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.

Sous vide broccoli in white bowl on yellow background with parmesan and lemon.

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!

Is it worth it to sous vide veggies?

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.

Veggies like asparagus and beets tend to have really narrow sweet spots. While veggies like corn on the cob and broccoli have more wiggle room, don’t risk it if you don’t have to.

Time and Temperature Options

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.

ResultTemperatureTime
A bit of a bite180 degrees F30 – 60 minutes
Tender183 degrees F30 – 60 minutes
Soft, but not mushy185 degrees F30 – 60 minutes

What You’ll Need (Equipment and Ingredients)

If you already sous vide, you likely have all of these items in your kitchen already. If not, it’s time to get some equipment! Here’s what you’ll need:

Don’t have a vacuum sealer? No big deal. There are lots of air removal methods.

Ingredients for sous vide broccoli on yellow surface.

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    The ingredients for this recipe are pretty much pantry staples:

    • Broccoli – fresh, not frozen for this
    • A lemon
    • Garlic cloves OR garlic powder, depending on which method for seasoning you end up using
    • Butter
    • Olive oil
    • Salt (my go to is Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt)
    • Freshly cracked black pepper
    • Parmesan (I’m using a parmesan from Trader Joe’s that has peppercorns in it)

    How to Make Sous Vide Broccoli

    Like any other sous vide recipe, start by preheating your water bath with an immersion circulator to your desired temp (see chart above). You have two options for seasoning the broccoli:

    1. 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.
    2. 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).

    Vacuum sealed broccoli on yellow surface.
    Vacuum sealed broccoli in sous vide water bath.
    Vacuum sealed broccoli in sous vide water bath with ceramic plate on top.

    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’.

    Garlic butter sauce in stainless skillet.
    Pouring garlic butter sauce over broccoli.
    Tossing the garlic butter sauce with the broccoli.

    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.

    Grating parmesan over the broccoli in a bowl.

    Serve alongside a perfectly medium rare sous vide steak for a delicious meal.

    Common Questions

    • 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 head it back through or microwave for 30 seconds before serving.

    You can also view this recipe as a step-by-step web story here.

    Sous vide broccoli in white bowl on yellow background with parmesan and lemon.
    5 stars from 6 reviews

    Get the Recipe:

    Better than Steamed Sous Vide Broccoli

    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Yield: 4 people
    You can enjoy broccoli in its most nutritious (and delicious!) form with fewer dishes and no risk of overcooking it thanks to sous vide. With plenty of garlic and butter, this is the most delicious broccoli you've ever had.

    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 head it back through or microwave for 30 seconds before serving.
    Cuisine: American
    Course: Side Dish
    Author: Chelsea Cole
    Calories: 176kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 313mg, Potassium: 988mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2004IU, Vitamin C: 275mg, Calcium: 172mg, Iron: 2mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @aducksoven on Instagram or tag #aducksoven.