Brown Butter Broccoli – Simple Side Dish Recipe

Brown Butter Broccoli is just classic steam cooked broccoli loaded with brown butter! It’s a very easy and simple side dish to go with just about any meal.

Steam Cooked Broccoli with Browned Butter 

Broccoli is great. It keeps well in the fridge, and it can be prepared in a matter of minutes to go with a wide variety of meats such as salmon, barbecue meatballs, grilled, fried or baked chicken, roast beef, or even simple meatloaf – perfect for busy weeknights. Today’s recipe is a simple, yet great combination of broccoli and brown butter – MMM!

So, my husband isn’t a real big fan of steamed or cooked broccoli. Or so he thought. For lunch today, my main dish was simple spaghetti paired with a delicious side dish of broccoli; imagine my surprise and delight when he admitted that he actually liked this brown butter broccoli! 

Fun fact about (most) Mennonites, we love brown butter! And there are lots of awesome things you can add brown butter to. It adds a finishing touch to mashed potatoes (and more kinds of potatoes), green beans, corn and broccoli, not to mention the baked things you can make with it. It’s so easy to make and has such a delicious taste!

Ingredients 

There’s only four simple pantry ingredients (or fridge staples, rather) in this recipe. Yay!

• Broccoli – fresh broccoli cut into little florets. I use fresh broccoli, but I think frozen should work too! You might not need to cook it quite as long, though.
  
• Water 
  
• Salt – sea salt
  
• Butter – salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you might want to add a little extra salt to the water before cooking the broccoli, or simply salt the broccoli to taste after it’s all finished and ready to serve!

Supplies we used:

• Saucepan with a lid – small skillet or saucepan, and I like to use one with a lid to trap that steam!
  
• Strainer or colander
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• Knife and cutting board
  
• Serving dish – yes, these work great for serving, too!

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How to make Brown Butter Broccoli

First, wash the broccoli florets.

In a saucepan on the stovetop bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the broccoli, place the lid on the saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 5-10 minutes. (Cook/steam broccoli for about five minutes for tender-crisp broccoli and 10 minutes for very soft broccoli.)

Dump the cooked broccoli into a strainer and return the saucepan to the stovetop. Melt butter in the saucepan, let it cook and bubble on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes until it starts to turn a lovely golden brown shade. Turn the burner to medium-low heat, stir the butter and let it keep simmering into a deep brown color for the best flavor!

Return the broccoli to the pan and toss it with the brown butter.

Serve and enjoy!

Storage

Store any leftover brown butter broccoli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Tips, Tricks & Notes

• Make it with cauliflower! This recipe works for both broccoli and cauliflower. Or, do a blend of both!
  
• I prefer a more crunchy texture and bright green color for my steam cooked broccoli, while my husband likes his very soft (and not quite so green). So, five minutes of cook time is about perfect for mine, and ten minutes is about right for his style of broccoli!

More easy dinner ideas:

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