Oven roasted broccoli makes this green veggie taste SO GOOD you can’t stop sneaking bites! It’s charred until tender, then spritzed with lemon juice.

Roasted broccoli

Ready for the absolute BEST way to make this healthy green veggie taste incredible? Roasted broccoli. Alex and I whipped this up the other day, and the florets were as irresistible as french fries (maybe more so!). Roasting broccoli makes it come out tender and charred, with a mild , almost sweet flavor. Combine that with garlic and a few spritzes of fresh lemon juice, and wow! The flavor pops in a way you’d never imagine possible with this humble vegetable. Our 3 year old Larson kept asking, “Can I have more broccoli?” We 100% promise you’ll fall head over heels for this one.

Other favorite ways to cook broccoli? Parmesan Broccoli, Steamed Broccoli, Sauteed Broccoli, and Roasted Frozen Broccoli. Head to how to cook broccoli for more.

Oven roasted broccoli

How to make oven roasted broccoli

Once you make roasted broccoli once, you’ll never go back. These crisp tender florets taste as satisfying to me as biting into a crunchy french fry. That’s saying something! You can dip them in sauces (see below), or just serve these florets straight up as an easy veggie side dish. Here are the basic steps you need to do:

  • Preheat: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The very hot temperature will get them perfectly crisp tender!
  • Chop: Chop the florets into medium-sized florets (more on that below). Mix with olive oil and kosher salt.
  • Roast 20 minutes: Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and browned in parts.
  • Add flavor: Add another drizzle olive oil, grated garlic and fresh lemon juice. Serve warm!

Variation: You can also make Roasted Broccoli and Carrots or Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower! These variations add variety of color, shape and flavor.

Roasted broccoli

Chop the broccoli into medium florets with long stems.

Here’s one thing that can make or break your roasted broccoli: how you cut the florets! Now of course there’s no wrong way to cut a broccoli floret! But chopping them into very small florets makes them look stubby and a little uninspiring. Here’s how to cut broccoli:

  • Keep the stems as long as possible! When you chop the floret, cut it at the base of where the floret attaches to the main stem. Doing this makes for an elegant and beautiful shape. See the photo below!
  • Make the florets medium sized, as similar in size as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but keeping the florets similar sized helps them to cook through at the same rate.
Roasted broccoli

Dipping sauces for roasted broccoli

You can easily serve this lemon broccoli straight up alongside any main dish; see below for some ideas! But if you want to step them up, you can add a fun dipping sauce! Here are some favorites:

Oven roasted broccoli

Ways to serve oven roasted broccoli

This oven roasted lemon broccoli is easy to make and a delicious whole food plant based (WFPB) side dish. It pairs with main dishes of all kinds. You could even serve this vegetable recipe as part of a grain bowl with quinoa or farro! Here are some ideas:

This roasted broccoli recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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Oven roasted broccoli

Epic Roasted Broccoli


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

Roasted broccoli makes this green veggie taste SO GOOD you can’t stop sneaking bites! It’s charred until tender, then spritzed with lemon juice.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, stem on (about 3 large heads or 6 heaping cups florets)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 1 medium garlic clove
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Chop the broccoli into medium-sized florets, leaving a good amount of the stem for a nice shape (see the photo). Mix the broccoli florets with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the kosher salt. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender and slightly browned (no need to stir!).
  3. When the broccoli is done, remove the pan from the oven. Grate the garlic onto the pan, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the lemon juice. Use a spoon to gently toss it all together (separating any grated garlic that clumps together). Serve immediately.
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Roasted
  • Cuisine: Vegetables
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Roasted Broccoli, Oven Roasted Broccoli

More broccoli recipes

We adore broccoli around here! If you do too, here are some of our favorite broccoli recipes:

Want more roasted vegetables? Here are the Best Vegetables to Roast.

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you'll want to make again and again.

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4 Comments

  1. Just made this with your salmon, chimichurri, and potatoes. The broccoli was incredible! The perfect amount of crispy and the lemon was an awesome touch! Thanks so much for the awesome recipes :)