Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli

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Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli. How to cook air fryer roasted broccoli. We cooked air fryer broccoli from frozen 3 different ways on our hunt for perfect air fryer broccoli and these are the results.

Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli

Broccoli is my most eaten vegetable. I have bought it every week when grocery shopping since I first moved in with Dominic back in 2000.

I remember him asking many years ago why I am buying broccoli YET AGAIN? I remember responding by pointing out how delicious broccoli is and how frugal it is.

That same opinion remains today.

After showing our readers how to cook instant pot frozen broccoli, I felt the time had come to show you that air fryer frozen broccoli can be just as good, if not better.

Can You Cook Frozen Vegetables In Air Fryer?

Absolutely! Even better they are so delicious you will forget that you are cooking frozen vegetables in the air fryer instead of fresh.

Some frozen vegetables cook better than others in the air fryer and you need to follow different frozen air fryer vegetable recipes to get it right. But overall it is FANTASTIC.

My favourite frozen vegetable in the air fryer is brussel sprouts, but frozen corn on the cob in the air fryer is also rather amazing.

Why Frozen Broccoli In Air Fryer?

Frozen broccoli snobs look away now, as that is what I used to be, and I am sure there will be someone that will email me and tell me that frozen vegetables are disgusting and that you MUST COOK FRESH.

They will probably send it in capitals like that too!

Well let me tell you that I used to one of those snobs for many, many years. Then I cooked frozen vegetables with my kitchen gadgets and have rarely bought fresh broccoli since.

Firstly, fresh broccoli here in Portugal is delicious, but with the climate being so high, I have wasted way too much broccoli over the years.

Yet the price for frozen broccoli here is the same as fresh.

Add to this that frozen broccoli is already blanched and chopped and you have a great time saver.

Plus, once cooked quality frozen broccoli tastes stunning.  

But back to that blanching. Because broccoli that is frozen has already been blanched means that when you cook it in the air fryer, less time and effort is required.

Cooking Frozen Broccoli In Air Fryer

There are 3 main ways that you can cook frozen broccoli in an air fryer.

1. Roast frozen broccoli in the air fryer basket directly from the frozen bag of broccoli.
2. Steam your frozen broccoli in the instant pot and then roast in the air fryer for a quicker option.
3. Steam your frozen broccoli in the instant pot and then use the Mealthy Crisplid to crisp the broccoli to turn it into roasted broccoli.

We have explored all three of these air fryer frozen roasted broccoli options and we have our opinion of what works best.

#1 Roasted frozen broccoli in the air fryer basket

In our opinion, takes way too long and quite often you have a crispy broccoli and a hard as nails broccoli stem. We are not a fan of this.

I wish we was though, as it would be wonderful to dump broccoli in the air fryer basket, forget about it and then come back when it beeps.

#2 Steamed frozen broccoli in the instant pot + air fried for crispness

Can I mention that this is the best air fryer frozen broccoli that you will ever try? When I was recipe testing our air fryer broccoli from frozen, I never told Dominic which was which and he also agreed that this was the BEST.

You see the broccoli stem is tender as the broccoli is perfectly cooked, yet the crispy roasted broccoli texture remains.

Plus, wait until you see how fast it cooks compared to avoiding the instant pot.

#3 Steam frozen broccoli in the instant pot and crisp with the Mealthy Crisplid

This is one of those cooking experiments that you want to work but didn’t. The Mealthy Crisplid was going for ages and it just didn’t crisp the broccoli enough.

In fact, you would have to feel for crisp bits and was just like reheating the broccoli. Such a shame as it would make broccoli easier.

I call this my Ninja Foodi Frozen Broccoli Method. That is because a Mealthy Crisplid turns an instant pot into the Ninja Foodi.

Everyone can relate to the Ninja Foodi, but not everyone has heard of a Mealthy Crisplid or an Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid.

Here it is looking soggy after the Mealthy Crisplid

Frozen Broccoli In Air Fryer Oven

If you have an air fryer oven, then you can use it to cook frozen broccoli. I would recommend swapping it between the top and the middle shelf as then it will cook evenly.

I have done this a few times now and its perfect for making a bigger batch of air fryer frozen broccoli.

How Long Do You Cook Frozen Broccoli?

Frozen broccoli air fryer time is JUST 6 minutes when you have followed our method below and cooked the broccoli in the instant pot FIRST for 0 minutes.

Or if you are cooking frozen broccoli in the air fryer directly and not pressure cooking, you are looking at a combined cook time of 15 minutes.

Making Frozen Broccoli In Air Fryer

Below I am sharing with you my favourite way to make frozen broccoli in the air fryer and that is combining the efforts of an instant pot with the air fryer.

That way (as mentioned above) you have the best of both worlds. Your frozen broccoli is perfectly cooked, and your broccoli is crispy like it has been oven baked.

Cooking frozen broccoli in the air fryer is so simple:

1. Load your frozen broccoli into a steamer basket. Place a cup of water in the instant pot and lower in your frozen broccoli in its steamer basket.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Set the valve to sealing and cook for ZERO minutes.
4. When it beeps quickly manually release pressure.
5. Load the broccoli into the air fryer basket, sprinkle with favourite seasonings and spray with a little extra virgin olive oil.
6. Cook for 6 minutes on a medium heat.
7. Serve.

Air Fryer Frozen Broccoli Temperature

The air fryer frozen broccoli temperature is 180c/360f. This helps keep the broccoli cooking on a medium heat without burning it, but still giving the broccoli the chance to crisp up!

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!