The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe

The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe – This spin on classic southern broccoli salad 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 Salad 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.

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.

More Broccoli Salad Ingredients

In addition to…

• Broccoli
• Dried cherries
• 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!

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.

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.

See The Recipe Card & Video Below For How To Make The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe. 

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

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5 from 15 votes

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The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

This is the Best Broccoli Salad Recipe we've ever made! A spin on classic southern broccoli salad is bursting with color and surprise ingredients.

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 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.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 265kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 260mg, Potassium: 360mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 81.1%, Vitamin C: 76.5%, Calcium: 6.9%, Iron: 7.1%

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

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