The 2-Ingredient Broccoli Recipe My Family Can't Get Enough Of

It takes 10 minutes to make this broccoli with crispy and melty cheese. I make this side dish at least once a week for my family.

Cheesy Broccoli — Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn

Broccoli is awesome—it's the unsung hero of weeknight meals. Never have I written a sentence so boring, but there you have it. Now, I'm going to tell you about a crispy broccoli recipe that I make at least once a week for my family—and there is nothing boring about it. My kids can identify this dish by how it smells. The moment they get a whiff of it, they scream “Broccoleee!” It's that good.

Plus, I can make it in 10 minutes flat. I cook broccoli florets in a skillet with a little oil. Halfway through cooking, I sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Some cheese will cling to the broccoli and melt while the rest will fall onto the hot skillet and get crispy. Charred broccoli with melty and crispy cheese? If you're here for the best broccoli recipe, this is it.

(I got the idea for this recipe online years ago and I cannot remember where. If this is your recipe or if you know whose it is, please do let me know so that I can send all my gratitude and credit.)

Cheesy Broccoli in a neutral bowl with a spoon — Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn

How To Make Crispy Broccoli with Cheese

You'll need:

1 large head broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt and black pepper
3 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded cheddar cheese

Cut the broccoli into bite-sized florets, including the stem. If any part of the stem looks woody, cut it off and discard it.

Set a large cast iron or regular skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Scatter the florets in the skillet so that they aren't lying on top of each other as much as possible. You don’t have to wait for the oil to heat up. Let them cook for about 5 minutes—don't stir to give the bottoms a chance to brown.

Broccoli on cast iron skillet — Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn

Charred broccoli on a cast iron skillet — Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn

Flip over one or two florets. If they're golden brown, sprinkle a pinch of salt and black pepper all over the broccoli. Give it a good stir to give the other side a chance to brown, and scatter the shredded cheese all over. It's okay if some of the cheese falls onto the skillet—you want that.

Cheese on broccoli in a cast iron skillet — Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn

Cook it for about 5 minutes without stirring. The cheese on top will melt immediately and the pieces that fall to the bottom will brown and get crispy. Some of the crispy bits may stick to the skillet, so use a metal spatula to gently nudge them off. We fight over who gets those crispy bits.

And just like that, I have a side dish that goes with pretty much anything else I'm serving for dinner, whether it's chicken or delivery pizza.