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vegetable

Celery

Stalks, cut into sticks or sliced

Quick Answer

Celery: braise at 350°F for about 32 min.

Cooking Methods

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your temp
350°F
cook time
~32min
Low & slow 325°350° Hot & fast
✎ In broth with butter. Meltingly tender. A revelation.

Look for tight, firm heads with crisp stalks that snap cleanly, rubbery stalks are past their prime. Save the pale inner stalks and leaves for eating; they're more tender and more flavorful than the outer ribs, which are better for cooking and stock. For storing, ditch the plastic bag it came in - celery keeps 2–3 weeks wrapped tightly in foil in the crisper, and limp stalks come back to life after 30 minutes in ice water.

Celery is the vegetable everyone buys for stock and forgets can be the main event - cooking it transforms that grassy crunch into something silky and surprisingly sweet. If you're skeptical, braised celery is the converter: 40 minutes in broth with butter and it turns meltingly tender, closer to leeks than to the raw sticks on a veggie tray. Below you'll find times and temps for braising, sautéing, and roasting, whether it's a side dish or the base of a soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best tips for cooking celery?
Underrated cooked. Braised celery is silky and elegant. Inner stalks and leaves are more tender and flavorful.
How do you braise celery?
Braise at 40–32 min. In broth with butter. Meltingly tender. A revelation.
How do you boil celery?
Boil at 5–7 min (tender-crisp) / 10–12 min (soft). Cut into 1–2″ pieces. Drain immediately, it keeps cooking in the residual heat.
How do you sauté celery?
Sauté at 5–8 min. Sliced on the bias. Part of the holy trinity.
How do you roast celery?
Roast at 25–20 min. Large pieces. Toss with oil. Surprisingly sweet.
How long does it take to boil celery?
5 to 7 minutes in a rolling, salted boil gets you tender-crisp celery, the right texture for stirring into a soup base without it turning to mush. Want it fully soft, closer to what a long braise gives you? Boil it 10 to 12 minutes instead. Cut the stalks into 1 to 2 inch pieces first so they cook evenly, and pull them the moment they're done; celery keeps softening for a minute or two even after it's out of the water.