Broccoli Salad with Bacon
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 3, 2025 
The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe we’ve ever made! This spin on classic southern broccoli slaw is bursting with color and surprise ingredients.
Broccoli Bacon 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.
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.
Ingredients You Need
- Broccoli – small florets
- Kale
- Dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
- Bacon
- Red onion
- Sunflower kernels
- Apple
- Carrots
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Mayonnaise – regular or low fat mayo
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
This blend of ingredients offers endless crunch, sweet bites of fruit, rich salty bacon and sunflower seeds, and a touch of spice!
How To Make Broccoli Salad
Find the full Broccoli Salad recipe with detailed instructions and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
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.
Recipe Swaps and Add-Ins
Make this salad your own by adding or swapping ingredients. Consider adding…
- Red cabbage
- Celery stalks
- Parsley
- Red bell pepper
- Raisins
- Blanched almonds
- Cayenne pepper (for a spicy broccoli salad)
Other recipes you might like:
- Southern Caramel Cake
- Southern Tomato Pie
- Chow Chow Recipe
- Best Pork Butt Recipes (Pork Shoulder)
- 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.
Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe
Video
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.
WHERE IS THE VIDEO??????????????????????????????????
Hi Marie,
Our videos are always embedded in the recipe form. Let me know if you can’t find it.
I made this tonight for my family and it was major home run! I left out the carrots.
I substituted Monkfruit for honey and cranberries for cherries.
I also didn’t add bacon for my vegetarian. It was still the best broccoli salad ever.
Do you cook the broccoli at all or is the broccoli raw?
Hi Cristina,
Use raw broccoli! :)
Love this! Made this to take to a baby shower brunch and I received so many compliments on how delicious it was! And it was super easy to make!
Love this salad! I make it all the time and bring it for my lunches during the week and it’s always a hit at BBQs!
I made this salad for the first time the other day for a birthday party and it was a big hit. I thought it had a great taste and I will be making this again for sure
Is there a vinaigrette dressing recipe you think would work well with this recipe? Mayo is a no-go for me.
I didn’t have kale or carrots, dried cherries and don’t eat pork. So substituted a head of cauliflower and dried cranberries and its Delish too. Thanks for the recipe.
We are all broccoli lovers in our house!
This salad really does look the BEST!
This looks so tasty and healthy too!
Iam very love brocolli
This looks fabulous. I actually just BOUGHT something similar at the grocery store. It was so tasty but I know the homemade version would be even better. Definitely making this soon.