Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

by Jessica on January 20, 2019 12 5

I’m sharing side dish secrets, starting with parmesan roasted broccoli for the happiest life ever.

This parmesan roasted broccoli is irresistiable and will turn even the biggest broccoli haters into broccoli lovers! Major flavor in this roasted broccoli! I howsweeteats.com #parmesan #roastedbroccoli

Welcome to Side Dish Sundays!

Here’s the thing. I majorly STRUGGLE with side dishes. Not everyday. But still… often enough that I was inspired to share some of my favorite side dishes, if even for selfish reasons so I have a more complete list to go on.

When I shared these 45 lunch ideas at the start of 2019, a few of you reached out and asked me to do so with side dishes.

But the thing is… is that I don’t have enough. I don’t even have enough on here for every day life that I can use. As someone who gets bored with meals all the time, switching up an easy side dish is KEY.

MY OTHER RECIPES

Making sure that we have something equally delish to eat on the side is super important.

My mom was the queen of family dinner when I was a kid. Nearly every single night, she had a meal made with at least two side dishes, sometimes even three. It was satisfying and nourishing and something that I remember as a kid. I feel like it really played a role in our family dinners. And it’s not like her side dishes were super fancy or took a long time to make. But they all went together. And were delicious.

I may not have a side dish to share with you every single Sunday, but I’ll share them at least once or twice a month so by the end of 2019, we can build our side dish repertoire by 20 or 30 recipes. Some may be super simple (like this one!) and some may be a little more involved (think my favorite quinoa salad). But the best part? I’ll also be sharing some of my favorite dishes to pair these with!

I wanted to kick things off with a very easy, probably fairly well known broccoli recipe. In fact, a lot of you are probably familiar with this one. This parmesan roasted broccoli recipe has basically changed my life. I can eat broccoli every day thanks to this recipe! My kids eat it thanks to this recipe. The flavor is insane. There is crunch and texture. Some nuttiness and cheesiness. What more do we need?

The original easy recipe is from Ina Garten, however I simplify it even more. Olive oil, parmesan, pine nuts. That’s it. Oh, and after that, a pinch of salt and pepper. As a result? We eat broccoli all the time now.

This is huge.

It’s super delicious on its own, but I often take leftovers (or even roasted a batch specially for this reason) and mix them with quinoa, whole wheat orzo or another grain. My favorite easy dinner for myself is some chickpea pasta with this roasted broccoli tossed in. It’s SO good. And super filling. It’s easily the most made side dish in my house.

My favorite meals to serve with Parmesan Roasted Broccoli:

While I feel like this list could be endless because this is easily the most often made side dish (aside from kale chips!) in our house, these are some of my favorites to make with the parmesan roasted broccoli:

Best Ever Lemon Roasted Chicken

Skillet Smothered Chicken and Mushrooms

30 Minute Cajun Salmon with Salted Lime Butter

Red Wine Marinate Flank Steak with Caprese Salsa

Pesto Chicken Parmesan Sliders

Chili Garlic Chicken Skewers with Yogurt Dip

Smoky Homemade Sloppy Joes

Havarti Arugula Grilled Cheese

Lasagna Bolognese

Butternut Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Pan Crisp Salmon with Dijon Cream

Garlic Brown Sugar Flank Steak with Chimichurri

Yield: 2 generously

This parmesan roasted broccoli is irresistiable and will turn even the biggest broccoli haters into broccoli lovers! Major flavor in this roasted broccoli!

2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup raw, unsalted pine nuts
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.
Place the broccoli on the sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Cover with the pine nuts, salt, pepper and parmesan.
Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the broccoli is golden brown and the pine nuts are toasted. After this time, the pine nuts may start to burn, so keep an eye on it! Remove from the oven and sprinkle with more parmesan if desired. Serve immediately.