This sautéed broccoli recipe is my answer when I need a fast, healthy side dish. Garlic and lemon do a wonderful job of cutting through broccoli’s bitterness. This one is hard to stop eating!

Every time I’m grocery shopping, I toss broccoli in my cart. Not necessarily because I have a plan for using it, but because I know it’s healthy and a good vegetable side to have during the week. This garlic broccoli is probably my most made broccoli recipe. It’s quick, it’s tasty, and it works really well with almost any main.

So if you’re like me and usually have a bag of florets or a head of broccoli sitting in your veggie drawer, save this one. You’ll be happy that you did! This recipe calls for cooking your broccoli in a skillet on the stove. If you would prefer to use the oven, see our roasted broccoli recipe.

Key Ingredients

• Broccoli: You can use both the florets and the stems/stalks in this recipe (and I highly recommend it). I walk you through preparing the florets and stalks below (hint: you’ll need to peel the thick stalks first, then you’ll be rewarded with tender, delicious broccoli bites).
• Olive Oil and Butter (if you like): I start by sautéing in olive oil, then I finish with a bit of butter. The butter is optional but delicious, and I add it to most of my sautéed vegetable recipes (like sautéed zucchini and this mushrooms recipe).
• Garlic: I love the hint of garlic here, and think it keeps the dish versatile with most main dishes. You can add more flavor with red pepper flakes or ginger, but when I’m rushing to get dinner on the table, mincing garlic for a side is usually where I stop.
• Lemon: The other day, I did a poll on Instagram and asked everyone their favorite ingredients with broccoli. Garlic was high on the list, but so was lemon. Inspired Taste readers clearly love the lemon-garlic combination (see this bok choy recipe as proof), so we’re doing it again with this easy broccoli recipe. I spritz over fresh lemon juice right as I swirl in the butter at the end. The lemon juice and butter come together to create a light lemony butter sauce that coats the broccoli.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Sauté Broccoli

Tip 1: Preparing the broccoli. Let’s break this down into two parts: the florets and slender stalks, and then the thicker stems.

1. I use a pairing knife to separate the slender stalks into florets and am happy to leave those thinner stalks an inch or so long. Just like when I roast broccoli, I love leaving some flatter sides by slicing florets in half, which will take on a bit more color because more surface area hits the pan.
2. The thick stems are delicious, but you want to peel the tough skin away (it never really breaks down). Once you peel it away, you can chop the stems into a similar size as the florets. They turn out incredibly tender in the end, and are actually my favorite part of broccoli!

Tip 2: Brown the broccoli. Using a wide skillet with some olive oil, add all of the broccoli stems (they take a bit longer, so they go in first). Leave them to brown a bit, then add the florets and arrange them in an even layer.

Tip 3: Add a bit of water and use a lid. Toss in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then, for a quick burst of steam and to get that bright green, tender broccoli we all love, add a splash of water, cover with a lid, and cook for a few minutes. Uncover, and you’ll be rewarded with perfectly cooked broccoli.

Tip 4: Finish with butter and lemon. Remember that this part is optional, but to turn this into one of my favorite ways to serve broccoli, turn off the heat, then swirl in a bit of butter and squeeze over some fresh lemon juice. The butter and lemon combine and coat all the florets, making this broccoli perfectly popable!

Serving Suggestions

Here’s the great thing about this sautéed broccoli: it works with almost any main you can throw at it. It’s really versatile, so definitely look through our dinner recipes for inspiration.

A few of our family’s favorite ways to serve it are next to pork Milanese (instead of the salad), with these slow cooker chicken meatballs, maple soy glazed salmon, classic meatloaf, buttered noodles, baked pork tenderloin with apples, and our juicy lemon chicken thighs.

More Broccoli Recipes