Easy Broccoli Salad Recipe
This simple broccoli salad will give you a colorful and nutritious dish in just 15 minutes. It makes a filling lunch or an impressive dinner side dish.
What is the healthiest way to eat broccoli?
Raw veggies are always a healthy thing to add to your diet. Broccoli, however, can be difficult to digest raw.
Lightly steaming broccoli will make it easier on your stomach. It will still retain many of its helpful nutrients if you don’t cook it for more than five minutes.
The florets by themselves do not take long to steam. For this broccoli salad recipe, I don’t use broccoli stalks, just the florets, because even when they are steamed, stalks are often fibrous and tough.
I use broccoli in side dishes often like in my Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole Recipe (Web Story), Chimichurri Shrimp Broccoli Skillet, and Shrimp Fried Rice with Broccoli.
A steamer basket is a great way to cook broccoli. It keeps the broccoli out of the water, not allowing the nutrients to leak out of the food. Also, it prevents the broccoli from getting soggy. You want a little bit of crunch in the broccoli salad.
Broccoli has very few calories and no fat, making it a perfect food for any type of eating plan. In addition, when you eat broccoli, you will be getting:
- Fiber
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Iron
- Potassium
- Antioxidants
- Cancer preventing plant compounds
What you’ll need to make broccoli salad?
- Broccoli – cut into florets. To save time, you can buy pre-cut broccoli instead of cutting your own.
- Red onions – you can use regular onions as well.
- Grapes – I like using seedless grapes. You can decide if you want to use green or red grapes.
- Bacon – cooked and chopped. Here’s how I How to Cook Bacon in the Oven.
- Sunflower seeds – I love using sunflower seeds for an added crunch. Feel free to use a different nut or seed of your choice.
- Dressing ingredients: homemade mayo, yellow mustard, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt, and black pepper.
How do you make broccoli salad?
This broccoli salad recipe is super easy to make. Besides steaming the broccoli, you’ll just need to combine all the ingredients together in one dish.
- To make the salad dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small mason jar. Close with the lid and shake well.
- In a large pot add the water and place a steamer basket in the bottom before bringing it to a boil.
- Add the broccoli florets into the steamer basket. Cover the pot and steam until the broccoli florets are tender 4-5 minutes. The time will depend on how tender you prefer your broccoli florets to be.
- Let the broccoli cool down for 2 minutes before combining with the steamed broccoli, red onion, grapes, bacon, and sunflower seeds. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix everything well. Enjoy!
My broccoli salad recipe has a great combination of flavors and textures, but if you want other flavors, there are plenty of other ingredients you can include in your broccoli salad.
- Grapes
- Dried cranberries
- Raisins
- Nuts
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Diced apples
- Shredded carrots
For the dressing recipe, I use apple cider vinegar, mustard, and garlic. For a different flavor, you can replace the apple cider vinegar with white wine. You can also swap the mayo for Greek yogurt if you prefer.
How long does broccoli salad stay good?
This broccoli salad will stay in the refrigerator for three to four days. If you want to make it ahead of time, keep the salad and the dressing separate, then add the dressing just before serving.
Is homemade mayo healthier than store bought?
Homemade mayo is easy to make and tastes a hundred times better than store bought! Mayonnaise bought in the store is made almost completely of canola oil. This means it is high in unhealthy fats and it is calorie dense.
On the other hand, homemade mayonnaise is made from avocado oil, egg, ground mustard and lemon juice. This is the best way to get lots of flavor in any diet plan. Plus, it only adds about 60 seconds to your meal prep time because it comes together so quickly. You can keep a container of it in your refrigerator and use it on everything!
What to serve with broccoli salad:
You can enjoy this broccoli salad as a meal dish or side dish, it’s up to you. If you’d like to make it as a side dish, here are some recipes that will pair well with it.
- Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites Skillet Recipe
- Portobello Mushroom Bun Burgers with Guacamole
- Chicken and Mushroom Recipe
More broccoli recipes:
- Super Easy Broccoli Kale Slaw Salad: This Super Easy Broccoli Kale Slaw Salad is a great recipe for a Whole30 healthier version of classic broccoli slaw, which is made with homemade mayo and it’s sugar-free.
- Chimichurri Shrimp Broccoli Skillet: Chimichurri Shrimp Broccoli Skillet is another easy and quick one-pan meal for your busy weeknight dinner. It’s super flavorful because of the Chimichurri sauce and it’s ready in less than 15 minutes since broccoli and shrimp cook really fast.
- Low-Carb Broccoli Tots Recipe: These Low-Carb Broccoli Tots are veggie-packed and make a delicious, healthy, and dairy-free snack/appetizer for any time of the day!
- Cheesy Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake Recipe: This Cheesy Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake is a delicious and healthy casserole dish that is loaded with veggies, cheese, and panko. It is creamy, golden, and super-yummy!
Easy Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the salad
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- ½ cup red onions - diced
- ½ cup grapes - quartered
- ¼ cup bacon - cooked and chopped
- ¼ cup sunflower
For the dressing
- ¼ cup mayo - I used my homemade mayo
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- ½ tsp garlic - minced
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
For the dressing
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small mason jar. Close with the lid and shake well.
For the salad
- In a large pot add about 2 cups of water and place a steamer basket in the bottom.
- Bring the water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets into the steamer basket.
- Cover the pot and steam until the broccoli florets are tender 4-5 minutes. The time will depend on how tender you prefer your broccoli florets to be.
- Remove from the heat and also remove the lid from the pot. Let the broccoli cool down for 2 minutes.
- In a large bowl place the steamed broccoli, red onion, grapes, bacon and sunflower. Pour the dressing over salad and mix everything well. Enjoy!
If you make this recipe, follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo and hashtag it #primaverakitchen. I'd love to see what you're making!
