Why You Should Avoid Cooking Broccoli In The Air Fryer

When was the last time you turned on the oven to bake a potato or roast meat? Or fired up the microwave to make a single-serving cake or mac and cheese in a mug? (Yes, both are actual things, per BBC Good Food). The world has seemingly fallen in love with air fryers. Air fryer sales have heated up in a huge way over the last few years, reaching beyond $412 million in U.S. dollars (via Statista). A global pandemic that found millions of people cooking at home (whether they wanted to or not) has no doubt played a part in helping air fryer sales skyrocket.

Engineer and food lover Fred van der Weij is credited with developing the air fryer in 2005; his goal, like many who have purchased an air fryer, was simply to make crisp and crunchy French fries with less oil and without using a deep fryer (per The New York Times). Ever since the air fryer as we know it was introduced by Philips at a major home electronics event in Germany, fans have been finding imaginative ways to use them. Some people plug them in to make breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even cookies and crack-free cheesecakes for dessert.

Air fryers might be the king of the kitchen in many households, but there are some things that are just incompatible with air fryer cooking — and that, unfortunately, includes broccoli (via Insider). For broccoli, stick with OG cooking methods like steaming and roasting.

Broccoli was America's No. 1 vegetable in 2021 (per Green Giant and PR Newswire), but carrots were coming on strong across the country and threatening to remove broccoli's crown. Consumers who named broccoli their vegetable of choice revealed they did so for its taste, which some people, including very famous people, find unpleasant. The late President George H.W. Bush made headlines in 1990 when told the world he hated broccoli and never wanted to see it or eat it again (via The New York Times). President Bush No. 1 certainly would have had a lot to say about the air fryer version of broccoli.

Here's a little Air Fryer Technology 101: The devices work by utilizing a combination of heat and fan-driven hot air trapped in a small compartment to cook foods — sort of like a convection oven (per PBS). Sadly, the process of air frying leaves broccoli dusty and dry, "like chewing on sandpaper,” America's Test Kitchen deputy food editor Stephanie Pixley told Insider.

Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family, which also includes tasty and fragrant family members kale, cauliflower, collard greens, cabbage (duh), kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts (per Los Angeles Times). Kale, collards, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are also cruciferous vegetables, which are loaded with nutrients like folate and vitamins C, E, and K. Some studies have shown that cruciferous vegetables might play a part in reducing the risk of cancer (per National Cancer Institute).

You might be tempted to think, based on the dismal performance of broccoli (per Insider), that all cabbage family members should stay out of the air fryer. Think again. Cauliflower is an air-fryer superstar, maintaining its flavor and structure in treatments like air fryer cauliflower "chicken wings" (via BBC Food). Brussels sprouts seem to take as well to the air fryer as they do to a hot oven, and can even be used to make crispy sprouts chips for dipping. But steer clear of collards and other leafy greens in the air fryer, with the exception of kale: The air fryer turns out top-notch kale chips (per Live Eat Learn). As for kohlrabi, turn on your air fryer and use that odd-looking, bulbous veggie to make kohlrabi fries (per Carb Manager).