Easy Roasted Broccoli Steaks
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A new summer favorite: Roasted broccoli steaks with fresh tomato sauce and olive bread crumbs. Here, roasted tomatoes and onions unite in a super simple but incredibly tasty sauce. It’s topped with roasted broccoli “steaks” and finished with olive bread crumbs, which are insanely addictive.
This recipe, from this month’s Food & Wine, immediately caught my attention for its attribution: Greg Vernick of Philadelphia’s Vernick, a restaurant I love.
If you’ve eaten at Vernick, you’ve likely had the pea toasts: thick slices of toasty sourdough smeared with a minty green purée topped with bacon. As you can imagine, the combination is heavenly.
The striking hue of the “tomato butter” in the F&W photo, similarly brilliant to that of the pea purée, immediately took me back to eating those toasts, and the flavor, when I finally made the dish, did too.
Friends, where to begin? The combination of ingredients here is so unexpected for me — I never think to pair broccoli and tomatoes so conspicuously — but they’re a great match. The addition of olives, which I almost omitted, is another surprising element, a simple flourish but one with a big impact: the meaty bursts of umami permeate the entire dish. I find the whole combination to be so, so delicious.
There are three components to this recipe: the sauce, the broccoli, and the olive bread crumbs. Let’s explore each one:
Roasted Tomato “Butter”
Forgive the hyperbole here, but this sauce, referred to as tomato “butter” in the recipe, blew me away. And though at this point, I shouldn’t be surprised when a simple sauce tastes so good, I was.
To make it, you simply roast a couple cups of cherry tomatoes and a chopped red onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper. After 30 minutes or so, when the tomatoes have collapsed and are starting to brown lightly, you purée them with water and a couple tablespoons of butter. That’s it!
Not once have I had to adjust the flavor with more salt or pepper. It tastes fresh and bright, and I have no doubt I will be making this sauce in the future to toss with pasta or to spread over pizza dough.
Note: I have used both my Vitamix and my Cuisinart to purée this sauce. Both work, but if you have a Vitamix, use it — it makes for an especially smooth purée.
Roasted Broccoli
Like cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and other members of the cruciferous vegetable family, broccoli loves a good char.
The trick here is to roast the broccoli cut side down until it is nicely brown — don’t turn the broccoli until you see good caramelization. For me, this takes roughly 30 minutes, but this may take more or less time for you depending on your oven (… mine has been running cool).
Olive Bread Crumbs
The original recipe calls for simply toasting bread crumbs in olive oil, sprinkling them over the finished dish, and serving an olive tapenade on the side.
The first time I made this, I did just that — coincidentally I had a small jar of olive tapenade on hand, which I threw on the table with low expectations. Its inclusion felt a little “extra” to me: nice to have but maybe superfluous?
I was wrong! I found myself wanting a little olive tapenade in each bite, and before we knew it, Ben and I had made a serious dent in the jar.
Because many of you may not have tapenade on hand, and because some of you may not want to track it down, the next time I made this, I omitted it. Instead, after toasting the bread crumbs in olive oil, I simply tossed in some minced Kalamata olives.
Warning for olive lovers: these bread crumbs are addictive. I find myself eating them with a spoon while I wait for the broccoli to finish roasting. Once I had to make a second batch, because I had polished off so much of the first.
A few thoughts:
- If you don’t like olives, simply omit them. The bread crumbs are delicious on their own.
- If you have olive tapenade on hand, use it! Save yourself the step of chopping the olives. If you’re feeling really ambitious, make the olive tapenade yourself.
- If you are avoiding bread, I think a toasted walnut-olive topping would be delicious. Almonds and pine nuts — any nut you like, really — would also be great. I do think a crunchy element of some sort is essential here.
I hope you all love this one as much as I.
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.
Trim the ends off the broccoli stalks and peel the lower stems:
Halve the heads; then place on a sheet pan and toss with olive oil and salt. I love these quarter sheet pans:
Toss cherry tomatoes and a roughly chopped onion with olive oil and salt in a separate pan.
Transfer both pans to a 475ºF oven, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes.
Transfer the onions and their juices along with 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons butter to a blender or food processor.
Purée until smooth.
Meanwhile, chop up 1/3 cup Kalamata olives.
Toast 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until evenly golden.
Add the olives. Stir briefly; then remove from the heat.
Smear some tomato sauce over a platter. Top with the roasted steaks.
Spoon the olive bread crumbs over top.
Serve immediately, passing extra sauce and olive bread crumbs on the side.
PrintEasy Roasted Broccoli Steaks
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Adapted from this Food and Wine recipe, attributed to Greg Vernick of Philadelphia’s Vernick.
For the fresh bread crumbs: simply place a hunk of day- or days-old bread into the food processor. Blend until finely chopped. Transfer to a storage vessel. Freeze the crumbs for up to 3 months or transfer to the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
The original recipe called for olive tapenade. I simplified this a bit by adding chopped olives to the bread crumbs themselves. A few thoughts:
- If you don’t like olives, simply omit them. The bread crumbs are delicious on their own.
- If you have olive tapenade on hand, use it! Save yourself the step of chopping the olives. If you’re feeling really ambitious, make the olive tapenade yourself.
- If you are avoiding bread, I think a toasted walnut-olive topping would be delicious. Almonds and pine nuts — any nut you like, really — would also be great. I do think a crunchy element of some sort is essential here.
Ingredients
- 2 small-ish heads broccoli, 1.25-1.5 lbs total
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes (12 ounces)
- 1 red onion (9 ounces pre trimming)
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 3/4 cup (1.5 ounces) fresh bread crumbs, see notes above
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, see notes above
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 475ºF.
- Prepare the broccoli: Trim the end off each head of broccoli. Peel the stalks to remove the tough outer later. Halve each head. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. (I like to use these quarter sheet pans for this.) Toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Place the heads cut side down. Set aside.
- Prepare the tomatoes: In a 9-inch square baking dish (or something similar), toss the tomatoes and onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Season with pepper to taste.
- Transfer both pans to the oven for 25-30 minutes. (Note: Please check after 10 minutes — if the broccoli is charring too quickly, lower the heat to 450ºF. My oven has been running cool, so 475ºF has been working for me.) To test for doneness, lift up one of the broccoli heads — you want it to be nicely caramelized on its cut side. If it isn’t brown, continue to roast until it is brown. The tomatoes should be beginning to collapse and starting to lightly blister in spots. Remove both pans from the oven. Flip the broccoli heads and return the pan to the oven for another 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: Transfer the roasted tomatoes and onions along with 1/4 cup water to a high speed blender or food processor. If using a blender be sure to let the mixture cool briefly before puréeing, or be sure to start puréeing on low, with the small opening at the top removed and covered lightly with a tea towel to allow the hot air to escape. Purée until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons butter and purée again until smooth. Taste. Adjust with salt to taste. Add water by the tablespoon to thin. Sauce should be pourable.
- Make the bread crumbs: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil oil until it just begins to shimmer. Add the bread crumbs and a small pinch of salt. Toast, stirring often, until the crumbs are evenly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the olives and stir for another 15 seconds or so. Remove pan from heat.
- To plate: Pour sauce (you likely won’t need all of it) over a serving platter, spreading with the back of a spoon. Top with the roasted broccoli halves. Spoon as many of the olive bread crumbs over top as you wish. Serve immediately passing more sauce and olive bread crumbs on the side.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
65 Comments on “Easy Roasted Broccoli Steaks”
Love, love, love that you post pictures of every single step in your recipes!!!! For the aspiring cook ( me ) I so appreciate you paying such attention to detail.
Oh it’s my pleasure, Sue 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you 😍
I got your email about this recipe and immediately, I was listening. It takes a lot for me to make something different than the same exact dinner I have every weekday because it’s just easy for me to track, but I had everything I needed to give it a try. I had only about five little tomatoes left, regular white onions, and frozen broccoli, and it still turned out super delicious. One of the best parts was that I only had brioche in the fridge to make the delicious breadcrumbs, and they are so very decadent. I can’t wait to make this for my boyfriend who Hates Broccoli™ and maybe throw in a bit of roasted garlic at the end! Absolutely worth the effort, I feel like I did a nice little extra thing for just me tonight. 🙂
Oh Gillian, yay! It’s so nice to hear this. Great to hear that frozen broccoli worked well here. Love the idea of adding roasted garlic. Yum!
Made this last night and it was delicious! The only change I made was to add a whole garlic clove, skin on, to the tomato mix. After roasting, peeled it and added it to the blender. The broccoli “steaks” were great, but I bet this would even work with roasted florets.
Love the idea of the adding garlic to the sauce — roasted garlic is one of my favorite flavors. And yes to broccoli florets! Cauliflower, too!
Thanks! This sauce is amazingly match roasted broccoli. My family got into this.
♥️👍👍
Yay 🎉🎉🎉
Looks delicious! thanks for sharing.
Thank you for posting. This looks really good, but with a new baby, I’m not able to make multi-component side dishes on top of a main dish. Would you consider this a meal with some bread or something? If not, any thoughts on how to make it a vegetarian main dish? Thank you in advance.
Hi Kelly! We, meaning my husband and I, have been eating this as a meal, and it has be satisfying and filling for us. That said, I think you could bulk it up with beans, chickpeas, farro, or quinoa. I always have a vat of either these slow cooker chickpeas or these slow cooker black beans on hand, which are nicely seasoned, so all you have to do is warm them up. Quinoa is super fast to cook — I would just dress it lightly with olive oil and salt. I love this Instant Pot brown rice, which you could make without the dressing part, and which I think would be a great complement here.
Thank you for the ideas!! I really appreciate it. I can’t wait to try it.
Sure thing!
The first thing I thought of, if you eat them, was to add an egg on top and serve with a baguette.
This feels innovative! We virtually always eat broccoli steamed or blanched boiled and we enjoy that. Your recipe took us over the top for a special treat! My family was fascinated and delighted by the tomato onion sauce. We finished the remaining sauce the very next day over chicken, rice and salad greens. We passed it around the table until its container was licked clean! My broccoli heads were especially chubby so I cut 4 steaks out of each and piled all the small broken pieces into the spaces among the steaks for roasting. Plating just like yours, this made 3 visually pleasing plates; 2 we ate the first night, and one warmed up fine in the microwave for the next night. Thank you!
So wonderful to hear all of this, Catherine! I love this sauce, too — I am still amazed by its simplicity. Glad you thought to cut the broccoli into more steaks — the original recipe calls for cutting each head into 8 steaks, which felt impossible to me, but I think I should add a note, because I have been buying relatively small heads of broccoli. Thanks so much for writing!
This was to die for!!! So so good!
Wonderful to hear this, Kim!
Hey, that is a great recipe! I surrounded it with pasta sauced with the extra. That sauce recipe is a keeper! And the entire recipe is wonderful. Will make it again!
So great to hear this, Katy! I am obsessed with this sauce, too 🙂
Made this sauce over pasta (glut of tomatoes from the farm share, not broccoli season yet) and my picky eater awarded it an “amazing” rating. It’s fabulous!
Wondering if you think it’s possible to adapt it to use full size tomatoes since I’m pretty much at the mercy of my farm share through the end of October.
Wonderful to hear this! And yes, absolutely. I would roughly chop them. No need to seed or skin, however.
I tried the Roasted Broccoli Steaks recipe last night. I thought the photos looked interesting but, to my surprise, the dish was delicious! Although, there seemed to be many steps; they were relatively simple. They end result was soooo good and I will definitely fix it again!
Wonderful to hear this, Sue! Thanks so much for writing! 🥦🥦🥦🥦🥦
I knew I had to make this, as soon as I read your recipe. I had Roma tomatoes that I gave a coarse chop, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was wonderful, much more than the sum of it’s parts. The olive and toasted bread crumbs, oh my goodness!
The leftover tomato butter will be schmeared on the pizza dough fermenting slowly in the fridge, tomorrow…..mozza and fresh basil…..oh yes!
As always, your recipes are so “why didn’t I think of that “ wonderful.
Thank you 😊
So nice to hear this, Jeannie! Thanks so much for writing. The sauce is wonderful on pizza dough!
Haven’t tried this yet but it looks delicious.
Do you think the finished sauce, including the butter, would freeze well?
I have a ton of end-of-season cherry tomatoes I need to use.
Thanks
Yes, absolutely! Go for it.
So simple and absolutely delicious! Forgot to add the butter to the purée and still was amazing! Thanks for sharing such amazing recipes (with videos no less!)
Wonderful to hear this, Becca! Amazing that omitted the butter worked … perfect for anyone needing to make it dairy free. Thanks for writing!
Absolutely delicious. The sauce was amazing. The breadcrumbs to die for. My husband said ‘add this to the weekly rotation’. Whoa
Oh yay! So nice to hear this, Anne! Thanks so much for writing!
Just made this with the tofu and scallion sauce as a meal. Holy cow – what a winner. Both so different and yet so good together. Dead right about the simple tomato sauce! Making it again this week to have on fresh home made pasta! So glad to have found you and your passion for food.
So nice to hear this, Justine! Thanks so much for writing. Pairing this with the tofu is such a great way to bulk it up. So glad you are as enthusiastic about the tomato sauce as I am — it couldn’t be simpler, right? And so darn tasty 😍😍😍😍
This tomato sauce seems to be a direct take on Marcella Hazan’s “Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter” (published about 30 years ago) She is the queen of good ingredients used simple. I would recommend checking it out.
Hi Sarah! I love Marcella’s recipe, but I find it a little fussy … I hate peeling tomatoes, and I never dislike discarding the onion, either. I love the simplicity of this one and it has a nice clean flavor, just like Marcella’s. Thanks for writing!
I made this tonight. Woah! Just … wow! I felt like I had made restaurant-quality food. My partner was super impressed. What I loved most was that it is the kind of dish I love as an appetizer … but we each got our own entree-sized plate! YES! I served it with toasted olive bread to mop up the delicious sauce. Thank you!
Jen, amazing! Thank you for all of your lovely comments today 🙂 🙂 🙂 Truly means the world. So glad you liked this one.
Ali, just wanted to say thanks for a great dinner tonight. I made this as written, plus a side of whole wheat rotini. We might have, um, licked our plates. I didn’t think I liked olives, but wanted to make this because my husband loves them–and it turns out, prepared like this, I like olives, too. Thanks, Ali!
So nice to hear this, Launa! Great idea serving it with pasta … makes it a meal. So happy to hear about your olive revelation 🙂
Made this recipe tonight and it was so good, roasted broccoli is so tasty and satisfying and the olive crumbs are very delicious! Restaurant quality meal, will make it again and again.
Wonderful to hear this, Ginka! I find the olive bread crumbs addicting… so glad you like this one. Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
OMG this sounds devine! Can’t wait to try it – my partner doesn’t do olives, but I can skip that. I also try to avoid bread, so I’ll do the breadcrumbs for the first run, but then try the toasted walnut variation next! Thnx! 😉
Peter, it’s one of my favorites! I hope you love it, too 🙂 And I think a walnut variation without olives would be delicious 🙂 🙂 🙂
Love this recipe! Can you link the plate and the pan used?
Hi Susan! The plate is actually from Target… it’s several years old now, so likely not available but they might have something similar. It’s that Joanna Gaines (Hearth and Hand) line… similar to this one. And the pan is from Food52.
Thank you for the links! I made the broccoli and it was soooooo good!
Yay! So great to hear this, Susan 🙂 🙂 🙂
I made this for the first time tonight. These ingredients combine beautifully. I set the oven to 210 degrees Celsius and I had to watch for burning. I think I may steam the broccoli beforehand for 5 mins and roast for 15. I also made the mistake of putting the frried crumbs with olives into a bowl. This made them a bit soggy instead of crispy. Next time I will lay out on a flat plate. Served with steaks, I will definitely do this again. Thank you
Hey there, I am totally going to make this recipe, I saw the post on Instagram and had to do my usual futzing around to send myself an email of the link from my phone to my computer so I a) remembered and b) remembered WHERE I saw it. Was picking a huge-to-me harvest of broccoli from my garden and thinking of this recipe the entire time.
I think you have a typo, unless we are to discard the tomatoes – in the full series above (not the printable recipe) you post “Transfer the onions and their juices along with 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons butter to a blender or food processor.” I suspect we are supposed to transfer the tomatoes as well?
Oh yes, definitely! Editing now. Thank you!
This tomato butter is delicious and so easy to make! Will be using it with roasted cauliflower this week and all summer for other veggies.
Great to hear, Kathleen! I love this sauce with ALL the veggies 🙂 🙂 🙂
Made this for father’s day and it was fantastic! I thought the tomato sauce needed a little something so I added a splash of red wine vinegar. Looking at the recipe now, I realize its probably b/c I forgot the butter! Either way, dynamite dish that will definitely get made many more times. What a perfect way to company up roasted veggies!
Great to hear, Megan! And yes, you can use this sauce with so many different roasted veggies — grilled veggies, too!
Could I substitute roasted garlic for the onions?
Sure! Worth a shot!
Yum Yum Yum! Made this recipe, but with cauliflower steaks, for lunch today. It was easy and DELISH! Everything roasted while I walked the dog and came together quickly. I wish I would have roasted MORE cauliflower. Loved the crunch from the toasted breadcrumbs & the pop of saltiness from the kalamata olives. New to Alexandra Cooks site and excited to try more!
So nice to hear this, Gretchen 🙂 🙂 🙂 Welcome and thank you for writing. Hope you find some more recipes you love.
As I was debating what to do with my tomatoes on my counter your recipe came, my entire family LOVED it. I used regular tomatoes cut in the size of cherry tomatoes and left out the butter and water as this likely made it juicy enough. While I’m sure butter would have been great it was so delicious without I just didn’t think I needed to add the calories and my daughter tries to limit dairy. I made tuna steaks and plated it over the tomato sauce with the broccoli and my husband deemed the meal top-notch restaurant worthy, I can’t wait to make it again!! Thank you!
Wow, Connie, amazing! I actually have some frozen tuna on hand … one of my husband’s work friends recently brought it back from a fishing trip … and I am so going to try this combination, which sounds lovely. Thanks so much for writing and sharing. Great to hear the butter was unnecessary, too 🙂
Thank you – tasty recipe. I used stale rosemary focaccia to make the crumbs and added a wizened red pepper to the roasted tomatoes. I only had purple sprouting broccoli and I found both trays cooked in under 20 mins, also I had to reduce the oven temp as they were charring too enthusiastically. I will try it with cauliflower steaks soon and add a couple of unpeeled garlic cloves to the tomato tray.