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    Home » Salads

    Broccoli Salad

    Published: Jul 7, 2022 Updated: Jul 7, 2022 by Alison Hope · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Broccoli Salad

    This delicious broccoli salad is made without bacon for a fabulous vegetarian version of a classic recipe. It’s crunchy, loaded with flavor and perfect for picnics!

    Broccoli salad in a black bowl.

    This broccoli salad is so seriously delicious you’ll barely believe you’re eating salad.

    It’s crunchy, fresh and smothered in the best creamy dressing. Basically, it’s your new favorite salad.

    Broccoli salad traditionally includes bacon bits, so we decided to go with chopped sun dried tomatoes instead for a vegetarian version, and it worked SO well.

    You won’t miss the bacon that’s for certain.

    Ingredients For Vegetarian Broccoli Salad:

    Ingredients for broccoli salad.

    Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

    • Broccoli – fresh crisp raw broccoli is the star ingredient. There is no need to cook it! In fact you absolutely must not. The vinegar in the dressing breaks it down a bit and makes it softer, but it still has plenty of crunch and freshness. You can buy broccoli florets or you can cut florets off a head of broccoli.
    • Dried cranberries – can be replaced with raisins if you like.
    • Sun dried tomatoes – are chopped up for the perfect bacon substitute in this salad.
    • Roasted salted cashews – can be replaced with sunflower seeds or other nuts like almonds, pine nuts or pecans.
    Broccoli salad in a black bowl.

    How To Make Broccoli Salad

    Full instructions and measurements can always be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Add apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
    Dressing ingredients added to bowl and mixed.
    • Combine broccoli florets, red onion, dried cranberries, sun dried tomatoes and cashews in a mixing bowl and toss them together.
    Salad ingredients added to mixing bowl and tossed together.
    • Pour over the creamy dressing and toss everything together until mixed.
    Creamy dressing added to salad and tossed together.
    • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving for the flavors to blend.
    Broccoli salad in a white mixing bowl.

    Chef’s Tips

    Wash and dry the broccoli very well. If it’s not properly dry then it will water down your dressing. The best way to dry it after rinsing is in a salad spinner.

    Chop up the broccoli into bite sized pieces. If the pieces are too large then they will be hard to eat, so cut them into bite sized pieces.

    Swap some of the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt. If you want to lighten up this salad then you can switch half the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt.

    Chill in the fridge for 1 hour. It needs at least an hour for those flavors to blend beautifully. You can leave it longer than an hour, but it must be at least an hour.

    Broccoli salad in a black bowl.

    Make Ahead and Storage

    Make ahead: This is the ideal salad to make ahead of time because the longer it sits in the fridge the better those flavors are! So you can make it up to 24 hours in advance, keep it stored in the fridge and then serve.

    Storing: Keep any leftovers stored in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.

    Broccoli salad in a black bowl.

    More Delicious Salad Recipes

    1. Chickpea Chicken Salad
    2. Greek Pasta Salad
    3. Greek Salad
    4. Roasted Pumpkin Salad
    5. Macaroni Salad
    Forkful of broccoli salad.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.

    Broccoli salad in a black bowl.

    Broccoli Salad

    This delicious broccoli salad is made without bacon for a fabulous vegetarian version of a classic recipe. It's crunchy, loaded with flavor and perfect for picnics!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 327kcal
    Author: Alison

    Ingredients

    • 3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
    • 1 cup Mayonnaise (240g)
    • ½ teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
    • 8 cups Broccoli Florets (600g) Cut into bite-sized pieces
    • ⅓ cup Red Onion Chopped
    • ½ cup Dried Cranberries
    • ½ cup Roasted Salted Cashews Chopped
    • ½ cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Chopped

    Instructions

    • Add apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
    • Combine broccoli florets, red onion, dried cranberries, sun dried tomatoes and cashews in a mixing bowl and toss them together.
    • Pour over the creamy dressing and toss everything together until mixed.
    • Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving for the flavors to blend.

    Notes

    1. Dried cranberries – can be replaced with raisins if you like.
    2. Roasted salted cashews – can be replaced with sunflower seeds or other nuts like almonds, pine nuts or pecans.
    3. Wash and dry the broccoli very well. If it’s not properly dry then it will water down your dressing. The best way to dry it after rinsing is in a salad spinner.
    4. Lighten it up. If you want to lighten up this salad then you can switch half the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt.
    5. Make ahead: This is the ideal salad to make ahead of time because the longer it sits in the fridge the better those flavors are! So you can make it up to 24 hours in advance, keep it stored in the fridge and then serve.
    6. Storing: Keep it stored in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 417mg | Potassium: 600mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 646IU | Vitamin C: 84mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @gimmethatflavor on Instagram and hashtag it #gimmethatflavor
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    About Alison Hope

    Hi I'm Alison, I'm the voice and cook behind Gimme That Flavor. I am a big time foodie and probably cooking up a storm in my kitchen right now! I'm also a cat mom. And a sweet tooth. Binge watcher of TV shows. Terrible sleeper always staying up too late....Find out more about me here.

    Gimme That Flavor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Gimme That Flavor will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

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    Alison Hope Author

    Hi! I'm Alison! Big time foodie. I'm probably cooking up a storm in my kitchen right now. I'm also a cat mom. And a sweet tooth. Binge watcher of TV shows. Terrible sleeper always staying up too late.... 

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