12 Broccoli Recipes That Make It Incredibly Easy to Eat Your Veg

2021-02-12-Beef-Broccoli-MHOM-15 — Melissa Hom

Let’s get right down to business and state the obvious: broccoli rules. I can’t imagine anyone asking why it rules, but let’s lay it out anyway. Broccoli is healthy; it’s delicious whether raw or cooked for ages; it delivers an unparalleled level of nostalgic comfort when paired with its soulmate (cheese); and it’s often sold by the ‘crown,’ which certainly implies some sort of royal vegetable lineage. Think of how firmly entrenched broccoli cheddar soup is within the comfort food canon. Is that because this brassica makes it healthier? Heck no. It’s because this brassica makes soupy cheddar soar.

And so, for all the other hardcore brocc heads out there, here are 13 broccoli recipes to celebrate our favorite green queen.

Easy Roasted Broccoli

A bowl of roasted broccoli with charred florets. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

A 500°F oven and foil-lined pan that’s ripping hot before the florets are added = perfectly sweet and nutty broccoli.

Charred Broccoli With Manchego, Hazelnuts, and Honey

A yellow plate of char-broiled broccoli topped with Manchego, toasted hazelnuts, and honey. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This recipe takes the classic side dish of broccoli and cheese and makes it sophisticated.

Charred Broccoli With Taleggio Cheese Sauce and Gremolata

A plate of charred broccoli over a Taleggio cheese sauce, garnished with gremolata. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

For another updated take on broccoli and cheese, cook your broccoli like steak, turn food scraps into a punchy garnish, and add gooey Taleggio cheese.

Orecchiette With Broccoli and Toasted Hazelnuts

In this easy weeknight dinner, the classic pairing of orecchiette and broccoli gets a twist with a creamy turmeric sauce and crunchy toasted hazelnuts.

Chinese-American Beef and Broccoli With Oyster Sauce

A blue plate of homemade American-style beef and broccoli with black chopsticks. — Serious Eats / Melissa Hom

Skip the takeout and make beef and broccoli at home. The key to great flavor here is extremely high heat.

Broccoli Salad With Radicchio, Basil, and Pistachios

A blue bowl of parmesan, broccoli, raddichio, pistachio, and basil salad. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Tossed with radicchio and a bold vinaigrette made from basil and pistachios, this is a salad that’ll make you love all the parts of a head of broccoli.

Vegan Cheesy Baked Potatoes With Broccoli

A vegan cheesy baked potato stuffed with broccoli cheese sauce on a blue plate,. — Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

The trick here is to start the baked potatoes in foil; removing them after 30 minutes speeds up cooking time but still allows the skins to crisp. Then they’re cut open and filled with a broccoli vegan nacho sauce as flavorful and satisfying as real cheese.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This creamy, filling version of broccoli cheddar soup is packed with layers of broccoli flavor.

Broccoli and Cheese Galette

A savory cheese and broccoli galette with golden pastry and crispy bits of baked cheese. — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The secret weapon in this creamy vegetable tart is Mornay sauce, the same cheese sauce used for a traditional mac and cheese.

Caramelized Broccoli and Red Onion Pizza

It’s indisputable: Brassicas are delicious on top of pies. Here, small broccoli florets join thinly-sliced red onions and mozzarella to form a true vegetarian delight.

Creamy Roasted-Broccoli Soup With Buttermilk and Spiced Pepitas

A bowl of roasted broccoli and buttermilk soup garnished with toasted pepitas and olive oil. — Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

A splash of buttermilk adds brightness to this creamy soup, while a garnish of spiced roasted pepitas plays off the roasted broccoli flavor.

Spanish Tortilla with Broccoli, Chorizo, and Onion

Overhead of a Spanish tortilla made with broccoli instead of potatoes, cut into squares next to allioli. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The cooking method here is nearly identical to the classic, but with a great advantage: Broccoli is easier to prep than potatoes, which need to be peeled and thinly sliced.