"It" Air Fryer Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

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This air fryer broccoli is topped with a big cheesy cheese sauce for a simple, fast and delicious side bringing you a bit of comfort to your weeknight dinner or holidays.

FOR THE MOOD

WHAT YOU NEED FOR CHEESY BROCCOLI:

• Broccoli
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter
• Flour
• Heavy Cream
• Worcestershire sauce
• All spice
• Paprika
• Mustard Powder
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Manchego Cheese

BROCCOLI AND CHEESE SAUCE COOKING DIRECTIONS

Cook the broccoli

Chop the broccoli into florets. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set the air fryer to 330 degrees F and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Make the cheese sauce

Grate the cheddar and Manchego cheese. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, cream, Worcestershire sauce, and spices mixing well. Add in the cheese and stir as needed into the sauce is at a smooth but thick consistency.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE BROCCOLI AND CHEESE RECIPE

Most cheese sauces use just one cheese but I wanted a bit more complexity of flavor so blended the sharp cheddar with the complex but approachable and sweeter Manchego.

If time permits pre-heat your air fryer.

Cook time will vary depending on thickness of the broccoli florets and desired crunchiness. At 5 minutes and slightly over you start venturing into burnt territory so err on the side of caution and stop cooking early if needed.

Eat immediately. The cheese sauce is delicious but doesn’t do well sitting for a while

You don't need an air fryer for this recipe. You can roast conventionally and add the cheese sauce.

Frozen broccoli is just fine, as air fryer is perfect for cooking frozen veggies.

MASTERING CHEESE SAUCE

Start with a roux. This is critical to quality cheese sauce. But this isn’t a gumbo roux, as you don’t actually want to brown it. Use butter for your roux to get rid of the floury taste

Make sure your cheese and cream are at room temperature before heating. Adding cold ingredients to a roux leads to clumpy congealed cheese.

Don’t set your stovetop too high. Medium-low is good, you just want the pan just hot enough for the cheese to melt, not any hotter.

Remove the pan from heat before adding the cheese. Don’t worry the milk/cream will be plenty hot enough to melt the cheese. The cheese will get really grainy or even start to separate if it gets too hot.

Add cheese in batches vs all at one time. This makes melting easier so you get more of a creamier melt.

Stir the mixture constantly until the cheese is melted fully and incorporated into your sauce. Frequent stirring also ensures the cheese doesn’t burn. 

If sauce is too thick, whisk in more milk. If too thin, then add more cheese.

Serve the sauce immediately. It will develop that unattractive film on top if it sits. So don’t make it until the dish you plan to use it for is ready.

MORE RECIPES

Oven Roasted Whole Broccoli Head

Air Fryer Roasted Broccolini

Air Fryer Mahi Mahi

Baked Mac and Cheese

Southern Candied Yams

Easy Roasted Broccoli w/ Garlic

Smoked Whole Cauliflower

For other cheesy dishes try these:

Brisket Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Grilled Cheese with Andouille

Smoked Mac and Cheese

MAKE THIS CHEESY BROCCOLI DISH

If you make this cheesy air fryer broccoli recipe or any other from the site, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. Definitely take a photo of the dish and be sure to tag #foodfidelity so that I can see them.

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