Perfect Roasted Frozen Broccoli
I never thought I would be making let alone posting about frozen roasted broccoli. But never say never. An accidental order left me with a large amount of frozen instead of fresh broccoli. And so, I had to do three rounds of roasted broccoli. And voila, I offer you the perfect roasted frozen broccoli.
Now while frozen broccoli is not an everyday thing, broccoli is pretty popular on my table. Simple dishes like this broccoli with garam masala or broccoli with cauliflower are every hits on my table.
The Story of Perfect Roasted Frozen Broccoli
A few things that frozen broccoli has going for it. It is pre-cut, cooks faster and generally it does a great job retaining its green color. Now the only problem with frozen broccoli or for that matter any frozen vegetable is that it tends to be watery. And this is where a little bit of technique comes it. This is all about the temperature. You need HOT!
A little bit on technique
An air fryer or even a convection over is a good idea. If neither of these are available as options, get your oven nice and hot. The deal here is you want that extra moisture to get evaporated quickly. And then we are in business! About 25 minutes or so will get you a decent amount of nicely crisped edges. Give it about 5 to 7 minutes more if you want more charring action.
As for the flavoring, I keep this simple. Olive oil, salt, lots of garlic and lemon juice. And some red pepper flakes. Honestly, considering I put this together after a decent amount of travel for a hungry family it is a good quick fix. Well, definitely very quick in terms of tossing and throwing into your oven or air fryer. The hands-off cooking time rocks. And you know what if you hang on, I will tell you what I did with the extras. So yes, check back soon!
And of course, almost everything tastes great with parmesan, but I just keep it lighter. It is fun as is. Perfect for a busy week ahead, when there really is no time to plan. Pantry staples are my salvation.
How to Enjoy this Roasted Frozen Broccoli
This is one of those versatile side dishes that are what weeknight dinners in our house is all about. One of my favorite dishes to pair this with would be this soy miso salmon.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of frozen broccoli
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (about 4 to 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced)
- 1 teaspoon (or to taste) red pepper flakes
- Salt (sea salt or kosher salt are good ideas)
- I large lemon
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Alternately use an air-fryer.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the broccoli pieces uniformly across the pan. You do not want them together.
- Drizzle well with olive oil.
- Place the pan into the oven. If using an air fryer, you might need to do this in batches.
- Cook for 15 minutes and remove and give it a good stir and add in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook this for another 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, zest and juice the lemon.
- Remove the broccoli from the oven, it should be nicely crisped at spots. Sprinkle with the salt, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Enjoy!