Oven Roasted Bok Choy with Garlic

Oven-roasted bok choy is an effortless and delicious side dish. It’s ready in 20 minutes, loaded with garlic flavor, and served with sesame seeds on top for extra crunchiness. Once you try it, you will make this healthy dish over and over again.

Oven Roasted Bok Choy is one of the easiest and tastiest side dishes you will make. They are a favorite in my house and pair well with so many main courses. Roasted to perfection it becomes crispy, garlicky, and incredibly tasty. Also, the preparation is very easy, you just toss all the ingredients on a baking sheet and roast. After 20 minutes you get to enjoy garlicky baby bok choy.

This is a dish you can feel good about feeding the family. You will feel great about eating it yourself, too. Who knew bok choy could taste so good? I love sharing a recipe that gives you, my readers, such important information about how you can make healthy foods taste incredible. Even people who would not normally eat bok choy love this recipe. With the freshly minced garlic and soy sauce baked in and the crunchy roasted sesame seeds, who can resist?

This may be a dish you can get at an Asian restaurant, but you will pay a lot more than you can make it for. Bok choy is cheap, and you will pay a dollar for some garlic and some soy sauce. You will pay far more at the restaurant; I guarantee yours will taste better and have fresher ingredients. You can also control how much of each ingredient goes into your dish.

For example, soy sauce stands out. I always get low-sodium soy sauce because it has 50% less sodium than what restaurants use. Another thing you will get at restaurants and take-out joints is MSG, which nobody should be eating. So, try my easy recipe. You only need some bok choy, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds. It goes great with sticky honey garlic beef or one of my other Asian dishes.

Why you will love this recipe 

• Fast and easy: Ready in 20 minutes with just a few steps.
• Just a few ingredients: All you need is bok choy, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.
• It is inexpensive: You can make this whole dish for less than $10!
• Fresh ingredients: Since you make it yourself, you know what is in it.

What you’ll need to make oven-roasted bok choy

Special items:

• Large sheet pan – I use a 17-inch baking sheet.
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients:

You only need a few ingredients for this easy recipe.

• Baby bok choy – Soaked in water, washed, and ends chopped off.
• Garlic – Four cloves of garlic, freshly minced, gives your bok choy a full and robust flavor.
• Soy sauce – is the main flavor besides the garlic. It gives your bok choy its salty, umami flavor with just a touch of sweetness.
• Red pepper flakes – Just a bit for some punch.
• Sesame seeds – This is optional, but I find that toasted sesame seeds give this dish a crunchy and nutty flavor and texture that adds something special.
• Olive oil or seseame oil – I recommend using the finest extra-virgin olive oil, or sesame oil for a deeper flavor.
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make oven-roasted bok choy?

1. Soak your bok choy: Before you start, let your bok choy soak in cold water for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and place the rack in the middle slot. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
3. Rinse: Next, remove bok choy from the water and rinse it off. If there is any part of the stem you have to remove because of excess dirt you cannot remove, do it now. I usually have to remove about a half-inch. You can also remove wilted or damaged leaves. Since these are baby bok choy, you do not have to slice them lengthwise as you would typically do.
4. Season: Now, rinse and pat dry before laying it on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and then sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Then, add the minced garlic and toss to coat evenly.
5. Roast: Last, roast for 10 minutes. Flip the bok choy over and roast for another six to eight minutes, or until the leaves are crispy and starting to turn brown. Serve immediately.

Expert tip

How to choose the best bok choy

First, it is sometimes called pak choy or pok choi. Also, it comes in different varieties, which can confuse. It almost looks like napa cabbage or celery in the way it is shaped, but it also comes in many sizes and colors. Large bok choy is common and has firm white stems with dark green curly leaves. The stems are sweet and crunchy. They are usually about 12 to 15 inches long and should be firm with no blemishes or yellow leaves.

Baby bok choy is smaller, of course, about three to six inches long. Fresh ones will have dark green flat leaves with white stems. Avoid brown spots, cracks, dry stems, or yellowing. Shanghai bok choy is a light-green vegetable with a green stem that is sold in different sizes. It should be clean and moist and have no blemishes or yellowing.

Stay away from bok choy that is dry or cracked, has wilted or browning leaves, or any with holes or tears in them. The stems should be firm and sturdy, with no signs of damage or rotting. If it smells like anything besides fresh produce or grass, do not buy it. Also, if you see tiny brown spots on the stem, it is past its prime.

Recipe variations and add-ins:

• Sesame oil: For a bolder taste, use dark sesame oil instead of olive oil. It gives your bok choy a brown hue with a deep sesame flavor.
• Spicy bok choy: Make this a spicy Chinese dish with some of my easy Szechuan sauce.
• Add Chinese herbs and spices: You can also add some Chinese herbs and spices, such as ginger, star anise, 5-spice powder, cloves, and cassia.
• Ranch-flavored bok choy: This ranch seasoning can turn this veggie into a ranch-flavored side dish.
• Battered bok choy: Dip your veggies in egg and panko before roasting for a crispy battered bok choy.

Serving suggestions:

Oven-roasted bok choy is a good side dish, appetizer, or main entrée.

• This makes a beautiful side dish to accompany my juicy Asian steak meal.
• Serve as an appetizer with egg rolls, dumplings, sushi, wings, and potstickers.
• You do not have to serve this as an Asian meal. It also goes great with burgers and fries.
• Another way to enjoy oven-roasted bok choy is with a bowl of instant pot orange chicken.
• Turn it into a salad. Let it chill, and add your favorite salad ingredients like tomatoes, celery, broccoli, cucumber, onions, cheese, and olives.
• I also enjoy it served with cashew chicken, mongolian chicken, or garlic sesame chicken.

Frequently asked questions

What does bok choy taste like?

If you have never had bok choy and are wondering what it tastes like, you must try it. It is called Chinese white cabbage for a reason. The mild and grassy-tasting vegetable tastes similar to cabbage, with crisp leaves and juicy, crunchy leaves. Depending on the variety, when it is harvested, and how you cook it, some may be slightly sweet, while others may be spicy, like pepper or mustard. Baby bok choy is similar to lettuce and is often used for salads. This recipe is baked with garlic and tastes savory and umami.

Should I soak bok choy before cooking it?

Yes, it is essential to soak it before cooking it. The main reason is to clean it. Even if you buy organic bok choy like I do, you need to get all the dirt and bugs off your veggies before preparing them. I soak my bok choy in cold water before cutting the bottom of them off and then rinse them again to scrub off any residual dirt. Then, before I start the prepping process, I cut them lengthwise and rinse them one more time to be safe.

Do I have to cut off the bottom of bok choy?

One of the best things about this delicious vegetable is that you can eat the whole thing. None of it needs to be wasted. You can even eat the leaves and the white stem. That being said, you should remove the bottom half-inch of the stem because the dirt accumulates there, and it is almost impossible to get it all out. Then, place it on a cutting board and lay it flat, separating the leaves. Remove any that are discolored or wilted.

Is bok choy healthier than spinach

This depends on how you look at it and how you prepare it. It has more vitamin A, C, calcium, and phosphorus, but spinach has more vitamin K, protein, fiber, and iron. But cooking spinach can remove many nutrients while bok choy can keep some of its nutrients when cooked properly.

How to store leftovers:

• Refrigerate: You can refrigerate for up to three days in an airtight container.   
• Freezing: Freezing is not recommended after cooking. 

More delicious side dishes:

Recipe tips:

• Be sure to soak your bok choy in cold water for about 10 minutes before cutting it in half lengthwise and rinsing it again.
• After rinsing, spread the leaves and pick off the dead and discolored leaves.
• Remove about a half inch of the stem from the bottom where the tough dirt is.
• Seasoning is the key to this dish. Bok choy has a relatively mild taste, so you have to give it flavor.
• Go easy on the salt. You do not want the only flavor you taste to be salt.
• Use a high-quality olive oil for cooking. The better the oil, the better the taste.
• Roasting a large batch of bok choy helps prevent overcooking.