Ep. 154 | 5 Ways To Enjoy Broccoli Stems and Stalks - Save Shopping Dollars and Cut Food Waste Eating Plant-Based!
Apr 21, 2026
Do you hate throwing away food? I certainly do. Yet, sometimes it’s not our fault. The food may be edible but we just don’t know how to best use it. And then we end up throwing it away, along with our grocery dollars into the trash.
Well, let’s change this and put some money back in your pocket. In this article and episode, I’ll share with you 5 easy ways you can make good use of those broccoli stems and stalks…so you’ll get more to enjoy, and save more shopping dollars to use on your next grocery trip!
Click Icon to Listen on Spotify
With rising gas and food prices and an uncertain economy, I know we can ALL benefit from learning budget-friendly ways to get more out of the fresh produce we bring home. Plus, if we learn how to better make use of the fruits and vegetables we buy, we’ll gain better nutrition, minimize food wastage and save on our shopping dollars. Who doesn’t want that?
So today, let’s look at how we can better enjoy and use the fresh broccoli we bring home. Here are five simple ways you can get started using these broccoli stems and stalks.
Here's the first thing you can do with them: include them into your cooked stove top dish. How? It's simple. There are so many ways you could add these stem and stalk pieces in during the cooking process. Here are just a few ideas. Make them a part of your next stir-fried dish, baked casserole, or curry. Or, if you are making a stew or soup, you can also add in some chopped broccoli stems along with the florets.
Now here’s a pro-tip: keep in mind that broccoli cooks very fast. So if you are planning to cook a dish for a long time on the stovetop, it’s best to add in the chopped broccoli about 5 minutes before you end the cooking process. This will prevent the chopped broccoli from getting overcooked and turning into a less appetizing dull green color.
If you don't want to take time to cook the broccoli stalk pieces, here's another thing you can do with them: chop up this bottom portion to make a broccoli salad. To do this, cut up the broccoli stalks, stems, and florets into small pieces, then mix in some diced onions, diced apples, raisins, and sunflower seeds. After this, combine these ingredients with a marinade dressing.
Since you're chopping up the broccoli stalks and stems into small diced size pieces, there's no need to remove the tough outer stalk layer before chopping. This makes it even easier to make up a broccoli salad!
Here's a third thing you can do with broccoli stalks: roast them. This may be one of the easiest ways to use up those broccoli stalks and stems. Just chop them up into large bite-sized pieces. Then add these pieces to the roasting tray or sheet pan along with the other vegetables and toss the cut vegetables with simple seasonings like a little salt, pepper, and aquafaba or chickpea liquid, for an oil-free roasting method.
A fourth thing you can do with broccoli stalks is to turn them into a broccoli slaw. To do this, julienne the inner stalk portions into thin sticks or use a large-holed cheese grater to easily turn the thick stalks into grated shreds to make the broccoli slaw. Next, add in julienned or grated carrots, sliced red onions, sliced or grated red cabbage and seasonings for a delicious dish to enjoy!
Now here’s a fifth thing you can do with them: add them to your raw veggie platter for a snack or appetizer. This might surprise you, but it is definitely a must try. After you have removed the thick outer skin layer on the stalks, chop up the tender pale green inner portion into thin sticks like you would when making carrot sticks. Then enjoy these with a dip you like, such as hummus, a nut butter, tahini, guacamole, or salsa. The inner stalk and stem portions have a mild sweet taste and they are really tender and delightfully crunchy!
Learn more about each of these 5 ways to enjoy broccoli stalks and stems by listening to the full podcast episode HERE.
Episode Highlights & Key Timestamps:
- [1:48] How the PPLT Course can help you move into and enjoy plant-based eating on a budget
- [3:28] Why I am doing this episode about broccoli stalks and stems
- [4:58] Option 1: include them in your cooked stove top dish
- [6:18] Option 2: make a broccoli salad
- [7:48] Option 3: roast the chopped broccoli stalk and stem pieces
- [8:48] Option 4: Make broccoli slaw
- [9:41] Option 5: Add them to your raw vegetable platter
- [10:23] Grab this bonus tip!
- [11:22] An action step you can take
- [11:48] How you can gain more budget-saving tips to eat plant-based with confidence
Next Steps:
Contact -> healthnow@plantnourished.com
Learn -> www.plantnourished.com
Join -> Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course: www.plantnourished.com/ppltcourse
Enjoy 1:1 Coaching Support -> https://www.plantnourished.com/coachingwaitlist
Get Free 15-Minute Strategy Call -> www.plantnourished.com/strategycall
Free Resource -> 7 Ways to Test-Drive a Plant-Based Diet: www.plantnourished.com/testdrive
Have a question about plant-based diets you would like answered on the Plant Based Eating Made Easy Podcast?
Send it by email (healthnow@plantnourished.com) or submit it by a voice message here: www.speakpipe.com/plantnourished
Help Support this Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please take a minute to rate and leave a written review on Apple Podcasts/Itunes Here. This will help this podcast reach and help more people who are wanting to build better health through plant-based eating!
If you have an Apple device, first find the ‘Apple Podcasts’ app on your phone (this will be a purple square icon with white circles on it). Then search for ‘plant based eating made easy’ and my podcast should show up. Click on the image for my podcast, then scroll all the way down (past the 5 star symbols) to the bottom where you should see a link that says ‘write a review’. Click on this link, then write a review and choose a star rating. Then click ‘send’ to submit this review. Thank you! [Still need help? Watch this Video Tutorial to Help You]
Author
