Air fryer Charred Broccolini

Charred crispy air-fryer broccolini is the perfect side to any dinner! It comes together in minutes and is frankly addictive!

Broccolini is a hybrid vegetable, like a child of broccolli and Chinese broccoli. It has longer, thinner stems and smaller florets than broccoli, which makes it easy to prep, clean, and cook.

If you like broccoli, you will love broccolini. I find the florets a bit more tender than a standard broccoli, but the stems can be a tad bit tough. If you do not like stems, trim them until you get to thinner, greener, more tender parts.

My son loves these things! My son calls it crispy trees. We go through broccolini like water in my house especially if it's cooked in the air fryer.

Without wasting time, let me give you my big secret: oil. I have tried the whole steamed veggies thing, and it didn't work. Yes, I want to eat healthy, but it needs to taste good, or it will never be made in my house again.

You need to coat the broccolini florets in oil. You can only do that while using the least oil by using an oil spray.

So repeat after me: spray, toss, season, and char! That's the whole recipe, really, but it's fine if I elaborate on it below.

I promise you one thing, even if you hate broccolini and can't fathom ever liking it, try this recipe once. If you need to get your fiber in or get veggies into your children, this is really the best way!

IF you are looking for more vegetable side dish recipes, you must try air fryer corn on the cob, air frier edamame, potato wedges and this indian recipe of air fryer crispy okra.

If you aren't into charred broccolini, you should give steamed broccoli in the instant pot a try. It's a great recipe if you have little children who need softer foods.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Broccoli

You just need three ingredients

See the recipe card for quantities.

Broccolini

Cut the thicker, less tender stems off. Not only do they not cook at the same time as the florets, the stems can also be tough to digest.

Salt or Seasoning

Salt is good but you can play up the recipe by adding other seasonings like lemon pepper and garlic powder.

Oil

As explained above, this is the maker of this recipe. You need to make sure the broccolini is coated with oil to get that charred, crispy delicious finish.

I like using the best kind of oil I can afford to cook with.In this case, its the avocado oil from costco.You can also use Olive oil here.

How to cook Air fryer Charred Broccolini

Step 1: Trim & Prep the Broccolini

I like to wash the broccolini before cooking. I do this even if it's been double or triple-washed by the seller. You can skip it if you are confident of the brand washing it.

After you wash, you need to get rid of the excess moisture. Excess water will soften the broccolini ends instead of crisping them.It's very important that you wring out the water using a kitchen towel or a cloth.

Step 2: Season and Oil

Now add your seasoning, in my case, plain salt.Then go ahead and spray with oil.If you do not have a spray oil, then first, I must say, its a game changer and you should try and get your hands on it!

If not a pre packaged one, you can buy a spray bottle like this one from amazon.

Step 3: Air fry

Preheat the air fryer, just like you would a skillet or oven ,to make sure even cooking.I have a small one, so 2-3 minutes of preheatung at the desired temperature works.If you have a bigger air fryer, preheat for 8-10 minutes.

Place the seasoned broccolini in the basket. Toss it around so that the oil can reach all the nooks and crannies.

Air fry to 10-12 minutes at 400 C.

Serving Broccolini

Roasted broccolini is a great side dish for any protein. It's so quick to make that you do not need to put in any effort with the veggies, so you can concentrate on the protein.

I try to make a big batch so I always have some on hand. That said, this recipe is best served right after it comes out of the air fryer.

I have been serving these on repeat with my new recipe of lemon pepper chicken drumsticks.The great thing about making these broccolini with just salt is that it goes with almost every cuisine. It's also a great side to regular everyday indian staples like rice and lentils(dal - chawal) and chicken curries.

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with :

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