Easy Vegan Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

Haaaay there, 2018. You lookin’ mighty fine.

How was your NYE, friends? Mine was fab; I drank beer, spent time with friends, and smooched my person when the clock struck midnight. Pretty much the perfect way to end this wonderful holiday break.

Today’s recipe is…laughably simple. Like, this is barely a recipe tbh. BUT it’s important.

If you’re adamant that you don’t like broccoli, or if your wee ones won’t touch the stuff, I can almost guarantee it’s because you / they haven’t had it roasted.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: roasting is the best way you can treat a veggie. The process of roasting turns hard and woody raw vegetables into sweet, soft, and caramelized treats.

I’d even go as far to say that nearly all vegetables, from the lowly carrot to the quirky fennel bulb, taste 100x better when roasted.

And it’s literally the easiest thing you can make in the kitchen. YAY for vegetable consumption made simple (and 100% deeeelish) in the new year!

There are a few tips for making your roasted veggie situation so unbelievably yum:

First: grease the baking sheet with olive oil. Super important because it helps caramelize the broccoli and keeps it nice and tender. I love using regular ol’ (non-virgin) olive oil here, but a oil with a higher smoking point (avocado oil, rice bran oil, etc.) would be great here too! We’ll be roasting our florets at 400 degrees F, so those high smoke oils will keep any smokiness at bay.

Second: cut your florets. I typically buy bagged florets from the store, but a whole head of broccoli works just as well. Regardless, you’ll want to slice your florets so that they, more or less, have 2 flat sides. Like we did here with this cauliflower steak, just in a much smaller size. Bite-sized is the way to go here!

Third: Make it snow with that wonderfully delicious vegan parmesan snow. You guys have been LOVING this 3-ingredient vegan parm recipe just as much as I am, and it’s fab on top of this broccoli! I just sprinkle the “parm” over the broccoli as soon as it comes out of the oven so that it can toast slightly and get all nice and parm-y.

And what to do with your new epic Vegan Parmesan Roasted Broccoli? Totally up to you!

It’s a great side dish to things like pizza or pasta, but it’s also deeeelightful on grain bowls (pssst. stay tuned for one later this week!).

Enjoy, friends!