You can enjoy broccoli in its most nutritious (and delicious!) form with fewer dishes and no risk of overcooking it thanks to sous vide. Simply add broccoli and your favorite seasonings to a vacuum seal bag, seal, and cook in your sous vide water bath! These stalks will be perfectly tender every time.
Look: no one likes mushy broccoli 🤢 Although we typically associate sous vide with steak (and for good reason!), it’s the perfect cooking method for so much more, like veggies! Take the human error guesswork out of the equation and guarantee yourself some deliciously tender stalks with sous vide.
You’ll always find me using sous vide to make my meal prepping routine easier (I mean, I did write a whole cookbook about it!). My strategy is to sous vide a batch of veggies at the beginning of the week, store in the fridge, then use as side dishes or even just throw in mac and cheese. While you’re at it, sous vide a whole chicken to keep on hand throughout the week, too!
I’m so glad you found this recipe!
I can’t wait to be a part of your sous vide cooking today, and hopefully more to come!
I’ve been passionate about sous vide for almost a decade now. I take a different approach from other sous vide experts. While I love the science of sous vide, I want it to be an approachable cooking technique for everyone, and I don’t want you to sweat the details.
If you’re new to sous vide, make sure to read through this blog post or consider joining Sous Vide School.
I also have two sous vide cookbooks I think you’ll love: Everyday Sous Vide and Sous Vide Meal Prep.
Got questions?
Leave a comment and I’ll get right back to you!
Is it worth it?
Here’s the deal: if I’m forced to make a choice between sous viding a steak or a side, I’m going to pick the steak. But there’s no reason we gotta choose, so yes: it’s totally worth it to sous vide veggies.
Veggies, especially when serving the role of side dishes, can become an afterthought and may not get the attention they deserve, leading to undercooked crunchiness or overcooked mushiness. With sous vide, you’ll know the veggies will be cooked perfectly every single time.
Time and temperature
You’ll see a lot of people prescribing one temperature, period. You’ll also probably see a range of times. I’m going to give a range of 30-60 minutes so you know that you have flexibility (this isn’t shrimp or salmon where the time is very important), but know this will absolutely be done in 30 minutes.
For broccoli with a bit of a bite, sous vide at 180 degrees F for 30 minutes. For more tender broccoli, sous vide at 185 degrees F for 30 minutes. You can also play with temperatures in between.
| Result | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| A bit of a bite | 180 degrees F | 30 – 60 minutes |
| Tender | 183 degrees F | 30 – 60 minutes |
| Soft, but not mushy | 185 degrees F | 30 – 60 minutes |
Like any other sous vide recipe, start by preheating your water bath with an immersion circulator to your desired temp (see chart above).
You’ve got two options here: the tastier way and the easier way.
Take the easy way out and add the seasonings before you sous vide. If you do this, use garlic powder instead of chopped garlic and don’t add the parmesan until it’s done cooking. Add just the broccoli to a vacuum seal bag and make a garlic butter sauce while it cooks to toss the broccoli in.
The second option is the more delicious one, but the first is easier. It’s up to you! Either way, you’ll vacuum seal the broccoli (with all the other ingredients except parmesan or by itself depending on the method).
Then you’ll add it to the water bath. This broccoli will want to float, so weigh it down with sous vide magnets and/or a ceramic dish. Cook for 30-60 minutes (whatever works for you).
If you’re doing the garlic butter sauce, make that while it’s cooking. Roughly mince the garlic – I like to leave it in bigger chunks than normal when mincing for extra garlicky bites.
Add the butter and olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown, then turn off the heat. The smell!!! This is my favorite smell in the whole world. Stir in the salt and pepper.
When the broccoli is done, add it to a bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Toss to coat. Swipe your finger along the bottom of the skillet and give it a lick, I ain’t judgin’.
If you picked the easy method, just pour the broccoli and juices into a bowl and toss to coat.
No matter which method you picked, you’ll finish the broccoli by grating plenty of fresh parmesan over it, tossing again, then topping with some more parmesan for good measure. We love the parm.
Serve alongside a perfectly medium rare sous vide steak for a delicious meal.
Get the Recipe:
Better than Steamed Sous Vide Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly minced, OR 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon
- wedge of parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat water bath to desired temp using immersion circulator. 180 F for a bit of a bite, 183 F for tender broccoli, 185 F for soft broccoli.
Season after sous viding (the tastier way)
- Add the broccoli to a vacuum seal bag and vacuum seal. Add to water bath and weigh it down with sous vide magnets and/or a ceramic plate or bowl. The broccoli will want to float!
- Add the bag to the preheated water bath and cook for 30-60 minutes.
- While the broccoli is cooking, make the garlic butter sauce. Add the butter and olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and cook until the butter has melted. Add the garlic and cook until it's just beginning to brown. Turn off the heat and stir in the salt and pepper.
- When the broccoli is done, remove the bag from the bath and pour the broccoli into a serving bowl. Pour the sauce and lemon juice over the broccoli and toss to coat.
- Grate about 3 tbsp parmesan over the broccoli, toss, then grate a little more parmesan over the top and serve.
Season before sous viding (the easier way)
- Add broccoli, butter, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a vacuum seal bag. Toss to distribute. Vacuum seal and add to water bath. Weigh it down with sous vide magnets and/or a ceramic plate or bowl. The broccoli will want to float!
- Add the bag to the preheated water bath and cook for 30-60 minutes.
- When the broccoli is done cooking, pour the entire contents of the bag into a serving bowl and toss to coat in the sauce.
- Grate about 3 tbsp parmesan over the broccoli, toss, then grate a little more parmesan over the top and serve.
Notes
- Can I use frozen broccoli?
- You can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Sometimes a solution is used to coat the broccoli before freezing and the broccoli would cook in this, potentially resulting in some funky flavors. If anything, I’d buy fresh broccoli, cut it up, vacuum seal, then freeze and sous vide at your leisure.
- Can I make this ahead of time?
- You can certainly sous vide this ahead of time if you like. Drop in a 185 degree water bath for 5 minutes to heat it back through or microwave for 30 seconds before serving.
Holy smoke, that broccoli was the bomb at Christmas Dinner!!! 45 min at 183 with seasonings in bag. Thank you so much!
I’m so glad, Marion!!!
Can I cook it longer at 130 deg and still get it tender?
No, the results would be much different and not what you’d hope for for broccoli.
Can I reduce the temp after cooking to “hold it” for company without losing texture?
Yes! I wouldn’t go more than an hour.
I am a huge SV fan, until now only for meat and poultry. I liked being able to have the broccoli still slightly crisp. I used the easy method, adding all but the parmesan to the bag before vac sealing. I thought there was too much of a lemon taste, though, so next time I’ll try it with less lemon. Thanks for the instructions.