Smoky charred broccoli and spicy Calabrian chili paste meet cool lemon yogurt sauce in this exciting and unique vegetarian side dish!
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This charred broccoli recipe combines influences from Italian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. You get a little spice from the Calabrian chilis, but it gets cooled down with that lemon yogurt sauce.
And can we talk about that lemon yogurt sauce? We are going to use the entire lemon! Peel and all! This new whole-lemon philosophy will change your life. Bet you didn't know how much flavor and sweetness was in that peel. Just do it. You won't be sorry.
And because we always need more creative ideas on what to make with broccoli, try my Asian Broccoli recipe which also has a spicy twist!
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Charred broccoli that is so easy and gets big flavor from just 5 ingredients!
- Only 5 ingredients and you've got spicy, bright, cool and charred flavors all in one dish.
- Quick prep: Just chop the broccoli and lemon, then mix up a sauce
- Cooks in 25 minutes!
- It's gluten free and vegetarian.
Ingredients you'll need
- Broccoli crowns: Look for crowns that are tight, firm and dark green with no limp or pliable stems.
- Full-fat Greek yogurt: You need the full fat here for texture and the fat helps to cool down the spice.
- Lemon: We're using the whole thing! We'll juice it, then dice up the pulp AND peel. It's delicious!
- Calabrian chili paste: A favorite Italian ingredient! Also sometimes called Bomba sauce or Bomba di Calabria. You can find it online, in Italian specialty stores, and Trader Joe's carries their own version, too.
- Feta cheese: There's nothing like feta cheese to give us a nice salty bite to finish things off.
- Olive oil and Kosher salt
Recommended tools and equipment
- Chef's knife and cutting board: To chop the broccoli and lemon.
- Sheet pans: The broccoli will get nice and charred on hot sheet pans, especially if they have a bit of a patina.
- Microplane grater: To grate the garlic. One of my all-time fave kitchen tools.
- Mixing bowl and silicone spatula: For mixing up the yogurt sauce.
How to make charred broccoli with chili and feta
Recipe adapted from How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry.
Step 1: Prep and cook the broccoli
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Trim the bottom of the stems from the broccoli crowns.
Slice the broccoli crowns in half, and continue to slice into thin stalks, leaving a flat side when possible.
Divide the broccoli stalks between two sheet pans, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Using your hands, rub the olive oil into the stalks and florets and rub the oil all around the bottom of the pan.
Spread out the broccoli on the sheet pan so there is space between them, with the flat, cut side down. (If they aren't spread out, they will steam, not char.)
Place the sheet pans in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
While the broccoli gets charred, make the lemon yogurt sauce.
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Step 2: Make the lemon yogurt sauce
Put the greek yogurt into a medium mixing bowl. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze all of the juice into the bowl with the yogurt, taking care to strain the seeds out as you do this.
Using a microplane grater, grate one clove of garlic into the yogurt mixture.
Finely dice the remaining lemon peel and pulp and add to the yogurt sauce.
Add a pinch of salt and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
Step 3: Rotate and stir the charred broccoli
Check the broccoli after about 12-15 minutes, if it's nice and charred on the bottom, flip the stalks over, and rotate the pan that was in the bottom of the oven to the top of the oven and vice versa.
Continue to cook broccoli until stems are charred and florets are getting crispy, another 5-10 minutes. Total cooking time will be about 23-25 minutes.
Step 4: Add calabrian chili paste and serve
Remove charred broccoli from the oven and allow to cool just enough so you can handle it. Combine the two pans and pour the Calabrian chili paste over the broccoli. Rub it into the stalks and the florets so everything is coated.
Spread the lemon yogurt sauce onto a platter and place the broccoli on top. Scatter crumbled feta over the top and serve.
Charred broccoli tips and substitutions
- Keeping the broccoli stems long gives us flavor, texture, and gives us more edges to get charred.
- You'll probably find that the broccoli on the pan at the bottom of the oven browns faster. Don't worry, once you rotate the top pan to the bottom of the oven, it will catch up.
- You can use broccolini instead of broccoli crowns, just be aware the cooking time may be slightly shorter.
Serving suggestions
Serve charred broccoli as a side dish for something simple like roast chicken or baked fish. It's got a lot going on, and you don't want it to get overshadowed by competing with other big flavors.
FAQ
Calabrian chili paste is made from round, red, spicy peppers that grow in the southern region of Italy known as Calabria - which is the "toe" of the "boot." The dried peppers are combined with olive oil to form a spicy paste that can be added to vegetables, pastas, sauces and more. You can find Calabrian chili paste online from importers like D'Italia, and Trader Joe's also carries a very reasonably priced jar, called Italian Bomba Sauce.
Calabrian chilis are medium hot. They definitely have a kick, but also a sweetness. If you don't have any, just use a little crushed red pepper instead. You could try other chili sauces like sambal, but there are a lot of other flavors in sambal like fish sauce and lime juice that might not go quite as well with various dishes, so just think about those things when swapping out ingredients.
More easy vegetable side dish recipes
- Crispy Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan and Garlic is so simple and delicious, it almost tastes like French fries!
- Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts will have you roasting your brussels whole until they're melting inside from now on.
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Onion, Tahini, and Za'atar is so cool it doesn't even ask you to peel the squash.
Recipe
Charred Broccoli with Calabrian Chili Paste, Feta, and Lemon Yogurt Sauce
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds broccoli crowns
- ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste
- 2 tablespoon feta cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil or a little more if needed to get the broccoli coated
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
- Trim the stems from the broccoli crowns. Slice crowns in half, then slice into stalks, leaving a flat, cut side when possible.
- Divide the broccoli stalks between two sheet pans, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle iwth salt. Using your hands, rub the olive oil into the stalks and florets and rub the oil all around the bottom of the pan. Spread out the broccoli on the sheet pan so there is space between them, with the flat, cut side down. (If they aren't spread out, they will steam, not char.) Place the sheet pans in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
- Check the broccoli after about 12-15 minutes, if it’s nice and charred on the bottom, flip the stalks over, and rotate the pan that was in the bottom of the oven to the top of the oven and vice versa. Continue to cook broccoli until stems are charred and florets are getting crispy, another 5-10 minutes. Total cooking time will be about 23-25 minutes.
- While the broccoli cooks, make the lemon yogurt sauce. Put the greek yogurt into a medium mixing bowl. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze all of the juice into the bowl with the yogurt, taking care to strain the seeds out as you do this. Using a microplane grater, grate one clove of garlic into the yogurt mixture.
- Finely dice the remaining lemon peel and pulp and add to the yogurt sauce. Add a pinch of salt and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Check the broccoli after about 12-15 minutes, if it’s nice and charred on the bottom, flip the stalks over, and rotate the pan that was in the bottom of the oven to the top of the oven and vice versa. Continue to cook broccoli until stems are charred and florets are getting crispy, another 5-10 minutes. Total cooking time will be about 23-25 minutes.
- Remove charred broccoli from the oven and allow to cool just enough so you can handle it. Combine the two pans and pour the Calabrian chili paste over the broccoli. Rub it into the stalks and the florets so everything is coated.
- Spread the lemon yogurt sauce onto a platter and place the broccoli on top. Scatter crumbled feta over the charred broccoli and serve.
Notes
- This recipe is adapted from How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry.
- You can find Calabrian chili paste online from importers like D’Italia, and Trader Joe’s also carries a very reasonably priced jar, called Italian Bomba Sauce.
- Using the whole lemon in the yogurt sauce is a revelation. Bet you didn't know how much flavor and sweetness was in that peel. Just do it. You won't be sorry.
- I love using a Microplane grater to get the garlic into this sauce. You get all that garlic flavor distributed evenly throughout the sauce, without without the worry of crunching down on a raw piece of garlic.
- You'll probably find that the broccoli on the pan at the bottom of the oven browns faster. Don't worry, once you rotate the top pan to the bottom of the oven, it will catch up.
Virginia Trujillo
This recipe is absolutely delicious and so, so easy to make! I don't want broccoli any other way now. Thank you for this great recipe.
Debra
Hi Virginia!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and found it easy to make. I do love a little char on broccoli!
Thanks so much for reading and trying my recipes!
Debra
Anne Marie Rawls
This recipe is amazing!
Debra
Thank you Anne Marie! Glad you enjoyed it!