Melting Broccoli: Our Most-Saved Thanksgiving Side

• Melting Broccoli is a Thanksgiving favorite, saved more than 15,000 times for its flavor and simplicity.
• The roasting method creates tender broccoli packed with savory miso, garlic and ginger. 
• Ready in just 35 minutes, this side dish is healthy, easy to scale and perfect alongside holiday classics.

Thanksgiving has always been all about the sides for me (sorry, turkey!). And while I love filling my plate with the traditional stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and Brussels sprouts, I’m always on the lookout for something new. This year, I’ve found the perfect side to add: Melting Broccoli, our most-saved Thanksgiving recipe.

Melting Broccoli has been saved by more than 15,000 people on MyRecipes, where you can save, search and organize EatingWell recipes for free. It’s the perfect tool for planners like me, helping me organize all my Thanksgiving recipes in one handy collection, from this broccoli side to our Maple-Ginger Apple Pie. 

After looking at the Melting Broccoli recipe, it’s easy to see why so many people love it. The melting technique is the key to this winning side dish. The broccoli gets roasted at high heat before a flavorful broth mixture is added to the pan and the broccoli is roasted again. The broccoli soaks up the broth during this second roast, resulting in a deliciously tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. This technique works so well for broccoli because the broth finds its way into every crevice of the florets. (It’s also great for other vegetables like potatoes and carrots). Here, white miso, garlic and ginger impart savory flavor into the broth. The recipe calls for vegetable broth, but you can easily use chicken broth if you already have it on hand for the big day. 

A quick serving sauce made from rice vinegar and chili crisp completes the dish. The bright, spicy condiment is the perfect counterpoint to the caramelized broccoli. Plus, it will help cut through the richness of the other Thanksgiving sides, so you’ll definitely want to make more than the recipe calls for. Since I’m planning to serve this broccoli to a group with kids, I’ll leave the sauce on the side so people can add it as they want. 

If you’re serving a large group on Thanksgiving, it’s easy to scale this recipe up to serve more. In that instance, I recommend roasting the broccoli in two 9-by-13-inch baking pans so there’s enough space. If the broccoli is too crowded on the pan, it will steam instead of roast and you won’t get the same browning. You could also whisk the broth mixture in a small measuring cup to make it easier to pour between the two pans. 

However many people you end up serving, you’ll all get the health benefits of broccoli. Eating broccoli may help lower the risk of heart disease, thanks to the fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in the vegetable that work to lower cholesterol levels and improve blood pressure. Broccoli is also a rich source of vitamin C, which helps to support your immune system (an added benefit during the busy holiday season). Plus, by roasting the broccoli instead of boiling it, you retain more water-soluble nutrients, like vitamin C, B vitamins and phytonutrients. 

With all these selling points, Melting Broccoli is the showstopping side dish I’ll be putting on my Thanksgiving table this year. Plus, it’s ready in just 35 minutes, meaning you can slot it into the oven as the turkey rests before carving. We all know oven space is a precious commodity on Thanksgiving, but Melting Broccoli is well worth the space—and once you make it for yourself, I’m sure you’ll agree. Be sure to save it to MyRecipes, along with all the other EatingWell recipes you plan to make this Thanksgiving.