Italian Broccoli with garlic and olive oil is one of the simplest and most versatile side dishes you can make! The fresh broccoli and garlic are a perfect match! This is a 15 minute recipe that goes well as a side to almost any meal.
Sauteed garlic broccoli and Italian Green Beans With Garlic And Oil, are two of the easiest and best Italian side dishes. Check that one out if you are in the mood for green beans as both recipes are quite similar.
This will be the recipe for a basic Italian sauteed broccoli. Down below we will go over variations like red pepper flakes, anchovies, lemon, Parmigiano Reggiano, and a cold version.
All that's needed for this recipe is broccoli, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and salt. Super simple ingredients!
How To Make Garlic Sauteed Broccoli
- Begin by breaking the head into florets and chop into roughly equal size pieces.
- Bring a pan filled with 1" of water to a boil. Add in broccoli and close lid leaving slightly ajar.
- After about 2-3 minutes of cooking, the broccoli will turn bright green. Remove from heat and strain broccoli in a colander.
- Leave the broccoli in the colander and dry the pan of any residual water.
- Chop 5 cloves of garlic like shown. If you like more garlic go for it!
- Saute the garlic in a ¼ cup of olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes or until lightly golden.
- You do not want to burn the garlic, but definitely want to get a little bit of color like shown to get maximum flavor!
- Add in the broccoli and saute for 3-5 minutes more. Move the pan around and mix with a wooden spoon to thoroughly coat with the garlic oil mixture. Add 1 tsp of kosher salt, mix and remove from heat. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top right before serving.
So that's how to make an easy Italian side dish. There are so many ways to amp up the flavor in this basic garlic sauteed broccoli.
The last step of drizzling extra virgin olive oil on top is just a good technique to do on so many dishes. There's debate on whether one should cook with it or just save it for salads and finishing pasta dishes and sides like this one.
What I like most about reserving the extra virgin for the end is the economics of it. Cooking with olive oil and saving the good extra virgin for finishing where it shines through, is what we like to do.
Sauteed Italian Broccoli Substitutions And Additions
- Red chili flakes - We love it this way! Add about ½ tsp of the chili flakes (more if you like it real spicy) into the olive oil before starting the broccoli sauteing process.
- Anchovy - So delicious in my opinion, but my kids like to disagree. Use 2-3 fillets chopped up and saute them right in the olive oil with the garlic until they're mostly dissolved, then continue onto the broccoli saute step.
- Lemon - The zest of 1 lemon added in right at the end adds a ton of vibrancy and freshness to the dish.
- Parmigiano reggiano - Shave from the block with a vegetable peeler to add the wonderful nutty flavor of this cheese. It looks amazing too!
- Cold - My grandmother would always make it this way. Make the same dish, refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight and add chili flakes and lemon juice. So good!
Top Tips
- Get the garlic golden - this really makes all the difference. To ensure the garlic turns golden without burning start the heat at low and gradually increase it. Sometimes adding chopped garlic to a hot pan can result in burned garlic very quickly.
- Steaming the broccoli - Only a few minutes are needed, but it really helps to avoid a long saute process, that can result in charred broccoli that's still not cooked enough on the inside.
- Seasoning - salt is crucial to cooking any veggie, 1 head of broccoli will need about 1 tsp of kosher salt, but by all means add more or less according to personal preferences. Also if you use cheese, or anchovies they are both quite salty so adjust accordingly.
Other Great Sides
- Italian Roasted Peppers
- Italian Vegetables With Lemon Caper Sauce
- Sauteed Zucchini And Mushrooms With Burrata
- Cauliflower Salad
- Easy Green Beans Almondine With Feta
If you’ve enjoyed this Italian Broccoli Recipe or any recipe on this site please let us know in the comments. We would love to hear how you did and it’s nice to show others as well. Thanks!
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Ingredients
- 1 large head of broccoli
- 5 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Chop broccoli into florets. Chop 5 cloves of garlic.
- Bring 1" of water in lidded pan to boil. Cook broccoli for 2-3 minutes with lid slightly closed until bright green and strain in colander.
- Dry off pan and saute garlic over medium heat in a ¼ cup of olive oil until golden (about 2 minutes). Add broccoli to pan and saute for 3-5 minutes, mix well with spoon and thoroughly coat the broccoli with the garlic.
- Season with 1 tsp kosher salt, mix and remove from heat. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of extra virgin oil on top before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Adjust salt to taste - only 1 tsp kosher salt was used.
- Add a ¼-1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes during last 30 seconds of garlic sauteing process if desired.
I love those generous slices of garlic! How delicious. All of your addition ideas sound fabulous -- especially the chili flakes!
Thanks! Tried to give some options on this one.
Very simple, quick and garlicky side dish. Just the way I like. Love the pictures and the step-by-step. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks so much. Really appreciate it!
Hi. Is the steaming option in addition to or replacing the 2-3 minutes in an inch of boiling water?
Hi. The 2-3 minutes with a bit of water is the steaming option. Basically, after steaming it, you only have to cook the broccoli in the garlic and oil and for a few more minutes.
Thanks for the quick clarification ! I am making it now !