Roasted Broccoli Salad with Avocado and Tahini

The appeal of this dead-simple salad comes from the contrast of the crispy broccoli and creamy avocado cubes all drizzled with a slightly sweet tahini sauce. Even though I call this a salad, it could be anything you like — a light lunch, a side dish, or supper itself. Last week I served it as an appetizer. What fun it was to watch my friends dig in with their hands, devouring the crispy florets after dunking them in extra Maple Tahini Drizzling Sauce.

Say hello to your new favorite broccoli dish

Although this recipe only has a few ingredients, all of them have specific brain health benefits. Avocados are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat our brains need to build cell membranes and perform vital functions. Avocados are rich in fiber and provide more potassium than a banana! Fiber slows down the absorption of the sugars in our food and keeps insulin from spiking, a process we know can be harmful to the brain.

Broccoli’s superpower

Sulforaphane is a powerful phytonutrient found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, and cabbage. Extensively studied for its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, sulforaphane is a nutrient your brain loves. But how you prepare broccoli can influence how much sulforaphane your body absorbs. Raw broccoli contains more sulforaphane levels than cooked because the act of heating destroys the enzymes necessary to convert it to a biologically active formBroccoli stems have all the same nutrients as the florets. And, they are sweet and completely delcious. Don’t throw them away! Slice into rounds and roast in the oven with the florets to use in this salad.

To optimize sulforaphane levels before cooking, cut up broccoli in advance, ideally 45 minutes before cooking. This lag time between prepping and cooking gives the precursor glucoraphanin a chance to do its work on sulforaphane by combining with the enzyme myrosinase. No time to chop in advance? A sprinkle of mustard powder after cooking broccoli will optimize its sulforaphane superpowers.

Avocado know-how

When shopping for avocados, take a peek under the stem. Peel the stem back slightly and you’ll see a small window into the flesh. Bright green means it’s ripe and ready to eat; speckled brown means it’s got some brown spots; and dark brown means that avocado is past its prime. If you end up with a brown-speckled avocado, there’s no need to throw it away. Overripe avocado freezes well, and is good for blending into smoothies, salad dressings, and hummus.

When scooping the flesh from an avocado, be sure to scrape up all the darker green fruit just next to the peel. That deeper green creamy avocado is where most of the nutrients reside.

Tahini sesame seed butter

You may know tahini as a staple ingredient in Middle Eastern foods. If you ever make hummus from scratch, you probably have a jar of this sesame seed butter in your pantry. (Try my favorite hummus recipe here.) Tahini is a paste or butter from hulled, toasted and ground sesame seeds. A rich and creamy butter, tahini does contain a large amount of fat. But the fats are the type we want to eat more of for brain health — the mono- and polyunsaturated ones. Studies show that consuming these types of fats, instead of saturated ones, can lower harmful cholesterol levels as well as lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Grinding sesame seeds into tahini allows us to access all the nutrition packed into each little seed. Good doses of vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15 are found in each seed. There are minerals important for brain health and function – iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus— as well as bone health.

Maple tahini drizzling sauce

The tahini sauce drizzled on this Roasted Broccoli Salad with Avocado and Tahini has just 4 ingredients: maple syrup, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. It’s a recipe I encourage you to learn by heart. Make a double batch and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Spoon onto grain bowls, salads, and other roasted veggies. Drizzle it onto a sandwich instead of mayo. Or, try it in a bowl of oatmeal for a savory take on breakfast porridge.

Print Recipe

Roasted Broccoli Salad with Avocado and Tahini

The appeal of this dead-simple salad is the contrast of the crispy broccoli florets and the creamy cubes of avocado all drizzled with the maple tahini dressing. You will want to make a double batch of the dressing to have on hand for salads, grain bowls, and crudité.

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Rating: 5
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Course

Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

as a side MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• 2 heads broccoli cut into florets, stem cut into ½-inch rounds
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 avocados cut into ½-inch cubes

Maple Tahini Sauce

• ¼ cup tahini well-stirred
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 medium garlic clove minced
• 1½ teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
• ¼ cup water or more, to make a smooth sauce

Course Dinner, Lunch, Snack Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings as a side MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 2 heads broccoli cut into florets, stem cut into ½-inch rounds ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 avocados cut into ½-inch cubes Maple Tahini Sauce ¼ cup tahini well-stirred 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 1 medium garlic clove minced 1½ teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed ¼ cup water or more, to make a smooth sauce

Votes: 2 Rating: 5 You: Rate this recipe!

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Place broccoli florets and stems on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes until each piece is well-coated. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the florets are starting to become crispy and brown on the edges.

Maple Tahini Sauce

1. Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth, adding more water, if necessary, for a pourable consistency.
2. To finish, place the roasted broccoli, along with any oil and browned bits from the baking sheet, on a platter or shallow bowl. Scatter avocado cubes over the top and drizzle with tahini dressing.

Recipe Notes

Make a double batch of the drizzling sauce to have on hand for later. To store: keep in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The dressing will thicken with time; stir in a small amount of water, if needed, to thin.