Air Fryer Broccolini

Air fryer broccolini is a delicious and healthy side dish. This broccolini is ready from start to finish in less than 15 minutes. It's delicious topped with crumbled feta and lemon zest, but easy to customize with whatever flavors you love.

Air frying vegetables is one of my favorite things to do. It's just so quick and easy and usually doesn't require preheating. And dishes like this easy air fried broccolini get roasted to perfection.

I topped my air fryer broccolini with some crumbled feta, lemon zest, and a healthy squeeze of lemon juice (because I think lemon and broccolini are just a match made in heaven), but this dish is so easy to make your own with whatever flavors you love!

Want a little spice? Add some red pepper flakes! Want a more unique flavor? Add some harissa spice or sumac.

Whatever you choose, the broccolini will be delicious and will look gorgeous on your plate. A fun switch from just using regular broccoli.

Ingredients

• Broccolini
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Feta (optional)
• Lemon zest and juice (optional)

What is broccolini?

Broccolini is a hybrid vegetable formed between broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Broccolini is also sometimes called tenderstem broccoli (because the stem is tender!) or baby broccoli.

The main difference between broccoli and broccolini is that broccolini has a long stem that is tender and can be eaten, while broccoli is formed more in a bunch with a short stem that is tough to eat.

Because of this, broccolini is so easy to prepare and is delicious! It also cooks up pretty quickly.

How to customize

I topped my air fried broccolini with some feta, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice, but there are so many other ways to enjoy!

You can season with your favorite spices or dried herbs before putting in the air fryer to put your own flavor twist on the broccolini. For a bit of spice, add some red pepper flakes!

You can also serve with a dipping sauce or drizzled with a sauce. My favorite is drizzling over this bright citrusy preserved lemon vinaigrette.

Air fried broccolini is also delicious on top of some whipped feta (like this spicy whipped feta), or some hummus.

What to serve with the air fried broccolini

Air fried broccolini makes such a delicious side dish! I love serving it with some air fryer crispy salmon, air fryer lemony chicken thighs, air fryer bbq chicken thighs, or air fryer honey mustard salmon.

It's also tasty with honey sriracha chicken or air fryer stuffed peppers.

Recipe notes

• All air fryers cook differently. Watch broccolini closely to make sure it doesn't burn.
• If a few of your broccolini pieces have very thick stems, you can cut them in half lengthwise to make sure they all cook evenly and that the stems get tender when cooking.

How to make air fryer broccolini

Wash and dry the broccolini. Then, trim about ½ inch off the broccolini stems at the bottom.

Toss broccolini with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place broccolini in air fryer basket.

Cook at 380 degrees F for about 6-9 minutes, checking around the 5 minute mark for doneness.

I like mine a little crispier, so I cooked mine for about 8 minutes and the florets crisped up nicely. However, test and remove from the air fryer when broccolini is done to your liking.

Plate, then top with crumbled feta, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest.

FAQs

Where can you find broccolini?

Broccolini can be found in most grocery stores in the produce section. It might be called baby broccoli or tenderstem broccoli.

Can you eat the stems of broccolini?

Yes, broccolini stems are edible and get tender when cooked. The stems, leaves, and florets are all edible and delicious.

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