Sauteed broccolini is cooked with garlic and butter until vibrant green, tender-crisp, and topped with fresh lemon zest and juice. It’s one of the fastest and tastiest side dishes that you can make in 10 minutes.
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Why we love this sautéed broccolini with garlic and lemon
- Fast and easy to make.
- Needs less than 10 simple ingredients and a single skillet.
- Tender broccolini with a crisp texture and full of garlic and lemon flavor.
- Healthy savory side dish that you can cook in 10 minutes.
- It’s the perfect dish for busy days.
- Garlic lemon infused flavored broccolini can be paired beautifully with any meat, poultry or fish main course.
What is broccolini?
Broccolini is a cross-breed between standard broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Broccolini is sometimes called baby broccoli. It’s a hybrid variety of broccoli with smaller florets and slender stems. Broccolini belongs to the brassica genus family like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.
Broccolini has a milder, sweeter flavor than standard broccoli.
Ingredients needed
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, use extra virgin
- 1 bunch broccolini (8oz)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Butter – for a richer taste. I used unsalted butter. You can skip the butter and use only olive oil.
- Olive oil – for the best taste use extra virgin olive oil.
- Broccolini – use tender stem broccolini. If the broccolini stem is thick, slice it thin so it cooks evenly.
- Garlic – recommend you use fresh garlic although you can use garlic powder. If you love garlic flavor feel free to increase the amount of garlic used.
- Season – season broccolini with the right amount of salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Red chili flakes – for a hint of heat.
- Lemon zest – zest 1 lemon for bright lemony fresh flavors.
- Lemon juice – add wonderful tender brightness to the dish.
Substitutions and Additions
- Other oil – use can substitute butter just olive oil. You can also use other oil like canola or vegetable oil.
- Swap the seasonings – swap simple salt-pepper-red chili flakes seasoning with other types of seasonings. You can use Italian seasoning or use a small amount of Cajun seasoning to make it interesting.
- Tasty toppings – feel free to add some toasted pine nuts for extra crunch. You can also add crispy bacon bits because bacon makes everything better.
How to make sautéed broccolini
Chop off the tough thick stem on the lower part of the stem.
Use a large skillet. Melt butter and olive oil in the skillet.
Saute garlic for 30 seconds while stirring constantly.
Add tender broccolini to the skillet. Cook on medium flame while stirring regularly for 3 to 5 minutes.
You can cover the skillet and cook the broccolini until it’s tender. Add a splash of water to cook broccolini. This step is optional.
Once broccolini is fork-tender, season it with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add red chili flakes for added heat (you can skip them if you don’t want heat in your dish).
Turn off the flame. Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the skillet. Stir thoroughly.
Serve immediately with any meals of your choice.
Variations
You can change the seasoning in sauteed broccolini recipe with Italian seasoning, or a small amount of Cajun seasoning.
Give this dish an extra crunch by adding in toasted pine nuts or crispy bacon bits in the end.
Serving suggestions
Garlic lemon-infused flavored sauteed broccolini can be paired beautifully with any meat, poultry, or fish main course. With roast chicken, chicken marsala, stuffed butternut squash, baked tilapia, pork chops, ribs, or any meal of your choice.
Storage
Sauteed broccolini dish tastes best when served right away, the stem is nice tender, and crisp. When stored, the stem tends to turn soggy.
If you have any leftovers, cool broccolini to room temperature and store it in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.
To reheat simply toss in a skillet until heated through.
FAQS
Broccolini is a cross between standard broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Broccolini is sometimes called baby broccoli. It’s a hybrid variety of broccoli with smaller florets, and slender stems and cooks faster.
It depends on the broccolini you use. If broccolini is fresh with a tender slender stem, it will cook faster so no need to blanch it before cooking.
If the broccolini stem is thick you can add a splash of water to the skillet while cooking to cook it until tender.
Blanching separately is an unnecessary step if you ask me. You can directly cook it in a skillet. Use water to briefly steam cook depending on the thickness of the stem.
Yes, you can eat the entire vegetable. The stem, baby leaves, and the stem are all edible. Although you might want to chop off the tough thick stem on the lower part of the stem.
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📋Easy 10 Minutes Sautéed Broccolini
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil use extra virgin
- 1 bunch of broccolini 8oz
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Chop off the tough thick stem on the lower part of the stem.
- Use a large skillet. Melt butter and olive oil in the skillet.
- Saute garlic for 30 seconds while stirring constantly.
- Add tender broccolini to the skillet. Cook on medium flame while stirring regularly for 3 to 5 minutes.
- You can cover the skillet and cook the broccolini until it’s tender. Add a splash of water to cook broccolini. This step is optional.
- Once broccolini is fork-tender, season it with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add red chili flakes for added heat (you can skip them if you don’t want a kick in your dish).
- Turn off the flame. Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the skillet. Stir thoroughly.
- Serve immediately with any meals of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
About Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
Jyothi Rajesh is the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail. She lives in Bangalore, India and is the mom of two beautiful kids. Her passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. She’s been blogging since 2007 and many of her recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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