Home » Food » Side Dishes » Braised Celery Recipe
- June 14, 2022
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If you’re wondering “What can I do with lots of celery?”, this recipe is for you! Braised Celery is simply sautéing celery in butter and spices, then letting it simmer in chicken stock until it’s tender, before finally removing the lid and allowing the remaining chicken broth to evaporate.
Braised Celery
This braised celery recipe is simply delicious! Braising celery makes tender yet crunchy pieces of celery that are absolutely mouthwatering.
Since it’s cooked slowly in chicken broth, it has time to soften and absorb all of that flavor. It’s coated in a buttery blanket that’s full of flavor from the slow cooked onions, parsley, salt, and pepper.
This is an easy way to use up that leftover celery you have kicking around, and get a delicious and healthy side dish out if it, too!
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This low carb side dish really has a Thanksgiving or Christmas vibe because of the celery and onion flavors. You can serve it year round, but I do think it would make a great holiday recipe if you’re looking to try something new.
Ingredients
Celery: Celery is the star of this dish. I find that I always buy a whole bunch of celery just to use one or two stalks in a recipe, and then the rest just sits in my fridge. Well, this recipe is really the perfect way to use up that leftover bunch of celery!
Onion: I think adding some diced onion really adds so much flavor to this side dish and elevates it. You can omit it if you like, but I do think it’s so much tastier when it’s included.
Butter: You need a fat to sauté the celery in at the beginning of this recipe. I prefer using butter because it’s so flavorful. If you’d rather make this recipe dairy free, feel free to use olive oil instead.
Herbs and Spices: A combination of parsley, salt, and pepper seasons this celery recipe perfectly. If there are other flavors that you love pairing with celery, feel free to add those as well. Ones that I think would taste delicious are Italian seasoning, oregano, sage leaves, or thyme leaves.
Chicken Broth: Chicken broth adds tons of flavor that’s infused into the celery as it simmers. If you want this recipe to be vegetarian, feel free to use vegetable stock instead.
How To Cook Celery
Start by removing the celery leaves, then trimming the celery at both ends. Wash and dry the stalks, then cut it on a diagonal into smaller pieces. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Heat a large lidded skillet, then add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the butter has melted, add the celery, onion, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Sauté until the celery is starting to soften and the onions are translucent.
Add the chicken broth, and close the lid of the pan. Allow the celery to simmer in the chicken broth until it has softened. Once the celery has softened, remove the lid and allow the excess broth to evaporate. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Can You Cook Celery As A Side Dish?
Absolutely! Even though most people think of a celery as a supporting ingredient, rather than a main ingredient, this simple recipe is a great way to let celery be the star of its own side dish.
Optional Adaptations
This recipe is meant to be super simple, but if you’d like to add in more flavors, feel free! Some ingredients that I love adding are:
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Peas
- Leeks
- Pine Nuts
- Breadcrumbs
- Parmesan (sprinkled on at the end)
- Lemon Juice (drizzled on at the end)
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram!@KeyToMyLime#KeyToMyLime
Side Dish Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our sides! Some reader favorites are:
- Crockpot Green Beans
- Buttery Peas (How to Cook Frozen Peas)
- Carrot Salad
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Southern Green Beans
- Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Greek Potatoes
Yield: 6 servings
Braised Celery is a simple side dish of sautéed celery in butter and spices, that's then simmered in chicken stock until it's tender.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 bunch celery
- 1 small onion (finely diced, about 1/2 cup)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Freshly chopped parsley (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Remove the leaves from the celery, then trim at both ends. Wash and dry the celery stalks. Cut the celery on a diagonal into roughly 1 inch pieces.
- Heat a large lidded nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add the celery and onions to the pan. Sprinkle the dried parsley, salt, and pepper over the celery and onions, and stir to combine. Saute until the celery starts to soften and the onions are translucent (about 7 minutes).
- Pour in the chicken broth and turn the heat up just enough to bring to a gentle boil. Then turn the heat down to medium. Cover the pan with the fitted lid and let it simmer for 7 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated and the celery has reached your desired tenderness (about 5 minutes).
- Garnish with fresh parsley, and serve.
Notes
If you're using celery that has already been sitting in the fridge for a bit, the celery will already be a bit soft. In that scenario, the cooking time will be less than if you were using a fresh bunch. You may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly to reach your desired tenderness.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 52Total Fat: 4gCarbohydrates: 3.6gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 1.6gProtein: 0.9g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
If you’re looking for an easy celery recipe, this braised celery is the perfect side dish for you to try!
7 thoughts on “Braised Celery Recipe”
I’d like to try the braised celery recipe at Thanksgiving, it sounds delicious! (There is always soo much food, if it’s not a favorite there will be plenty to eat!🤣. )
Can I make ahead, and take? It’s about an hour drive?
Thanks and happy holidays!Reply
Hi Linda, I haven’t tried making this celery in advance, but I think it would travel well. Hope that helps and happy holidays! -Alexa
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I just made this recipe and it was delicious! I have never cooked celery as a side dish, but I will certainly be making it again. So good!
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We had an abundance of celery so I decided to try this recipe. Very happy I did as we really enjoyed it. Will make again for sure.
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We got several bunches of celery in the last couple weeks from my CSA. I used three bunches and still have have one left in the frig. I used parsley and thyme from my garden. It’s almost done and the samples have been very tasty I think if it were cooler weather I would have made celery soup or an New England boiled dinner, but this a a great summer alternative. Thank you for the new recipe.
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This is delicious! I will no longer waste celery when a recipe calls for a single stalk.
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Just made this for dinner. I added a diced clove of garlic to mine and I peeled the celery to remove the strings. It was very rich and delicious. This will now be a regular side for me.
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