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.
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
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.
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
- 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.
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:
More broccoli recipes:
- Super Easy Broccoli Kale Slaw Salad
- Chimichurri Shrimp Broccoli Skillet
- Low-Carb Broccoli Tots Recipe
- Cheesy Broccoli-Cauliflower Bake Recipe
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!
