Crispy Air Fryer Broccolini (in 10 Minutes)
This crispy air fryer broccolini is charred with garlic and lemon juice, so in just 10 minutes you'll have a plate piled high with roasted tenderstem broccoli, perfect for pairing with almost anything.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 16 oz. broccolini ~2 heads
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon za'atar
- 2 Tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 370°F (190ºC) for 3-4 minutes.
- Cut the bottoms off your tenderstem broccoli and pull off any of the leaves, if desired, then clean the and dry it well and slice it longways to increase the surface area.
- Put the broccolini slices into a dry bowl and drizzle over the olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt, and za'atar (if using), and toss everything until well-coated.
- Pour the sliced broccolini in the air fryer basket, making sure they're as spaced-apart as possible, pushing them against the sides of the basket if needed (cook in 2 batches if everything is too close together). Cook for 5-6 minutes, shaking the air fryer basket halfway through. A smaller air fryer will take longer to cook them, so check them every minute after the 5 minute mark. While they cook, squeeze out your fresh lemon juice (if using), from about half a lemon.
- Once browned and crispy, pour your baby broccoli onto a plate and drizzle on the lemon juice and enjoy!
Notes
No Lemon Juice: If you can't handle or don't have lemon juice, you can either leave it off completely or add another ¼ teaspoon sumac to the broccolini seasoning blend.
Cooking broccolini with lemon and garlic creates the boldest flavors, but alternately or in addition, just use the zest of 1 lemon in place of the lemon juice. It won't add the same acidity, but it will brighten the dish and won't cause a histamine reaction like lemon juice possibly could.
Using Frozen Broccolini: If you had a heavy harvest of broccolini in your garden and want to make some in the off-season, you could certainly make this vegan broccolini side dish from frozen, but you'd likely need an extra 2-3 minutes' cooking time fo rit to properly crisp up.