Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet
This Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet is a super flavorful side dish that pairs perfectly with a meaty main course like chicken or steak. We ate it alongside honey mustard marinated grilled chicken this time and they were so delicious together! Even my six-year-old happily ate it up. This recipe has tons of flavor with salty, smoky bacon, aromatic garlic, fresh parsley, sharp cheddar cheese, and finely chopped broccoli and onion cooked in olive oil and butter. I think even picky vegetable eaters will love this dish! Not only is this Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet a tasty crowd-pleaser, a serving is just 172 calories or 4 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here.
This is what the broccoli should look like after pulsing in the food processor!
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli: I recommend using fresh broccoli for this recipe! Six cups of florets was about two med-large heads of broccoli for me. Make sure you pulse the florets in the food processor, don’t just turn it on! Pulsing will give you the perfect sized mini-pieces.
- Bacon: I always use center cut bacon in my recipes, because it’s just a leaner cut of regular bacon, so it crisps up beautifully and tastes just as good! I generally use Oscar Mayer brand center cut bacon, though any kind will work! You can substitute turkey bacon if you prefer.
- Cheese: This Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet uses just a bite of cheddar cheese for added flavor, but if you have other types on hand, I’m sure you could swap them in. I think Colby Jack or shredded Parmesan would be good.
- Broth: I use vegetable broth in this recipe, but chicken broth would also work well if that’s what you have on hand. I also keep Better Than Bouillon in my fridge at all times, so it’s easy to heat up some water and stir in BTB to make broth quickly when needed!
- Parsley: I think that fresh parsley adds great fresh flavor to this recipe, so I highly recommend using fresh instead of dried. Alternatively, I think the Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Herbs are nice to keep on hand for recipes when you don’t have access to fresh herbs. Plus they’re already chopped!
More Tasty Lightened-Up Side Dish Recipes
If you’re looking for more tasty side dish recipes like this Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet, check out my Stovetop Garlic Green Beans with Almonds, Zucchini Corn Fritters, Easy Slow Cooker Carrots, Garlic Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower, Corn and Tomato Salad, Broccoli Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes, Apple Coleslaw, Stovetop Cinnamon Apples, Air Fryer Cajun Potatoes, Vegetable Fried Rice, Creamy Corn with Bacon and Jalapenos, Garlic Herb Mushrooms, Broccoli Salad, and so many more in the Side Dishes category of my recipe index!
Bacon Broccoli Side Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 slices center cut bacon
- 6 cups uncooked broccoli florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons light butter, (I use Land O’Lakes light butter with canola oil in the tub)
- ½ a medium onion, chopped
- 1 oz shredded 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons vegetable broth
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the bacon to crisp according to package instructions and then lay on paper towels to drain. Chop into small pieces and set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, place the broccoli florets in your food processor and pulse (don’t just turn it on or your broccoli will be completely riced into itty bitty pieces) until the broccoli is finely chopped into very small pieces.
- Put the olive oil and butter into a large sauté pan or walled skillet and bring over med-high heat. Add the onion and stir to coat. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the finely chopped broccoli and stir together. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the shredded cheddar and the chopped cooked bacon and stir into the broccoli. Cook, stirring every couple minutes, for about 6-8 minutes, letting the bottom brown a bit before stirring each time. Pour in the broth and stir into the broccoli. This should get soaked up pretty quickly.
- Add the garlic and one tablespoon of the chopped parsley and stir together. Cook for another 30-60 seconds until the garlic is fragrant. Add the ¼ teaspoon each of thyme, salt, and pepper and stir. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
172 calories, 12 g carbs, 3 g sugars, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 8 g protein, 4 g fiber, 309 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com) Weight Watchers Points Plus:
5 per (2/3 cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info) adapted from Eat Well 101
