My very favorite way to eat my veggies is to roast them. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetable and also gives them a depth of flavor that you just don’t get through other cooking methods. It’s a great way to take your vegetables up a notch and even the kids may love the caramelized edges! Yummmmmmm!
I will talk more about roasting a variety of vegetables another day. Today I am gearing up to launch our annual She Speaks conference so I’m going to be brief. We are testing the online registration form and hope to launch later today! I have so much more to share with you but that too will have to wait. Life is crazy… but it’s a good crazy. I would appreciate your prayers. When things are going well it’s kind of like I’m waiting for the enemy to pounce. Ugh… he is such a pest!
OK – here’s a very easy and very delicious method for cooking broccoli. I served this for our youth group a few months ago and I believe there wasn’t a little tree left on the serving platter. They ate every stalk! It sure makes my momma heart happy to see a group of teenagers eat their green veggies 
Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan
Ingredients:
- Broccoli
- olive oil
- kosher or sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- garlic, minced
- parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Clean broccoli and cut into florets or stalks, removing the tougher ends. Place broccoli in prepared dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil. You don’t want the broccoli swimming in it… you just want a light coating. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss in the minced garlic. Mix all together with your hands. Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (again, don’t coat… just sprinkle). Return to oven and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are starting to brown a bit.
NOTE: You can make as much or as little of this as you like. As you can see from my photo, I just made a small batch for two. If you have a large family or are serving this to a large group, bake on a large, rimmed cookie sheet. Sorry I am not specific with measurements. This recipe is entirely up for interpretation. Basically, for every pound of broccoli, use: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Then adjust the recipe based on the number of people you are feeding. If you really love garlic, use more. If you want a thick coating of cheese, well… use more. You get the idea. Make it yours! (However, if you get too cheese happy, it will no longer be a “healthy option.”
Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh yum! I’ll have to try this.
I am definitely going to try this! Can’t wait. I love your explanations…’not swimming’, and ‘don’t coat, just sprinkle’…I need descriptions like that!
I will often overdo thinking it will even better! 
Well, you just solved my ‘what veggie am I going to serve with dinner tonight’ question. I’m anticipating it!
I do something similar with brussel sprouts. They are a huge hit in my house. At least with 3 out of 5 of us.
That is exactly how I roast asparagus, minus the Parmesan, but maybe Parmesan would be good on asparagus, Parmesan is good on so many things.
Maybe I would have eaten broccoli and asparagus when I was young if my mom had just roasted it instead of only steaming!
This is how I roast asparagus…my 11 and 13 year olds love it! I can’t wait to try it with broccoli!
Sounds wonderful! can’t wait to try it! I cook the same way…a little of this and a little of that. Seems easier to me… until I want to try to reproduce a great recipe!
I love roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts and asparagus and have always wondered if broccoli could be roasted. I guess it can! I am going to definitely try this next time!
I am a pitiful cook and am thrilled that I found your website because I want to overcome my weakness as a wife and mother! I love garlic but I do not know what to look for when buying fresh garlic and is there an easy way to explain how to mince it?
Hi Becky!
For fresh garlic, look for a bulb that doesn’t have sprouts growing out of it. It should feel very firm to the touch (not squishy).
The easy way to mince garlic is to buy a garlic press. You simply peel a clove of garlic, place it in the press and then squeeze! (Kind of like making pasta with a Play-Doh gadget
You can also use a knife to smash and then finely chop the garlic.
Blessings!
LeAnn
LeAnn,
Thank you so much for helping me with choosing garlic cloves and how to mince them! I can’t wait to try some recipes that our family will love and feel loved! Thanks so much, Becky