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Learn how to blanch broccoli to tame its raw, bitter taste. Then you can sauté it for stir-fries, add it to pasta salads, or pile it on your next vegetable platter.
Table of Contents
Tutorial notes
- Uniform size: Cut the broccoli florets into pieces that are all about the same size so they cook evenly.
- Buying: Choose bright green broccoli that has a firm stalk without yellowing florets or brown spots. Broccoli should feel heavy for its size.
- Storing: Whole broccoli should be stored in an open bag in the refrigerator. Use broccoli within 3-4 days.
Step-by-step instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt to a rapid boil; fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Lower the broccoli florets into the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green and tender-crisp.
- Remove the broccoli and immediately plunge into the ice water. When the broccoli is completely cool, drain well.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 6 servings (½ cup blanched broccoli each). 1 pound broccoli yields about 6 cups raw florets or 3 cups blanched florets.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Arrange drained broccoli in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment or waxed paper and put it in the freezer. Once the broccoli is frozen, transfer it to a zipper-top bag and freeze up to 9 months. Remove and reheat any portion size, or thaw the whole bag overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Sauce it up: Blanched broccoli is delicious with a drizzle of hollandaise or teriyaki sauce.
- Leftovers: Use leftover blanched broccoli in an omelet or scrambled eggs, pasta salad (see Seafood Pasta Salad below), or green salad.
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How to Blanch Broccoli
Learn how to blanch broccoli to tame its raw, bitter taste. Then you can sauté it for stir-fries, add it to pasta salads, or pile it on your next vegetable platter.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds broccoli florets
- 2 teaspoons Salt (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt to a rapid boil. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.
- Carefully lower the broccoli florets into the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green and just barely tender.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the broccoli and immediately plunge into the ice water.
- When the broccoli is completely cool, drain it from the ice water and pat dry with a paper towel.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Uniform size: Cut the broccoli florets into pieces that are all about the same size so they cook evenly.
- Buying: Choose bright green broccoli that has a firm stalk without yellowing florets or brown spots. Broccoli should feel heavy for its size.
- Storing: Whole broccoli should be stored in an open bag in the refrigerator. Use broccoli within 3-4 days.
- Yield: This recipe makes 6 servings (½ cup blanched broccoli each). 1 pound broccoli yields about 6 cups raw florets or 3 cups blanched florets.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Arrange drained broccoli in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment or waxed paper and put it in the freezer. Once the broccoli is frozen, transfer it to a zipper-top bag and freeze up to 9 months. Remove and reheat any portion size, or thaw the whole bag overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Sauce it up: Blanched broccoli is delicious with a drizzle of hollandaise or teriyaki sauce.
- Leftovers: Use leftover blanched broccoli in an omelet or scrambled eggs, pasta salad, or green salad.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cupCalories: 51kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 825mgPotassium: 478mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 942IUVitamin C: 135mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 1mg
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Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
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Thank you for this! I am new to the fresh food ideal and I went a little crazy at the farmer’s market. I didn’t want to waste anything and this was the perfect thing to keep my produce from going bad!
Happy to help Leticia, hope you enjoy all your farmer’s market goodies! – Meggan
Isn;t that what Meggan just said!!
Once the broccoli has drained, put it in one layer on a sheet pan lined with a piece of waxed paper and put it in the freezer. Once the florets are frozen, put them in a ziploc bag and only take out as much as you need at the time. Works great for me because I am the only one in my house who eats broccoli.
When you place the food in the boiling water, the water cools. Are you saying that the water MUST return to a boil, then count the cooking time, or is it just total time in the water?
Hi Bob, it will be for 2 to 3 minutes of time boiling in the water, so once the water’s heat recovers. It may vary in time depending on the size of the florets, so you will want to look for the broccoli to turn bright green and start to become tender. Thank you! – meggan
Why is so much salt needed? 1237 mg seems like a very, very dangerous and high amount
Hey there, sorry about that! It’s just a mistake with the nutrition label. We accidentally included the salt for the water as an ingredient. Salting the water is OPTIONAL and if you leave it out, the sodium is negligible. I do personally still salt the water for blanching but that’s just my preference, and its not the same as just eating a tablespoon of salt. -Meggan
thank you for the easy process. i use this recipe to sub fresh brocc when a recipe calls for frozen.