6 Tips for Better Roasted Broccoli

Roasting the brassica achieves flavor and texture that simple steaming could never unlock. Rich browning enhances both the meaty stems and the delicate florets.

Plus, roasting is quick and hands-off, requiring only minimal prep.

Want to become a broccoli roasting pro? Check out our tips below—and watch the latest episode of What’s Eating Dan? for even more fun broccoli facts.

Here’s a quick overview of our preferred oven-roasted broccoli method.

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place large rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. 

2. Cut and peel broccoli stalks and florets. 

3. Place broccoli in large bowl; drizzle with oil and toss well until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and pepper to taste and toss to combine.

4.  Working quickly, remove baking sheet from oven. Carefully transfer broccoli to baking sheet and spread into even layer, placing flat sides down. 

5. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until stalks are well browned and tender and florets are lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. 

Peel the stems.

Broccoli stems have a protective waxy cuticle on their exteriors. That cuticle doesn’t turn tender the way the interior does, and it gets particularly tough when roasted. To avoid that, simply peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler.

As a side benefit, peeling actually helps with flavor as well. Peeling activates the enzymatic reaction that converts sulforaphane into flavorful isothiocyanates.

Make flat pieces.

Round florets don’t make much contact with the baking sheet. Cutting your broccoli into wedges ensures that there is more surface area to contact the sheet, resulting in deeper, more even browning.

Pull, don’t cut, your broccoli.

Slicing through the florets to create wedges works well enough, but it also results in broccoli dust strewn all over your cutting board. Here’s an alternative: Slice just through the light green parts of the stem, then simply pull the sections apart with your hands. The broccoli will separate at natural seams.

Preheat your sheet.

Popping your baking sheet in the oven while it’s preheating will kickstart browning as soon as the vegetables touch the pan.

Oil the broccoli, not the sheet.

Adding the oil directly to the food means you won’t end up with pools of oil on the baking sheet that overheat and smoke in the oven.

Season with sugar.

Adding just a tiny amount of sugar—we like about a half teaspoon per head of broccoli—won’t make the brassica taste sweet. It just helps it brown a bit more rapidly so that the exteriors turn bronze before the interiors overcook.

While roasted broccoli is plenty flavorful on its own, here are a few suggestions for toppings:

Parmesan and black pepper

It’s like cacio e pepe meets broccoli.

Toasted sesame seeds and orange zest

This is our take on gomasio, the ubiquitous Japanese sesame salt.

Smoky sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast

A Cook’s Illustrated staff favorite, this crunchy, smoky, savory topping is one you’ll want to put on everything.

Want to learn even more about broccoli? Check out the latest episode of What’s Eating Dan? below.