when I saw the broccoli come out of the oven, but after I tasted it I became a true believer. Makes me want to buy Ina’s new book. Perhaps she should send some ad revenue your way?

  65. Sounds good buuuuuuuuuuuuuut the best way to cook broccoli is a special stir-fry of mine.

    Heat some oil, add garlic, before it browns add broccoli in small florettes, add a couple of spoons of sugar a good splash of soya sauce, stir fry until it is all coated.

    Sweet, salty fresh and gorgeous!

  66. Fabulous recipe – I am certainly going to try. One caveat though: I think all vegetables and meat need to be washed as thoroughly as possible – its not just the germs, nowadays food is loaded with pesticide and other chemicals – hope most of those will get washed off in clear running water.

  67. Chicken may have bacteria on it, but brocolli might have dirt and is sprayed with pesticides. I’m pretty sure the heat won’t kill off those things. Always wash your fruits and veggies!

  68. I LOVED THIS! To anyone who was lukewarm- remember to season well with s&p- that makes a huge difference.

    I’ve now made it 3 times since I saw the recipe. The first time I made it with garlic, lemon, and cheese and my boyfriend fell over swooning. Then, I omitted cheese and added basil and have had it for dinner and brought it into work. Even a little mushy it’s wonderful. Word to the wise, it’s REALLY stinky at work (a little like ripe garbage), and co-workers will notice.

  69. It was a BF Contessa evening at our place last night, tried out this broccoli and the ginger cookie recipes. Both were super yummy and will probably make repeat runs for Christmas. Thanks for posting these!

  70. Thank you for this. I’ve made this broccoli at least once a week since seeing this post in my news reader. For the first time in my life I’ve enjoyed broccoli and have actually started eating more veggies in general

  71. This was AMAZING!!!!! We had some friends over for dinner last night, and I tried it. Everyone loved it! My husband is not a vegetable fan, but he devoured the broccoli like everyone else. :)

  72. Adding this as an accompaniment to King Crab and Beef Tenderloin. Recession, what recession?

    Thanks for sharing this recipe. She’s always been so greedy, not sharing recipes through the T.V. network site that makes her lounging around the house possible.

  73. I just found your site recently…LOVE it. And this broccoli is AMAZING. I have made it for two different dinner parties now and my husband, who normally wouldn’t touch broccoli w/a 10 ft. pole is begging me to make it daily! Thanks for sharing!

  74. Wow! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I hate almost all vegetables. I can’t say that strongly enough, and broccoli has always been on my do-not-eat list. But your recipe sounded so good in all other respects and was so different from all the other ways I’ve seen it done that I had to try it just to see, and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you for adding another veggie to my diet!

  75. Definitely use FRESH broccoli, not frozen, for this recipe. The frozen kind defeats the whole purpose of roasting. I imagine this would be a great recipe for fresh broccoli.

  76. Writing the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe onto notecards that you’ve smuggled into the bookstore? I’m one worse on you – I type the recipe into my cell phone. Everyone around me thinks I’m just texting a friend instead of stealing recipes. :O

    As far as I can tell, all her recipes are on the Food Network’s website, too.

  77. I love roasted broccoli and have been coooking it this way for years. I am surprised that people are only really starting to pick up on it now (meaning mid- to late-2000s), but I suppose that is what food trends are. Try adding some precooked bacon or Iberian ham (if you are feeling extremely decadent) and putting it over pasta with a light, lemon sauce. Cheers!

  78. GOD I JUST LOVED IT!!

    I also added a bit of piri piri for a bit of spice. Even my mum says I have outdone her on broccoli! YUM and thanks

  79. I just happened to stumble on this and you’re right! I was drooling when I read the recipe. So I picked up the ingredients and tried it out with supper last night. It was wonderful! And my 14 year old daughter who has never ate broccoli in her life…loved it. Thanks for sharing!

  80. I read this last night and decided make it today for me and my roomate and all I can say is YUM YUM!!!! My roomate was so excited at how good it was that she just kept shaking her head and repeating that she’s never had broccoli this good before. The flavors were bursting :) Thanks for sharing.

  81. thanks for the roasting recipe, though i’m pretty late jumping the bandwagon. but i actually totally bastardized this recipe, asian style. sorry! tossed in dried chili flakes, sesame seeds, and whole garlic cloves. topped with some sesame oil once it came out. smells heavenly!

  82. Thanks sooooooo much for this!

    We have been guilty of cheese-saucing brocoli forever… the tossed parm feels right.

    This is so good, I want to go home early, buy some

    brocoli, and have dinner.

    I will try the sweet potatoes next!

    you rock.

  83. Wow, I’ve been looking for a new way to do broccoli. It’s not exactly my favorite food but I’m trying to make myself like it. Now I have no choice but to make this tonight. Thanks for writing about it!

  84. I stumbled upon this recipe probably around Christmas time. I’ve made this broccoli about once a week since then. It’s become one of my favourite things to eat (though I usually make it with chicken – I’ll have to try the sweet potatoes sometime too), and my boyfriend loves it as well. And I didn’t even use to like broccoli. Thanks!

  85. Came across this last month and made it last week. Absolutely delicious. I’m making it right now again for lunch. I don’t think I’ll eat broccoli any other way again (unless it’s at someone else’s house and I have no other choice). Next time I’m gonna toss in some cauliflower.

  86. Forgot to mention – didn’t use any pine nuts and since there was no fresh lemon, just used a little lemon juice. And no julienned basil leaves – got some Spice Classics basil leaves on hand instead. Still delicious.

  87. Oh. My. God. I just made this, with the pine nuts & basil, and it was SO GOOD. I’m not normally a huge broccoli fan, and I don’t really like lemon, but it all worked so well together! Thanks for sharing.

  88. This was ABSOLUTELY the BEST broccoli my family and I have ever enjoyed!! My 6 year old daughter had 3 helpings!! I am going to make this over and over and over and over and OVER!

  89. I made this for dinner tonight. My fiance, who’s a meat fiend, ate the broccoli before anything else.

    I used lime juice instead of the lemon, because one of my room-mates threw my lemon out. It was sooooo amazing and tasty, will make again.

  90. I just tried this and it was soooooo good! I mean RIDICULOUSLY good. I have always hated broccoli with a passion, even though I can eat almost any other vegetable. You have saved me! Next time I’m going to try with the nuts and basil, but even without them it was amazing and SO easy to make. I think that’s really what makes this dish so incredible. I had a chicked filet on the side and it was pretty awesome.

  91. OK. Broccoli, garlic, lemon, cheese and bake. And you were able to say that with 762 words. That is what’s amazing.

  92. I made this tonight and it was the best broccoli ever! My son loved it.

    *Karen – what is browned butter cauliflower recipe?

    I make a curried roasted cauliflower that is super yum, just make a vinaigrette of olive oil, a little balsamic, salt, pepper and curry powder, then toss on cauliflower florettes and roast in 425 for 20 minutes, tossing/mixing half way through. Also use this on white sweet potatoes.

  93. Stumbled upon this page right in time! I was making out my grocery list, and wondering what to make. Not only was this an easy creation, my husband took this as a side dish for the “Wild Game Cookout” tonight. Would I make it again? You bet!

  94. hey, on your recommendation i made this dish and……..it was great! i added to much lemon but, hey.

    i also made up a dish to go along with it which was great. chopped up chicken fried with cajun spice, chilli flakes, peanut butter and honey. it was….surprisingly great!

    cheers!

  95. Made this recipe the first time exactly as pictured (I had sweet potatoes that needed eating as well) and it was absolutely fall-over amazing. Since then I’ve pared it down to the basics-broccoli, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil- and it’s still amazing. Throwing in some thin-sliced carrots works well too.

  96. An FYI note for everyone who is rinsing their vegetables to get rid of chemicals/pesticides… you’re wasting your water and your time. The pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables are waterproof. Else they’d wash off in the rain and be pretty darn useless. Unless you’re using a vegetable/fruit wash like Veggie Wash (or making your own equally effective washing solution), or you’re eating strictly organic, you’re eating the pesticides on the skin. What’s more? Even if you’re using Veggie Wash, you’re still eating the chemicals/pesticides that are inside the vegetable/fruit. The plants are sprayed even before the fruit starts maturing, of course. The flesh is permeated with it.

    That said, broccoli is lovely roasted. :) It’s great to see this post made so many people try it for the first time.

      1. In England we have a LOT of farmers markets where you can buy fantastic produce with no pesticides – but unfortunately they do use manure-based fertiliser. I buy a mix of organic veg, and normal veg from the supermarket when I can’t find anything I like locally. I wash everything, but to make it extra-dry what I do is MAGIC – the minute I get back from the shops, I fill up the kitchen sink with cold water and add a about a half a cup of apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar -whichever I have most of. Then I chuck in all the fruit and veg that I bought and let it soak, giving it a good poke every so often. While it’s soaking, I unpack the rest of the shopping, have a cup of tea, then come back to my veg. I line the vegetable drawer in the fridge with paper towels, then I take the veg out of the water, pat it dry then pop it into the veg drawer. The vinegar helps to keep it fresh for longer, plus helps to destroy the pesticides, boost the vitamin C by stopping it deteriorating. Putting it in the paper lined fridge also really dries it out, by the time I’m ready to use it, it’s super dry, making it perfect for this recipe – which I have to say is delicious. I hate broccoli but I love it like this!

        Follow me on pintrest if you like my tip… Search Charlie Bond

        1. Ruth A Graber

          I just LOVE your method of unpacking, washing, drying the produce! I’ve done it with lettuce (popping it into either Tupperware or zip lock bags lined with paper towel which helps crisp it. But from now on…I’m copying your entire method. Thanks…I’m also going to follow you on Pinterest. Cudos!

          1. Ah Thank you!! I find if I do it with lettuce, it’s like having much cheaper ‘bagged’ salad throughout the week. Bonus ;-} Don’t forget the tea Ruth!! xx

      2. I agree, its the bacteria that you need to wash off. Thats why we had all the spinach recalled a few years ago because it had e coli from cow shit on it. The cow dung was either fertilizer or run off but it killed several people.

    1. Other way round: they’re generally water soluble so you can spray them. If they didn’t dissolve in water you’d find them still sitting at the bottom of the tank after you sprayed the water.

      They do wash off in the rain, this is a big problem for the surrounding environment.

  97. Best. Broccoli. EVER. Seriously, I will never go back. I LOVE THIS! My roommate who is vegan had it, I just didn’t put the parm or basil. DELICIOUS!

  98. This was awesome, I’ll definitely be making this quite a few times in the future, but with about half as much oil, and only a pinch of salt if any…

    awesome!

  99. I was just about to make this and then found that my garlic was moldy. :( How the hell did that happen!?!? It still tastes good, but I know it will taste much better with the garlic.

  100. This kind of recipe also works for asparagus, green beans, and Brussels sprouts, though I leave the sprouts in extra long so they get really crispy and not so cabbage-y.

    1. Just lay the vegetables and garlic on the cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lift and move around with your hands until everything’s coated.

  101. I tried this and 425 burns the heck out of the broccoli in just 10 minutes. WAY too hot! I’ll have to try it again at a lower temperature since the recipe looks promising.

  102. Love this! I got 3 heads of broccoli to be safe, but they only weighed 1 pound total! The 4-5 pounds called for would fill up 4 sheet pans! But my 1 pound was delicious — made me wish I had 4 pounds worth!,

  103. I’ll bet the Barefoot Contessa is thrilled to know that you have stolen her recipes and more or less recommend that others do the same, depriving her of well-earned income for her delicious creations.

  104. I have done this with cauliflower too. I have used garlic powder when I didn’t have fresh garlic, I also use onion powder as well. My mom, who is not a fan of cauliflower will eat it this way with no complaints.

  105. I’ve tried this several times and it’s awesome. I’ve used pecans instead of pine nuts, and have also mixed “carnitas” or small chunks of pork with it….delicious.

  106. I tried this tonight and wow this is awesome! A great way. to get anyone to get their veggies and really enjoy them.I am having company on Thursday ands, going to cook some more up for them also.

  107. Pinned yesterday. Cooked today. OH. MY. GOD. My boyfriends eyes DID light up and I know mine did too. I didn’t have a fresh lemon so I used two tablespoons of lemon juice and it came out PERFECT. I can’t wait to wow the rest of my family. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe that was super EASY and tasted gourmet!

  108. My favorite broccoli is very simple and is my German grandmother’s method.
    Steam broccoli just until tender. Brown butter in a small skillet (until it’s a dark amber) and pour over broccoli. Yum.

  109. I didn’t believe that broccoli could taste this good before I tried this recipe. I was skeptical all the way up until the first bite…oh my goodness, best thing ever!

  110. This was really, really good. I didn’t use nuts or cheese. And I didn’t have fresh lemon, so I just sprinkled on some dried lemon peel from the spice rack. The sliced garlic was especially tasty and roasted to perfection. Hubby liked it too. No leftovers though.

  111. It must be my oven, but 20 min was a bit too long for me– it was good but it tasted basically like the brussels sprouts I make with lemon zest and garlic already, because I think I overdid the broccoli. If your oven runs hot, keep a sharp eye out and trust your instincts. It was still really tasty though!

  112. I respectfully disagree with Alan – I love stir fried broccoli, and I also love steamed broccoli (just put in microwave for about 3 min on high with a couple of Tbsp water to steam) … but I like it roasted like this best. One thing, though, if you throw away the stems and only use the florets, you are throwing away the most flavorful part of the broccoli. If the spears are large and tough, peel the stems, but then chop them up and add them to the florets. Also, while I agree with Jacque Pepin about rinsing chicken, I would still wash the broccoli (unless it is organic), because the heat of the oven will kill bacteria, but it will not get rid of the pesticides that have been used in growing the broccoli.

  113. Broccoli might taste good cooked like this, but such high heat (anything above 70 Celsius) destroys the myrosinase protein in Broccoli which helps release the sulforaphane anti-cancer compound in Broccoli. Thus, if you cook Broccoli like in this recipe, you annihilate a lot of the healthy benefits of eating the Broccoli in the first place. Furthermore, caramelizing sugar turns it into a carcinogen. This is why the FDA limits the amount of caramel coloring added to foods and why it must be listed separately as an ingredient. So, this cooking technique might taste good, but you are #1 destroying the anti-cancer properties of the Broccoli, and #2 creating carcinogenic (cancer-causing) molecules in the Broccoli.

    It might not taste the best, but steaming your Broccoli for 5 – 10 minutes maximizes the anti-cancer and health benefits of Broccoli vs pretty much every other way of cooking it.

    1. This is not entirely true, although myrosinase will be denatured by the high heat during roasting, there are bacterial enzymes in the gut which can also release sulforaphane from the glucoraphanin in brocolli. Also, caramelizing sugar does not turn it into a carcinogen. You are referring to 4-MeI which is a caramel coloring and is produced in small amounts by roasting – there is no evidence that this causes cancer in humans.

      I’m gonna roast mine.

    2. I love to steam my broccoli and then toss it with some olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic. You get a similar flavor (and I suppose you could add back the basil or parmesan cheese, too) without the high-heat, keeping the flavor along with the healthy benefits. And my son LOVES it! I also do a little stir-fry method with my broccoli that my son loves, too. Still keeping the health benefits but having all the flavor!

  114. Dana…you are so right… Burned my broccoli and dried it out. 425 for 20 was way wrong for my oven anyway. I did it at 375 for 10 min and it was still crunchy and tasted great.

  115. This is the MOST AMAZING broccoli I have ever had! Even my husband, broccoli hater that he is, loved it. I may never make it any other way. (Mine didn’t burn, I put it in the center of the oven so maybe that helped)

  116. I would never wash a chicken either, but I would wash broccoli. Not because of germs but because of chemical sprays. Just wash it way before you want to use it, give it a good shake and let it air dry.

  117. Thanks for sharing. I did 425 for 20 and probably should have done the full 25, though it was still delicious! Will make again for sure.

  118. Fantastic recipe! Followed recipe with the pine nuts and I loved broccoli for the first time. Use fresh ingredients!

  119. Ive made this at least 4 times over the past month. I love it and find myself craving that lemony, garlic goodness!!! It melds so perfectly with the parm cheese. This is the best broccoli recipe hands down! Thank you for sharing!!!

  120. It really is splendid.
    Excellent topped with a poached egg or two, better on day one, and if you reheat it do so in a hot oven not the microwave, it will be too soggy otherwise.

  121. Christine D'Angelo

    Whoever said his stir-fry beats this (albeit years ago), he’s wrong. I love stir-fry, and this wallops stir-fry. We frequently steam our broccoli, but this is a lovely change, and we do the same thing with cauliflower. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!

  122. I tried with thawed frozen broccoli and it wasn’t as amazing as I hoped. Definitely didn’t get crispy. Does it only works with fresh broccoli? I can try again!

  123. a quarter cup plus two tbsp of oil….it better be good. thats about 660 calories, add another 170 cals from pine nuts and 110 cals from the parm/ramano and you got yourself about 200 calorie per serving veggie dish. ouch.

  124. 425 for 20 minutes was perfect. I forgot the lemon at the end, but the recipe was pretty tasty. I used slivered almonds instead of the pine nuts because that’s what I had, and put them in the last few mins of cooking to lightly toast. My family enjoyed the broccoli, but there weren’t any requests for seconds. Maybe if I can remember the lemon, they’ll ask for seconds next time.

  125. Up to about 2 months ago I would never eat broccoli. Not a fan of the smell and taste. Tried this and I now eat 2 to 3 times a week. Very good! Thank You!

  126. My niece brought this over for a shared dinner and I went nuts over it. Nicest way I’ve eaten broccoli and I’d be happy to eat a whole plate on it’s own or maybe tossed through pasta . Yum.

  127. Best broccoli ever!! My kids love veggies but I get so tired of the soggy bland broccoli, I will never make it any other way again! Thank you so much for posting! And an to all those party poopers who feel the need to rain on someone’s parade, relax, it’s broccoli, any way you make it, it’s still good for you, nobody is suggesting we eat it deep friend and drenched in ranch!

  128. Let's not exaggerate

    I’m sorry… I’m sure this recipe is lovely, but I’m a fan of both broccoli and steak, and no broccoli on this Earth is better than steak.

    Someone had to say it.

  129. hmm, sounds lovely, but energy-usage-wise I still prefer my method of 3 minutes in boiling water rather than having to pre-heat the oven and then keep it going for 30 minutes…

  130. I WANTED TO PRINT OUT THE RECIPE, BUT TOO MUCH CHIT CHAT AND ILLUSTRATIONS. YOU LEFT OUT OVEN TEMPERATURE.

  131. Delicious! I didn’t even add the cheese and it was yummy. I have a new favorite way to prepare broccoli. Thank you! =)

  132. While it is bacteria on chicken most people worry about, that isn’t the case for broccoli. Not washing it could mean needlessly exposing yourself and your family to pesticides and fertilizers. This is just silly logic, honestly.

  133. Lori Mclennnan

    Oh You are so right. I love this. Yummy. I am taking this to a potluck. The host is a really good cook too. : )

  134. I think it’s good practice to always wash your produce. Whenever I look closely at my produce before washing, I almost always find dead bugs. This happens especially with romaine lettuce (I find flies ~80% of the time). I picked up some broccoli from the farmers market today and, in addition to bugs, I found… bird shit. Yeah. Maybe 425 degrees is enough to kill any harmful bacteria, but bacteria or not.. I’d rather not eat roasted bird shit.

  135. The problem with this is that cooking it that much reduces the nutrients a lot, raw is just so superior.

  136. Mangia Food Blog

    I have reached the point of no return! Preparing broccoli any other way just isn’t an option anymore. Thank you for sharing this simple recipe. It’s now in my weekly repertoire.

  137. This is definitely one of my favorite ways to cook broccoli! Just as a note, pesticides on the broccoli will survive being heated in the oven, and so washing veggies to remove those is pretty important

  138. Children love vegetables plain and raw if they can pick them and eat them fresh out of the garden themselves.

  139. Constant Comment

    Ina’s my cooking goddess, too. She’s the one who taught me that any veggie tastes better when you put olive oil, salt & pepper on it and roast it in the oven. Yum!

  140. Judy Hutt Thomas

    Just now saw this on Pinterest…. so going to try it tonight. I have some fresh broccoli at the house just screaming for something special!

  141. Delicious! I never roasted broccoli before but this is definitely the best way to prepare it. Thanks, Chef Jimbo, for your tips as well.

  142. This was delicious! Broccoli’s my favourite anyway, but the crunchiness and the lemon was a great finish. I roasted the pine nuts with the broccoli, and included some mushrooms that were getting old. This seems like a great recipe to play with. Thanks!

  143. I grew up in a house that loved roasted veggies. We roasted all kinds of squash and even asparagus, but never broccoli. Broccoli, cauliflower and brussels were steamed only. But we cooked the others the same way, baked in olive oil and salt and pepper. I’ll have to give this a go. Thanks!

  144. WOW. I always thought I hated broccoli until I tried this. Turns out I just did not like it raw. I eat this almost every week now.

  145. Sue Rhodes Hedtke

    Just have to say that washing is not just for germs…that’s no biggy…..it’s the chemicals you need to wash off.

  146. I am making this tonight, it is in the oven as we speak……….I don’t have pinenuts so I’m substituting toasted seseme seeds,

  147. Hi! I love your broccoli recipe! Found it on Pinterest last year and been
    making it on a weekly basis ever since, my family loves it! I did see it being shared on Facebook today, because I recognized the photo. I wanted to let you know, if you don’t already, that your recipe and photo are being shared without any credit being given to you. It was posted by “Martha Ortega”. In the photo she also includes a link to her page “Getting Skinny with Martha” and has been shared over 250,000 times. I just wanted to let you know in case you wanted to contact her. It seems that the current trend on FB is to share photos and recipes, and the majority of these being posted without any credit to the original sources. I think these people are just trying to get followers or traffic to their own FB pages and sadly they are stealing from others to do it. I think it is so very wrong! Anyway, just wanted to let you know. Have a wonderful day!

  148. I saw this recipe years ago on Stumbleupon and didn’t make it at the time, but it still stuck with me in the back of my head. Finally decided to make it last year and I’ve absolutely loved it since. My fiancee begs me for this and she usually isn’t too big on veggies of any type. Just thought I should drop a comment since I’m coming back to the site to make it again tonight!

      1. hi Adam,how are you? I’d like to talk to you and get familiar more with you.i have many question about English skills and hope u can help me.thanks

  149. Part of washing broccoli is removing residual pesticides, not just bacteria. Chicken should not be washed as it’s not sprayed with pesticides and you’re more likely to contaminate the area around your sink as the water splashes atomized salmonella on nearby surfaces, increasing the risk of cross contamination.
    Even if your broccoli is organic, you may want to consider giving it a rinse to remove any other gross debris (sand, soil, bird droppings, etc.).

  150. Roasted broccoli is awesome! I never thought about using lemon juice and c parmesan cheese! Great way to maximize flavor! I actually roast my veggies often and my kids love them! U can usually any veggies u like or what’s in season! I like to roast new potatoes cut in half with onion, red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, and summer squash. 10 minutes before its done I put sliced sausage the kind u BBQ and its a one pan meal! Add a slice of fresh crusty french bread makes for an awesome easy kid friendly meal!

  151. On my walk home from work, I was listening to your recent podcast where you mentioned how popular this post is. I’d made the recipe once before, and decide I’d do it again when I got home. The first time I made it I told my husband that this was supposed to be the best broccoli. He ate it and said it was really good, but not sure it was the best. This time I didn’t say anything and more than once throughout dinner he commented on how good the broccoli was. Thanks for sharing this recipe!! It’s delicious and simple to make.

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  152. Thank you for this post! I made this roasted broccoli recipe last night, and it turned out perfectly – as crisp and flavorful as yours did. I highly recommend making more than you need – leftover roasted veggies are great on salads. I have tried making roasted broccoli before, but those previous attempts did not turn out so well, and it may well have been that that I washed the florets and did not dry them. This time, I made sure they were dry. Great tip.

  153. Awesome recipe. Broccoli is a staple veggie in our home. It is great to have a new way to serve it. My husband and 7 y.o. loved it!

  154. I’m making this right now. This is my favorite veggie snack now. The funny thing is I hate broccoli. I would never eat it. But I’ve been trying to try things I don’t like and I think with this huge of a success (I wasn’t kidding- I really hated broccoli!) there is no such thing as food I don’t like. Just food that isn’t cooked right. Even if you don’t like something keep experimenting with different cooking methods. Now I want to roast all the things!!

  155. Truly one of the best roasted broccoli. Do give it a try.
    I would also like to know a similarly tasty roasted vegetable recipe.

  156. WASH the broccoli, you may kill bacteria but the pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals are still there

  157. I just used this for inspiration and added some raw diced chicken and asparagus. It was absolutely delicious and, as you say, the texture is fabulous!! Thank you very much – this will be a regular on my table from now on

  158. Thanks for the recipe. BTW, can’t help but say: chicken breasts aren’t typically covered in dirt and pesticides, but veggies likely are. Wash your broccoli ;-)

  159. This reminds me of the way roasting brussel sprouts with olive oil, garlic, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper totally revolutionized my experience and opinion of the tiny cabbagey thingies. (I had only had them the way mother fixed them, which was boiled (and probably from frozen, not fresh), with the de riguer southern seasoning of all things veggie, meaning some kind of pig (anything from saved bacon grease to fat back, streak-o-lean, etc.).
    I use parmesan cheese and crumbled crunchy bacon bits as my garnish on the brussel sprouts.
    I’ll definitely be trying the broccoli this way. I have roasted it, but didn’t do the same garnish. I like my brussel sprouts and my broccoli browned a good bit—I guess it is the caramelization that hooks me.

    I will also share that I use kale and collard leaves in damn near any dish, and it is always a boost, nutritionally, texturally, and in taste. Mostly, you can’t even identify the flavor, it’s just good. I also use the leaves of both as a substitute for lettuce on sandwiches. Lettuce seems like such a waste of chewing time and stomach space when you compare it to those alternatives. I recently added shredded fresh collard leaves to a frittata, along with sliced tomatoes, cheeses, and some leftover gorgonzola potato salad–yummmm! I also use them as a salad green—kale more than collards, but I do mix them. They blend well with red cabbage and raw brussel sprouts and broccoli in the salad bowl, topped with a balsamic dressing of various kinds, and sprinkled with interesting bits, like seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower,safflower, hemp hearts, etc), and various dried fruits (cranberries, dates, etc.)…..makes me hungry to type this. Think I’ll go see what’s in the pantry/fridge to mix and match.

  160. Kathy Shotwell Earley

    I have made this and it is delicious! But my question is how do you store what you haven’t eaten? Refrigerate? Wouldn’t that take away from the crunchiness?

  161. Bake at 425 for 25. Brilliant! So easy to remember! (425-4-25) Definitely added to mental recipe repertoire. Thanks!!

  162. This is AMAZINGLY GOOD! I make it weekly and have 4 children 6, 8, 13 and 15 that ALL love it and eat it. My husband loves it too. The pine nuts make it really delicious!