Air fryer broccolini is a flavorful and easy side dish that goes with any type of meat for dinner. It's hard to find a side dish that'll be healthier than air fryer baby broccoli!
Serve the best easy broccolini in air fryer recipe with a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
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Broccolini in Air Fryer Recipe
We've been on a huge broccolini kick at our house. My husband and I have always loved broccoli and broccolini tastes just like it...the difference is no prep work like chopping and slicing or peeling the stalk-like there is with broccoli. And if you're wondered what the difference is between broccolini and "baby broccoli," it's the same thing!
Cooking crispy broccolini in the air fryer is seriously the BEST way to prepare this healthy and amazing cruciferous vegetable, plus it cooks in much less time than compared to an oven! With just 5 minutes of cooking time you can have perfectly crispy and tender broccolini that pairs well with just about any main dish.
Love broccoli as much as we do? You'll also want to eat our air fryer frozen broccoli and roasted broccoli in air fryer recipe.
Make a complete air fryer meal by serving the air fryer broccolini with air fryer turkey cutlets and air fryer sweet potato slices.
What is Broccolini?
The broccoli plant is a hybrid plant from broccoli and Chinese broccoli and a member of the brassica family, just like kale, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. It was first bred in the 1990s and is now a popular vegetable in the United States.
what's the difference between broccoli and broccolini?
Broccolini is a type of broccoli that has been bred to have smaller and more delicate florets. It also has a milder flavor than traditional broccoli. Broccolini can be eaten raw or cooked, but most people prefer to cook it because there's no thick stem to contend with and it has a brighter green color when cooked.
Broccoli can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw broccoli is crunchy and has a slightly bitter taste. Cooked broccoli is softer and has a milder flavor. It can be eaten as part of a dish or as a standalone vegetable.
Ingredient Notes
- broccolini - Our grocery store sells broccolini in 8 oz wrapped packages.
- olive oil - we used extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil is another great high heat option for an air fryer.
- fine sea salt - this is our favorite salt to use when cooking
- black pepper
- optional garnishes - top the broccolini air fryer recipe with freshly squeezed lemon, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, or a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact broccolini in air fryer recipe quantities **
Variations
A great addition for garlic lovers, you can add ¼-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
Add lemon- either add a touch of lemon zest at the end, or a little freshly squeezed lemon juice on after cooking. We also added small lemon slices in the air fryer to cook in the last minute.
Equipment
An Air Fryer- We have a Cosori XL basket style air fryer, an Omni Plus oven style air fryer, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. The Cosori with the air fryer basket was used in this recipe.
Step by Step Instructions
Cooking our broccolini in air fryer recipe is super simple! Since broccolini stems are eaten whole, there's minimal prep-work involved. Just season the baby broccoli and toss in the air fryer to cook.
Prep Ingredients
Preheat the air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes.
Wash the broccolini and remove the bottom ⅓ of the leaves. Dry the thin stalks with paper towels to remove excess water, not blotting them dry is the best way to make crispy broccolini instead of steamed broccolini.
In a medium-size or large bowl add the broccolini, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss ingredients together.
Temperature and Cooking Time
Add the broccolini to the bottom of the air fryer basket, the cook time will be 400 F for 5-6 minutes, flipping over halfway through cooking. Yours could take less time or longer depending on how many watts your air fryer is.
Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve while warm and squeeze lemon juice or add a drizzle of balsamic glaze if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Tasty garnishes include more salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, or fresh lemon juice. We cut up tiny lemon wedges and tossed them in the air fryer for 1 minute. Or add all of these like we did, so tasty!
- The cooking time will vary based on the watts of your air fryer, the size of your broccolini stems, and whether or not you preheated your air fryer.
- To cook regular broccoli in the air fryer, cook it the same way as broccolini but add 2-3 additional minutes to the cooking time.
- Make your air fryer cooking even lighter by making an oil-free air fryer broccolini recipe. Just sprinkle with your seasoning of choice.
Common Questions
What to serve with air fryer broccolini is mostly the same thing you'd eat with broccoli. With similar tastes, cooked broccolini pairs well with chicken, pork, beef, seafood, and tossed in a salad or pasta.
The entire broccolini stem is edible including the flower, to the leaves, to the stem. While with broccoli you often have to peel the stalk and many people discard it, the delicate nature of broccolini makes it perfect to cook the entire thing.
After air fryer broccolini, the baby broccoli can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days in the fridge after cooking and can be frozen for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Broccolini is a type of broccoli that has been bred to have smaller and more delicate florets. It also has a milder flavor than traditional broccoli. Broccolini can be eaten raw or cooked, but most people prefer to cook it because there's no thick stem to contend with and it has a brighter green color when cooked.
Broccoli rabe is another type of broccoli that is different from broccolini. Broccoli rabe has thicker stalks and a more bitter taste than broccolini. It is usually cooked before being eaten.
More Broccoli Recipes
- Frozen broccoli in air fryer
- Roasted air fryer broccoli recipe
- Ham and broccoli crustless quiche
- Cauliflower and broccoli salad
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Air Fryer Broccolini
Air fryer broccolini is an easy and flavorful side dish that goes with any type of meat for dinner. Serve the broccolini in air fryer recipe with a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 6 oz broccolini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes.
Wash the broccolini and remove the bottom ⅓ leaves.
In a medium-size bowl add the broccolini, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss ingredients together.
Add the broccolini to the air fryer and cook on 400 F for 5-6 minutes, flipping over halfway through cooking. Yours could take less time or longer depending on how many watts your air fryer is.
Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve while warm and squeeze lemon juice or add a drizzle of balsamic glaze if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Tasty garnishes include more salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, or lemon wedges. We cut up tiny lemon wedges and tossed them in the air fryer for 1 minute. Or add all of these like we did, so tasty!
The cooking time will vary based on the watts of your air fryer, the size of your broccolini stems, and whether or not you preheated your air fryer.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 43Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 303mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 1g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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