Broccoli Recipe
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This tasty stovetop broccoli recipe is one your family will love! Delicious and tender, it’s my broccoli recipe for picky eaters!
Broccoli is a tasty and nutritious vegetable for your family’s meals. It is delicious in salads like my Broccoli Salad, soups like my Broccoli Cheese Soup, side dishes like this one, and so much more!
My family enjoys this broccoli recipe as a side dish – it’s cooked until tender yet retains so much flavor. I’ve named it “broccoli for picky eaters” because the ones I know enjoy it! This is very similar to how my Mama would prepare it to get me to eat it as a child, so I adapted it long ago when I started cooking it myself. While we love broccoli prepared in many other ways, I can always count on this stovetop broccoli recipe to be a crowd-pleaser!
Broccoli can be deliciously prepared in so many ways. However, what we may love as adults might not meet the expectations of our little, sometimes picky eaters. My mama found that I would eat it as a child when it was prepared very similarly to my current recipe, so I used it and slightly changed it to meet the taste preferences of my own family. It’s easy to prepare, so let me share how I cook this broccoli for picky eaters.
What Makes This The Best Broccoli for Picky Eaters
- Soft and tender
- Mild yet flavorful
- Pairs well with other favorite dishes
I love to serve this tender broccoli alongside meatloaf, hamburger steak, oven-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, or mac and cheese for a satisfying meal my whole family loves! It is a perfect vegetable side dish!
How to Make the Best Stovetop Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
There are a few ingredients you’ll need to prepare this broccoli recipe:
- broccoli – fresh bunches, or heads, of broccoli that have been washed well
- olive oil – extra virgin olive oil
- butter (optional) – While it may be optional, I find that it adds a rich flavor that makes it so delicious that everyone loves it.
- salt and pepper – use to taste
- water
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare. Clean the bunches of broccoli, then cut the stalks up close to the florets as evenly as possible. Clean the stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove any leaves. Then, slice the florets on the stalks into approximately 1-inch pieces.
Cook. Place the florets into a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cover with water, and add olive oil. Cook as directed until you can pierce the stalk with the tines of a fork (about 20-30 minutes). I cook this broccoli longer than I would if I wanted it to turn out somewhat “crisp.” Again, this broccoli is tender to chew and has a lot of flavor that picky little ones (and adults) love.
Serve. Remove the florets with a slotted spoon and put them into a serving bowl. If you’re using butter, add it to the warm broccoli, along with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Don’t Cover!
Covering the pot as the broccoli cooks can cause the broccoli to turn dull and dark green. Boil in lots of water as directed while keeping the lid off. This gives you bright, beautiful green broccoli!
Storage Tips
- Best eaten warm after it’s cooked.
- Place cooled broccoli in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Here’s my broccoli recipe for picky eaters. I hope you love it too!
Stovetop Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 bunches broccoli, cleaned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- water
- butter, optional
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cut florets off each bunch of broccoli, taking care to cut florets into similar sizes as much as possible for even cooking. Clean stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove any stems or leaves. Cut upper part of stalk closet to florets into 1-inch thick slices.
- Add broccoli to a heavy-bottomed pot. Cover with water and drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes or until the stalk of a floret can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon into a serving bowl. Serve warm with butter and salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
How can broccoli change a set pattern of thinking? Yes, “Cooked to death” did. This will be my Go To vegetable from now on. We all loved it. Thank you for this great recipe!!!
I love that this way of cooking broccoli works for your family like it did me when my mother made it this way.
I just got home from a long vacation and realized I have limited ingredients in my house to fix a quick meal. I did have a bag of frozen broccoli in my freezer, and since I live alone, decided it would tide me over until morning. I was looking for a simple, quick way to cook it and was only finding recipes with ingredients I don’t currently have at hand. I decided to give up and toss it in the microwave, but came across this; even though I’m not a fussy eater I found I like it much better “cooked to death,” and now, after being in airports or airplanes for over 24 hours, I’m satisfied and exhausted and … (snore).
I have to over cook my kids broccoli too. I steam it and add lots of butter 🙂 one son happily eats it and ome does his 1 bite and no more. Later when he goes for a snack I tell him you are what you eat, a little added guilt, that’s my job as mom. 🙂