Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli Parmesan made in under 10 minutes!
The perfect quick and easy side dish to chicken, fish, or even roast dinner! It's super healthy too!
My kids absolutely love this roasted broccoli made in the air fryer, and I'd go as far as to say it's one of their very favourite veggie side dishes.
Cooking it in the air fryer means that the broccoli retains a lot of its nutrient value, is beautifully tender but crispy, and is also deliciously cheesy.
It's a lot like my roasted Tenderstem broccoli in terms of texture but is roasted in the air fryer rather than the oven. It's a great veggie side for summer when you don't want to heat the kitchen up!
👩🍳 Love your air fryer? Check out my crispy air fryer Brussels sprouts too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best air fryer broccoli recipe!
- Quick and easy to make
- Only 5 ingredients
- Great for kids
- Nutrient rich
- Tastes just like roasted
- Cheesy and delicious
🛒 Ingredients
- Broccoli - cut any large florets with wide stems in half with a sharp knife to ensure they cook quickly and evenly in the air fryer. You want all florets to be roughtly the same size.
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons are all you need.
- Seasonings - I typically use sea salt and garlic granules, but feel free to try different flavourings too. I give some suggestions in the variations section below.
- Parmesan - freshly grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the broccoli before air frying, helps crisp up the florets and gives them a lovely flavour boost. Substitute with a vegetarian hard cheese alternative if you wish.
🥄 Equipment
An air fryer is an obvious requirement for this recipe and I use the Ninja Foodi Health Grill and Air Fryer*. It not only air fries food but also grills, bakes, and dehydrates too. It's a super useful kitchen gadget and one that I definitely wouldn't do without (* denotes affiliate link).
🔪 How to roast broccoli in air fryer
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Preheat the air fryer to 180°c (375F).
Two: Place the broccoli florets in a large bowl and mix with the olive oil, seasonings, and freshly grated Parmesan.
Three: Place the broccoli into the air fryer basket and air fry for 6-8 minutes until crispy (the cooking time depends on the size of your broccoli florets and type of air fryer you are using). Shake halfway through cooking.
What is an air fryer?
Air fryers are small(ish) kitchen appliances that operate like a convection oven—except in a smaller, more concentrated space. My air fryer has a large capacity (5.7 litres) so is relatively large compared to some of the smaller fryers you can buy.
The air is circulated at a high temperature and evenly around the food, which makes the food cook more quickly than in a conventional oven and helps give foods a crispy coating without the need for lots of oil and fat.
💭 Top tips
- Air fryers vary quite considerably so I'd set the timer for 8 minutes but start checking to see if the broccoli is done from 6 minutes onwards. A sharp knife should easily glide into the stems.
- Mix the oil with the broccoli florets thoroughly to ensure the florets are fully coated and don't burn in the air fryer.
- Make sure you press (I use the back of a spoon) all of the lovely grated Parmesan onto the broccoli florets so it sticks to them.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Air fryer broccoli is the perfect veggie side for so many different dishes! I often serve it with air fryer whole chicken, hunters chicken, one-pan roast chicken, sweet potato pasta, salmon, or pork chops (alongside some crispy baby roasted potatoes), for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
It's also great as part of a roast beef dinner at the weekend!
The kids enjoy it with a dip too (something like red pepper hummus, or sour cream and chive), for a healthy after-school snack.
📖 Variations
- Use fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder but make sure it's coated in oil so it doesn't burn.
- Vary the seasonings and try smoked paprika or cayenne pepper.
- Like food spicy? Add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes!
- Make it vegetarian friendly and swap parmesan for a vegetarian hard cheese alternative.
Can I make air fryer broccoli ahead of time?
You can, but it's so much better fresh out of the air fryer!
To save time, prepare the broccoli florets the night before and put them in a mixing bowl with the oil, and seasonings. Then all you need to do when you're ready to make it is mix in the grated Parmesan!
🥡 Storage
- Leftovers. Store leftover cooked air fryer broccoli in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, but the broccoli will lose it's crispness. It will still taste great though! Alternatively, pop the broccoli back in the air fryer for about 3-4 minutes, and it will crisp right back up again!
❓ FAQs
Yes, you can use fresh or frozen broccoli in the air fryer. If using frozen broccoli use it straight from the freezer and do not let it thaw! You may also need to increase the cooking time.
A small coating of oil prevents the broccoli from burning in the air fryer. You won't need much, so it's still a very healthy recipe!
😋 More air fryer recipes
- Air fryer baked potatoes
- Air fryer asparagus
- Air fryer stuffing balls
- Air fryer sweet potato fries
- Air fryer chicken breasts
Tried this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating in the comments!
Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli Parmesan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Broccoli broken into florets. Cut any large florets in half so they are all roughly the same size.
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 4 tablespoon Parmesan grated
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 180°c (375F).
- Place the broccoli florets in a large bowl and mix with the olive oil, seasonings, and freshly grated Parmesan.
- Place the broccoli into the air fryer basket and air fry for 6-8 minutes until crispy (the cooking time depends on the size of your broccoli florets and type of air fryer you are using). Shake halfway through cooking.
Notes
- Air fryers vary quite considerably so I'd set the timer for 8 minutes but start checking to see if the broccoli is done from 6 minutes onwards. A sharp knife should easily glide into the stems.
- Mix the oil with the broccoli florets thoroughly to ensure the florets are fully coated and don't burn in the air fryer.
- Make sure you press (I use the back of a spoon) all of the lovely grated Parmesan onto the broccoli florets so it sticks to them.
- Use fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder but make sure it's coated in oil so it doesn't burn.
- Vary the seasonings and try smoked paprika or cayenne pepper.
- Like food spicy? Add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes!
- Make it vegetarian friendly and swap parmesan for a vegetarian hard cheese alternative.
- Leftovers. Store leftover cooked air fryer broccoli in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, but the broccoli will lose its crispness. It will still taste great though! Alternatively, pop the broccoli back in the air fryer for about 3-4 minutes, and it will crisp right back up again!
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Dannii
I love cooking broccoli in the air fryer. It's so deliciouly crispy.
Gina
Another reason to love the air fryer! This cooks up broccoli so nicely and the parmesan, garlic powder, and seal salt make it for one delicious side dish!
Farah Abumaizar
Love my air fryer, and love broccoli. Perfect combination! Parmesan makes everything better, can't wait to try this out!
Nic
YUM YUM YUM! I love broccoli and parmesan. Thank you for this delicious and amazing recipe!
Erin
I love this air fryer broccoli! It's so easy to make and the sprinkled parmesan makes it so yummy.