Air Fryer Broccolini

Air Fryer Broccolini is a super easy low carb side dish and pairs great with any protein! Whether you follow a keto diet or not, anyone can appreciate having perfectly cooked broccolini in less than 10 minutes!

I love making air fried broccolini! It’s so much better than broccoli in my opinion! I feel like you get so much more out of them because you eat the entire stalk unlike broccoli.

I mean you an eat the stalk on broccoli but it’s super tough and you have to cook it down into like a soup to make it palatable.

Sooo…..

I know I know I finally jumped onto the air fryer craze! Truthfully, I’ve been using an air fryer for a little over 2 years but this is the first air fryer recipe I’ve ever posted on my blog!

I’ve made chicken wings, chicken thighs, bacon, steak, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, you name it – I might have cooked it in my air fryer haha.

So….yeah….since traveling in my Cedar Creek RV more I’ve really started to appreciate my air fryer and Instant Pot more. So be on the lookout for a bunch more recipes!

Plus more and more people have been wanting to work with me for keto coaching, exciting news coming! I’ll be working my way through my waitlist and I’m hoping to hire on another RD to the team soon!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Low in carbs! This broccolini recipe is good if you’re following a keto diet. It has just 1g net carbs per serving and 5g total carbs per serving.
• Quick and Easy! With only 6 ingredients and cooked in just 7 minutes, it can’t get much easier than that!
• Pairs with most proteins! This broccolini is served above with my easy broiled chicken thighs recipe.

Back to the insanely easy air fryer lemon and garlic broccolini recipe!

So this broccolini is cooked al dente, and has just the right amount of lemon and garlic that you may even eat it as a snack instead of with a meal!

PRO TIP: If you do decide to eat your broccolini as a snack as I have done on many occasions, sprinkle with a little bit of shredded parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. You’ll thank me later.

Ingredients

• broccolini: washed and trimmed, I used the pre-packaged kind that has already been washed
• oil: Olive oil or avocado oil
• lemon juice: I prefer fresh squeezed, but the bottle kind will work in a pinch too
• seasonings: fresh garlic, kosher or coarse sea salt, black pepper

Substitutions: You can substitute avocado oil for olive oil, bottle lemon juice for fresh squeezed lemon, garlic powder for fresh minced garlic, sea salt for kosher salt. If you want to add a little spice, try adding in some crushed red pepper flakes!

How to Cook Broccolini in Air Fryer

You can either use the bunch of broccolini that’s near the heads of broccoli in the produce section or you can get the broccolini that comes in the ready to eat bag. I opted for the bag version because 1) it’s all that was available, 2) it’s already been washed, dried and stems cut so less work for me!

1. In a large bowl add your broccolini.
2. Then add the olive or avocado oil, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic (I use this garlic press – best kitchen gadget ever!), salt (I use kosher or coarse sea salt because I like big chunks of salt), and ground pepper
3. Toss the broccolini with your hands until they’re evenly coated.
4. Next put them in the air fryer basket in a single layer (You don’t have to spray the bottom of the air fryer basket with oil). Cook at 390F for 5-6 minutes.
5. If you’re feeling a little bit fancy you can top it with some fresh lemon zest. Enjoy your perfectly crisp vegetables!
6. Store leftovers in an air-tight container.

So you’re going to see quite a few recipes out there that cook it longer than 6 minutes. I don’t know why because at the 6 minute mark mine were already getting charred on the edged so I’d highly recommend not cooking your broccolini longer than 6 minutes.

Unless you like your veggies burnt or extra crispy, then by any means cook it longer! Any way you like it, this makes for a delicious side dish! It’s also a naturally gluten-free recipe!

If you’re looking for more healthy side dish recipes, try this Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower and this roasted garlic parmesan asparagus.

What is broccolini

Broccolini is a cross between traditional broccoli and Chinese broccoli. It’s also known to some as “baby broccoli.” Broccolini is actually a trade marked name in 1993 by Japan’s Sakata Seed Corporation.

Broccolini vs broccoli

Not to be confused with broccoli, broccolini is still a part of the cruciferous family but it has much longer and thinner stems and smaller florets than broccoli. Broccolini has a much less pungent taste than broccoli. With the broccolini you eat the stems and the florets, unlike broccoli where most of the time the large stem is discarded.

Broccoli rabe vs broccolini

Broccoli rabe has thicker stalks, bigger leaves and less florets than broccolini. Also the taste is completely different than broccolini or broccoli. Broccoli rabe is closer in taste and uses to mustard or turnip greens (you know that bitter taste), than either of the prior.

This broccolini is a great addition to any main dish entree. It’s a perfect quick side dish and very little cleanup! If you like to meal prep, try pairing these with Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breast or Instant Pot Beef Brisket. All of these recipes use basic ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store.

If you loved this air fryer best broccolini recipe ever – just kidding, but it is pretty darn good! Check out this air fryer spaghetti squash recipe, air fryer hard boiled eggs and this Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts recipe.