The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe
The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe – This spin on classic southern broccoli slaw is bursting with color and surprise ingredients.
Broccoli Salad
Broccoli Salad is a classic side dish that is a true crowd-pleaser all year long.
However, I find we eat it most often in the summer when we are planning picnics and outdoor parties.
Broccoli Slaw Recipe
The traditional southern blend of tiny broccoli florets, bacon pieces, and dried fruit kissed with a creamy slaw-style dressing has been around for decades.
Some cooks add in seeds, nuts, onions, and other ingredients to provide additional flavor and crunch. This is all up to your own desired taste!
I have a few other ingredients I like to throw in to create the perkiest, most intriguing, ahem… The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe, my family has ever eaten.
What Ingredients You Will need
In addition to…
- Broccoli
- Dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
- Bacon
- Red onion
- And sunflower kernels,
The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe also contains…
- Diced apple
- Shredded carrots
- Finely chopped kale
- And crushed red pepper to perfectly balance the sweet and heat.
It offers endless crunch, sweet bites of fruit, rich salty bacon and sunflower seeds, and a touch of spice!
How To Make This Broccoli Slaw Mix
Instructions
Chop and prep all the ingredients. In a large bowl add the broccoli florets, chopped kale, red onion, shredded carrots, chopped apple, dried cherries, chopped bacon, and sunflower kernels.
In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, crushed red pepper, and salt, until smooth.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until thoroughly coated. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. *Can be made up to 3 days ahead.
See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe.
Healthy Broccoli Salad with Kale
Why add kale to broccoli salad, one might ask?
I find that finely chopped kale blends perfectly into the broccoli creating little pockets to hold the dressing and other tasty tidbits.
It offers more nutritional value to the salad, than just broccoli alone. Yet friends and family members resistant to kale, won’t even know it’s there!
I’m tricky like that.
Meal Prep: Make-Ahead and Enjoy All Week
The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe is a fabulous make-ahead and leftover, especially for barbecues and potlucks.
The ingredients all hold their texture for up to a week in the fridge.
I have been known to stand with the refrigerator door open and eat it straight out of the storage container… For breakfast.
There’s no shame in loving this salad.
Other recipes you might like:
- Grilled Maple Mustard Chicken
- Provincial Style Red Potato Salad
- Chipotle BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
- Hawaiian Tuna Burgers
- Cobb Summer Salad Recipe
- Best Oatmeal Raisins Cookies
- Not Your Traditional Coleslaw (Caribbean Style)
Check the printable recipe card below for the nutrient information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, and vitamin c percentages.
The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- 3 cups kale finely chopped
- 1 cup red onion chopped
- 1 cup shredded carrots roughly chopped
- 1 apple chopped
- 3/4 cup dried cherries
- 3/4 cup cooked bacon chopped
- 3/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
- 1 cup mayonnaise could be low fat
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Chop and prep all the ingredients. In a large bowl add the broccoli florets, chopped kale, red onion, shredded carrots, chopped apple, dried cherries, chopped bacon, and sunflower kernels.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, crushed red pepper, and salt, until smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until thoroughly coated. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. *Can be made up to 3 days ahead.
Love  this salad but omit the Kale
This Broccoli Salad Salad is just amazing. A must try recipe not only for children but also for adult.
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it several times. I don’t chope the Kale, just shred it into smaller pieces. Go easy with the red pepper until you know how spicy you want it! IT MAKES ALOT but my friends/family love getting a bowl for their dinner! Everyone RAVES!!!
See my daughter loves broccoli but not raw,and so far I’ve only seen broccoli salads raw,maybe I’ll look up broccoli casserole that should be cooked broccoli and cheese casserole that sounds good
this is an amazing broccoli recipe and I cannot wait to make it again!Â
Total crowd pleaser!! I bring these to so many parties!
This was so easy, flavorful, and delicious! Thanks for the easy recipe!
Love your twist on this classic salad! Yum! Nice mix of textures, and I love that it has both fresh and dried fruit.
https://pin.it/3NQdwF3
Me parece deliciosa. La voy hacer
Best EVER Broccoli Salad! I have made this a few times and always get rave compliments. Even those who think they do not like kale or broccoli. Great side dish with almost any entree.
A great dish for any time of the year.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this broccoli salad recipe. Even my broccoli-hating brother asked me for the recipe after eating it. So delicious. I don’t change anything and it’s perfect – especially after it’s chilled over night.
This was very good; I loved the color and the fact that it is another great way to sneak kale into my hubby (much like your amazing macaroni salad!)… but next time I will leave out the crushed red pepper.