Caesar Roasted Broccoli

It's a simple as it sounds: Dress up sweet and nutty roasted broccoli with savory, crisp Caesar-flavored breadcrumbs.

By
Leah Colins
A studio portrait of editor Leah Colins.
Leah Colins
Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America's Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK's digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

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and Marianne Williams
Updated November 15, 2024
Side view of Caesar breadcrumb broccoli

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Why It Works

  • Adding anchovy paste, garlic, and lemon zest to breadcrumbs creates an instantly recognizable Caesar flavor profile.
  • Adding the lemon zest to the breadcrumbs off heat helps the zest retain its fresh flavor.
  • Adding additional lemon zest to the broccoli further increases the bright flavor of the finished dish.

My family has a motto we frequently apply to our weeknight dinner routine: “When in doubt, roast some broccoli.” It’s the one vegetable side dish that all four of us are sure to eat—even my picky five year old. And it’s fairly easy to understand why: Roasted broccoli ticks all the boxes for a great vegetable side dish: It’s simple to prepare, delicious, and nutritious. But as my family’s resident home chef (and a former professional chef), what I like best about roasted broccoli is how easy it is to dress it up with a variety of ingredients and flavor profiles, avoiding the same boring side dish night after night. 

One of my favorite ways to liven up broccoli is by incorporating the salty, briny, umami-rich flavor profile of a classic Caesar dressing. But instead of just glopping on the actual dressing, I incorporate the classic Caesar dressing ingredients—anchovies, garlic, and lemon—into a crunchy savory breadcrumb topping. It’s fairly simple to make: It takes just a couple minutes to toast the breadcrumbs with a generous amount of butter, anchovy paste, and garlic. I then stir in a touch of lemon zest off heat to retain its fresh flavor, and season it to taste with salt. If you’re forward thinking (which admittedly, I am not) you can even make the breadcrumbs a few days in advance. 

Overhead view of toasting breadcrumbs

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Preparing the broccoli is pretty straight forward. Whether you roast it in the oven or in your air fryer, the results are similar: the super-high heat quickly caramelizes the exterior florets, producing sweet, nutty flavors and a crisp exterior that contrasts nicely with the tender interior. I’ve included directions for both oven roasted broccoli and air-fryer broccoli in the full recipe below, so choose whichever method works best for you.

To finish building the Caesar flavor profile, once the broccoli is roasted, toss it with additional lemon zest for a final boost of bright citrus flavor, and top it with the prepared crunchy, savory breadcrumbs. Finish Caesaring (yes, I embrace “Caesar” as a verb now) the broccoli with a generous sprinkle of nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

This recipe draws is adapted from Marianne Williams' crispy air-fryer broccoli and Kenji López-Alt's oven-roasted broccoli recipes.

Recipe Details

Caesar Roasted Broccoli Recipe

Cook 25 mins
Total 25 mins
Serves 4
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Caesar Breadcrumbs:

  • 1 tablespoon (14g) salted butter

  • 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (see notes)

  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste, or 1 finely minced anchovy

  • 1 small clove garlic, minced or grated

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

For the Broccoli:

  • 1 pound broccoli florets, cut into 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces (6 cups; 453g)

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • Freshly ground black pepper

For Serving:

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon

  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more to taste

Directions

  1. For the Caesar breadcrumbs: In a small nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in anchovy paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add breadcrumbs and, using a flexible spatula, toss to coat. Cook, stirring constantly until breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in the lemon zest and season with salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

    Overhead view of cooking breadcrumbs

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  2. For cooking broccoli in the oven: Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Adjust oven rack to upper position and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Place baking sheet on oven rack to preheat.

  3. In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Carefully add broccoli to preheated baking sheet in a single layer. Roast until broccoli is tender and deeply browned in spots, about 20 minutes (for the deepest browning on only one side, do not flip the broccoli during cooking; for more even browning all over, toss and flip broccoli about halfway through roasting).

  4. For cooking broccoli in the air fryer: Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 400°F (205ºC) for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss broccoli with oil, salt, and pepper to evenly coat. Working in batches if necessary, pour broccoli into the air fryer basket in an even layer and cook until broccoli is still bright green but starting to char around edges, about 5 minutes. Remove basket from air fryer and shake to toss broccoli florets. Return to air fryer and decrease temperature to 340°F (170ºC). Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3 more minutes. 

    Air frying broccoli.

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

  5. For serving: In the now empty bowl, toss broccoli with lemon zest then transfer broccoli to a serving platter. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.

    Overhead view of broccoli with caesar bread crumbs

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Special Equipment

Rimmed baking sheet if oven roasting, 6-quart capacity air fryer if air frying

Make-Ahead and Storage

Once completely cooled, the breadcrumbs can be transferred to an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
163Calories
11gFat
14gCarbs
4gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories163
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g14%
Saturated Fat 3g16%
Cholesterol 9mg3%
Sodium 457mg20%
Total Carbohydrate 14g5%
Dietary Fiber 4g15%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 75mg374%
Calcium 77mg6%
Iron 1mg7%
Potassium 365mg8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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