Grab a bag of broccoli from the frozen section from Trader Joe's and throw it in your air fryer (remove from bag first!) for an easy weekday side dish.
Sometimes in life we just have to hurry and get food on the table. And that includes getting a veggie ready to eat. What often happens is that we just throw it in the microwave or in a pot of boiling water. Then it comes out undesired and we have to just choke it down. That's especially true for our kids.
The air fryer changes all that. It can be used to easily transform vegetables into something amazing without really any work. And one of my favorite vegetables to perform this transformation with is broccoli. Let me show you how I do it with the frozen broccoli you get at Trader Joe's.
Why Air Fry
Air frying broccoli is all about getting those crispy bites on the broccoli. You won't get that with steaming!
Through some experimenting I have discovered that frozen broccoli actually does better than fresh broccoli in the air fryer. Why? The stems cook better. When I use fresh broccoli I often have the issue where the tops are cooked but the stem part is still too raw and then it's hard not to burn the broccoli to ashes to get the stems soft enough.
I need to give credit to Trader Joe's. Their bag of broccoli florets is actually broccoli florets. I have gotten bags of broccoli that were half stems. It's not like I don't like the stems, my oldest loves them the most, but what I really want is those florets to get crispy, that's the best part. Hats off to Trader Joe's for giving us what they promise!
Tips for Air Frying
The temperature you want to air fry the broccoli at is 400 degrees for about 14 minutes total. What I like to do is start at 7 minutes, then shake the basket, and go for another 5-8 minutes until the broccoli is done.
Different air fryers are going to produce slightly different results. If you haven an air fryer has an extra large basket it may actually take longer. I once air fried some cauliflower in an air fryer that has multiple trays and that didn't work that well at all. Very uneven and it took just as long as it would have to roast it in the oven.
My person preference is to have an air fryer that has two baskets instead of a large air fryer. The real point of an air fryer is to be a convection oven in a smaller space, so that the air can circulate more around the food and cooking it faster.
It's very important to stick by your air fryer why you are making the broccoli. It goes from being perfectly crispy to brunt rather quickly, so you want to make sure you are keeping an eye on it. Once you have done it a few times in your air fryer with the Trader Joe's frozen broccoli you will get the hang of the time needed and you won't need to watch it so closely.
Air Fried Asian Sampler
Looking for some additional serving suggestions? I came up with this super fun Air Fried Asian Sample meal that has the broccoli, along with Mandarin Orange Chicken, Tteok Bok Ki Spiced Rice Cakes, and gyoza potstickers. All made in the air fryer! Check out my video from my Instagram account.
I will be sharing links to the recipes for cooking all of these items shortly.
All Trader Joe's fans make sure to check out these other popular Trader Joe's posts from the blog including How to Air Fry the Butternut Squash Zig Zags for Fries.
- Baby Vegetables from Trader Joe's
- Carolina BBQ Sauce Review
- The Best Cheese at Trader Joe's
- What Honey is at Trader Joe's
Air Fried Trader Joe's Frozen Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 bag Trader Joe's Frozen Broccoli
- cooking oil to coat the broccoli
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Remove the broccoli from the bag and place into a mixing bowl.
- Coat with your choice of cooking oil
- Add to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Don't overcrowd it or it won't get crispy. You are better off working in batches then, or using both baskets if you have a dual basket air fryer.
- Set to 400 degrees and cook for 7 minutes.
- Shake the baskets.
- Cook for another 5-8 minutes or until the broccoli is crispy on top and the stems are soft.
- Enjoy immediately.
- If you need to reheat, don't use the microwave, just air fry for 1 minute to warm back up.
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