Air Fryer Tenderstem Broccoli

Whether you call it air fryer tenderstem broccoli or broccolini you will love it cooked in the air fryer.

Its much faster than traditional air fryer broccoli and you can season and serve it with the same meat or fish.

Tenderstem Broccoli Air Fryer

I first came across broccolini, when I grew it by accident. We lived in Portugal at the time and my Portuguese wasn’t great and I thought I asked the gardener for broccoli seeds, and to my shock I had what I thought was a weird looking broccoli.

It was a long stem and totally different to what I was used to.

It tasted really good though and started my obsession with broccolini in air fryer.

Fast forward to 2023 and we are recipe testing for our second air fryer cookbook Air Fryer Easy Everyday and I asked one of my testers to do a recipe for air fryer broccolini. She said all she could find was tenderstem broccoli and I realised that the UK called it tenderstem broccoli and the US called it broccolini.

So whether you call this recipe tenderstem broccoli air fryer or broccolini air fryer, it tastes just the same, is easy peasy, and I cant wait to share it with you.

Air Fryer Easy Everyday

Air Fryer Easy Everyday is new for 2024, following on from our first air fryer cookbook. Our first cookbook sold over 100,000 copies worldwide is still selling well and has changed the way people use the air fryer.

In this newer air fryer cookbook (which is perfect for beginners) we have a vegetable chapter and one of our favourites is the vegetable chapter. It shows you how to cook simple vegetables in the air fryer.

Read more about Air Fryer Easy Everyday here.

Can You Cook Tenderstem Broccoli In The Air Fryer?

Yes, you can cook tenderstem broccoli in the air fryer and its absolutely delicious. Unlike traditional broccoli, because of the shape of tenderstem it cooks better and faster in the air fryer.

Garlic Tenderstem Broccoli Air Fryer

If you love garlic, then you can also make garlic tenderstem broccoli using the air fryer. Simply sprinkle some garlic powder over the tenderstem broccoli before air frying.

Why Does My Broccoli Burn In The Air Fryer?

The reason why broccoli burns so easily in the air fryer is because it’s cooking too fast. So, this means that the stem is not getting fork tender, but the florets are cooking too fast.

That is why we prefer to cook air fryer frozen broccoli or to use the instant pot instead and cook instant pot broccoli.

Or like we are doing today air fryer tenderstem broccoli.

Is Tenderstem Broccoli As Good As Broccoli?

Yes, it sure is. Broccolini, or tenderstem broccoli as many know it, tastes the same as broccoli, it just has a different shape to it.

Thanks to its different shape, tenderstem broccoli cooks better in the air fryer.

Tenderstem Broccoli Air Fryer Ingredients

Broccoli – We used a 200g/7 oz bag of broccolini. This perfectly created a single layer in our air fryer basket, but you can do less or more.

Oil – We recommend a little extra virgin olive oil. This stops the broccolini from getting dry and also helps make it nice and crispy.

Seasoning – Air fryer broccolini can be seasoned however you like. We like a sprinkling of salt and pepper followed by some dried herbs such as oregano or basil.

How To Cook Tenderstem Broccoli In Air Fryer?

• Place. Start by placing your broccolini into the air fryer basket, spreading it out, so that none is on top of each other. As it wont cook properly if it is.
• Spray. Then spray the tops with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and dried herbs.
• Cook. Set the time and temperature. We recommend 12 minutes at 160c/320f or until the stems of the broccolini are fork tender.

How Long To Cook Tenderstem Broccoli In Air Fryer?

The tenderstem broccoli air fryer time is 12 minutes. But we like our broccoli to be nice and crispy.

If you want less of a crisp on the broccolini then we recommend taking the cooking time down to 9 minutes.

Tenderstem Broccoli In Ninja Air Fryer

Air fryer tenderstem broccoli can also be cooked in the Ninja Air Fryer. We have cooked it many times in our Ninja Foodi as well as in our Ninja Dual air fryer and the recipe is done the same.

Though if you have a Ninja Dual we recommend cooking half the broccolini in one drawer, and the other half in the other drawer. This prevents broccolini from being on top of each other and failing to get crispy.

Listen To Air Fryer Tenderstem Broccoli

Every week this year on the Magic With Gadgets Podcast we are creating a podcast each week to accompany the recipe. You can listen to this week’s below, and then follow along with me at home as you make it.

Want to learn more about our Podcast? Then click here and you can browse through past episodes and subscribe to the Magic With Gadgets Podcast.

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Learn How To Cook Air Fryer Tenderstem Broccoli below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

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