Knowing how to roast a wide array of vegetables is a skill every home cook should master—and this simple roasted broccoli recipe makes it so easy. Once you get the hang of the cooking method, you can change the star ingredient, the type of fat, add herbs and spices, or incorporate any number of other finishes you likely already have in your kitchen (a squeeze of tart lemon juice, a sprinkle of toasted bread crumbs).
A balance of golden crispy-crunchy bits and crisp-tender stems is the goal with oven-roasted broccoli. And those stems are just as flavorful as the broccoli florets, so only discard the dried-out ends. Some thicker stalks can be fibrous—use a Y-peeler or paring knife to remove the outer layer and reveal the tender core. To help with browning, make sure your broccoli is dry before you start cooking—any moisture leftover from washing the vegetable can cause the florets to turn mushy in the oven (if you feel empowered, don’t wash it at all). Finally, don’t overcrowd the pan, vegetables like broccoli need breathing space as they roast; allowing steam to escape helps guarantee those crispy edges.
You can serve this simple healthy side dish as is—or pair it with a lemony tahini sauce, pile it on toast with garlicky ricotta and hot honey, shower it with Parmesan cheese, or switch up the spicing to make the veg taste a bit like Doritos. Discover more of our best broccoli recipes.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published November 2015.
