How to Roast Frozen Broccoli Without Getting Soggy

Frozen broccoli doesn’t look pretty or appealing, but it’s convenient, nutritious, and cheap. But nutritious foods are only beneficial if eaten, and it can be difficult to convince yourself to eat broccoli at all, especially frozen. The main problem is texture; If cooked incorrectly, broccoli steams away, does not brown, and does not crunch around the edges.

The problem, as cookbook author Liz Moody explains, is hydrophobia (although she doesn’t use the term). When you coat frozen florets and stems with vegetable oil, you repel and hold the melt water on the broccoli, preventing it from going anywhere. This water then steams the vegetables and prevents them from becoming crispy.

Moody’s solution is simple: just cut oil, at least initially. Roasting naked broccoli without cooking oil will evaporate the moisture and make the florets brown and crispy. Once you’ve reached your desired browning level, you can drizzle the broccoli with a little fat and season it to your liking before putting it back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Think about lowering the temperature

Moody uses a scalding temperature of 400℉ for quick and very crunchy results, but this method works at any temperature. (Usually when I roast fresh broccoli, I set the oven to a lower, more sensitive temperature of 325℉ , and you can of course do the same with frozen.) Again, the important part is no oil until the water will not evaporate and the broccoli will not evaporate. brown; at lower temperatures this is slower, but it also ensures more even cooking. Instead of toasted (almost burnt) edges combined with not quite cooked stems, you get an evenly cooked vegetable with a concentrated, stable flavor. (You don’t even have to wait for the oven to heat up; toss the frozen florets into the mold and let them heat up in the oven.)

Use a grid

Moody roasts broccoli on a parchment-lined baking sheet, but I prefer a more elevated approach. The airflow helps remove moisture, and placing the broccoli on a rack set inside the pan allows more air to circulate around the vegetables, speeding up the process and ensuring more even cooking.

How to Roast Frozen Broccoli

Cooking times and temperatures depend on your oven. My oven has a convection setting that I use when roasting vegetables because, again, the goal is to remove the moisture as quickly as possible. At Moody’s recommended temperature of 400℉, my frozen florets took about 20 minutes to brown and crisp around the edges; at my suggested temperature of 325℉ (with the convection setting on), it took about half an hour (plus preheat time) for small florets, about 35 minutes for medium sized pieces, and 40-45 minutes for larger ones. If you are using a deep fryer, reduce the temperature to at least 325℉ and start checking after 10 minutes.

Once the broccoli is toasted, with browned but not burnt ends, it’s time to add some fat. Drizzle with olive oil (or duck fat, or bacon fat, etc.), season with salt and any other flavorings you desire, then set back for the last five minutes or so. Enjoy immediately, with the pride that comes with stopping dirt.