Parmesan Air Fryer Broccolini Recipe

How to cook air fryer broccolini is here! Tender florets with a bit of crisp on the edges. Add garlic and parmesan for a healthy side dish.

Ninja Foodi Broccolini

There are a lot of different brands of machines out there. If you have the multi cooker called a Foodi you’re going to use the air crisp button to make this. AirWave or making this as a Cosori air fryer recipe would just use air fry. Obviously. If you didn’t think you could get something like this tender, we will show you the trick.

There is a trick to it all too y’all. 😉 You need a tad bit of water in your basket first. That is right, you know the area in between the basket and the drawer under it? You will pour a bit of liquid in there to steam. You use the same method to cook parmesan broccoli air fryer style!

How to Cook Broccolini

Yes you could basically make Instant Pot broccolini, same as broccoli, but the texture is different. Timing doesn’t vary much except that I usually do adjust from 1 minute to 2 instead since the stems are longer. They will get really really tender which is nice but personally I love the bits of crisp on the ends.

You can boil broccolini in a pot of hot water but that is my last choice since boiling will suck a lot of nutrients out in the process. Good old fashioned method though that works well if all you have is a stove when traveling.

You could use the same directions as you would if cooking regular broccoli in the oven, just add a few min. This method will give you some of the same crisp like this but takes much longer and will heat up your whole house. Needless to say I like this one best after exploring all of the others.

Broccolini Air Fryer

You might be scratching your head when I say to add water. I won’t lead you astray, it works well with this but not necessary with really any other food(s). As far as seasonings go just use what you normally would. I will say that a bit of cheese at the end with diced air fryer roasted garlic is incredible!

• A few bunches of broccolini
• Minced garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded and/or grated parmesan cheese is optional of course but wonderful

What is the difference between broccoli and broccolini

Did you know this is actually belongs to the cabbage family of produce??!! I guess that is why I love it so much as an adult because I have a new love for all things green. Broccoli florets actually have a much thicker and woodier stem that isn’t super appetizing. Alternatively these ends are more appetizing.

How to Cook Frozen Broccolini

If you can only find this in the freezer section you can still totally cook it well. You can follow our Instant Pot frozen broccoli or air fryer frozen broccoli instructions. You’ll want to add 1-2 more minutes typically since the pieces are left more whole and larger.

Honestly when you are cooking air fryer frozen vegetables you really can’t tell the difference when done. That is right because the moisture when they defrost drains away since there are holes at the bottom of the basket so they don’t get soggy. The hot circulating air fryer cooks and stiffens up the outside so they aren’t so weird and ehhhhh.

If you don’t care about the cheese at the end and just want super simple with olive oil salt and black pepper then you can skip the last step and just continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Even with my dairy free husband I still add it as hard cheeses are lower in lactose and doesn’t seem to bother his tummy.

Air Fried Broccolini

I have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for you. If you have a recipe book you can then keep it handy or just come back time and time again. I will miss you if you just go away (cry).

• Rinse your bunches and trim the broccolini stems as much as you wish.
• Pat dry really well or wrap in paper towels to remove the moisture on the outside.
• Put into a bowl, toss with olive oil and then add add your seasonings like garlic powder, salt, pepper.
• Pour 1/4 cup of water or broth under the air fryer basket. Put the tenders in the air fryer basket. Sprinkle chopped garlic on top.
• Bake in a preheated air fryer at 400 degrees F for a total of 7-8 minutes cook time. Start with 5 minutes initially. Then flip all pcs over.

Sprinkle parmesan crumbs and parmesan flakes over the top of your air fryer broccolini recipe if desired and bake for an additional 2 minutes or until they are as tender as you’d like.

What to Serve with Broccolini

I mean there isn’t anything that doesn’t go well with this easy side dish for a meal, seriously. Our favorite duos though would be to throw some frozen chicken in the oven, super easy. If you have a Ninja Foodi Dual Zone with two drawers you could cook this in one and frozen fish in air fryer in the other.