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Broccoli Salad is a quick salad full of fresh crisp broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits. It’s all tossed in a really easy creamy homemade dressing.
Since it’s best made ahead of time (and everyone raves about this recipe), it’s a great potluck dish and a favorite addition to a holiday table.
What Makes This The Best Broccoli Salad
Simple. Delicious. Easy. The best broccoli salad recipe doesn’t need a lot of fancy ingredients.
- It’s so incredibly easy to make!
- The 3 ingredient dressing is super simple and extra creamy with a little tang. We love that it doesn’t have tons of sugar!
- Since it’s best made ahead of time, it’s perfect for potlucks and bbq’s or even lunches throughout the week.
- It is always a hit, we almost never have leftovers but if you do have leftovers, they last for about 5 days!
If you have extra veggies you need to use up, you can easily add them to this dish. Zucchini, cauliflower, celery, or peppers can make great additions!
Ingredients in Broccoli Salad
Fresh broccoli florets are the star of this dish. The broccoli doesn’t need to be cooked first. Just wash and drain well (a salad spinner can help ensure it’s dry).
Crispy bacon adds a salty smoky flavor. I use real bacon bits in this recipe to keep is simple but you can cut and crumble your own if you’d like.
Add ins include:
- onions (red or green work well)
- dried cranberries (add raisins if you’d like)
- sunflower seeds. Swap out the seeds for any kind of chopped nuts like almonds or pecans.
How to Make Broccoli Salad
This is probably one of the easiest salads you will throw together, which is why it has become a favorite (plus it’s so yummy)!
- Wash the broccoli and dry it very well. Cut the florets (and the stem) into bite-sized pieces, this can be done up to 4 days ahead of time. If you’d like you can also add some broccoli slaw to the salad.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside per the recipe below.
- Place the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and toss with dressing. Remember to allow time for the recipe to chill in the fridge. This gives the broccoli a chance to soak in some of the dressing making it even better!
Broccoli Salad Dressing
We love this creamy broccoli salad dressing and it’s super simple to make in just 3 minutes.
- Mayonnaise can be swapped for dressing (like Miracle Whip).
- A sugar substitute of your choice will work well in this recipe.
- If you’re looking for a premade dressing, try coleslaw dressing or creamy poppyseed dressing.
- To make this broccoli salad recipe healthier, substitute half of the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt and skip the bacon bits.
Tips for the Best Creamy Broccoli Salad
- Wash your broccoli ahead of time if possible, this helps to ensure it drains well.
- This gives the broccoli a chance to soak in some of the dressing, resulting in an even more flavorful salad!
- Allow time for the recipe to chill in the fridge. This gives the broccoli a chance to soak in some of the dressing, resulting in an even more flavorful salad!
Make Ahead & Leftovers
Broccoli Salad can be made in advance and kept in the fridge (at least an hour but up to 24 hours) until you’re ready to serve. If you’d like to make further ahead, keep the dressing separate and toss a few hours before serving.
Leftovers will last about 4-5 days in the fridge.
More Easy Salads We Love
Did you enjoy this Broccoli Salad? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
The Best Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- ⅓ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup bacon bits
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits. Pour the prepared dressing over and mix well.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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Really loved the flavors in this salad! I don’t love-love raw broccoli, so when I make it again this week (just made it last week! lol), I’m going to try par-steaming the broccoli first. :fingerscrossed:
this salad will make you want to eat your broccoli!! perfectly delicious.
I am living/working on site. No stove, no microwave, just a flapjack hotplate. Made this recipe with my own twist. I have almost zero kitchen niceties. I borrowed sugar from a coffee shop and spilled most on the drive home. Bottom line, I substituted “equal ” for misplaced sugar, also added a touch of agave syrup. Outcome…TASTY!! thank you for the great recipe!!
I can’t wait to make this for a party this weekend! Just wondering, do you use a Salted or unsalted sunflower seeds??
I love to use toasted sunflower seeds and usually buy the unsalted ones, but you can use salted ones in this recipe too.
This recipe turned out perfectly!
I made this recipe the day before the party. I didn’t have sunflower seeds so I chopped up walnuts instead. My guests ll loved it so much they want the recipe. I think sitting overnight helped merge the flavors. I would definately recommend this brocoli salad.. so good!
looks good
I have made this once before, but can’t remember if i commented on it? so here goes… ? once more??? LOL , it is so so so darn simple, i cut up brocolli night before, and wash, drain, and refrigerate it.
next morning, i add salad dressing, and other things that need to go into it… and let it sit in refrigerator for the day… and voila, feed my guests, who say… oh my gosh this is good! which it is… thank you for sharing this with all of us~
Best broccoli salad ever!!
Our go to summer salad recipe for 5 years. We love it!
This is the first time I’ve ever tried this recipe and it was a huge hit! Rather than buy bacon bits I did fry up some bacon, the crunch was exactly what this needed for a well rounded crowd pleaser. Thanks for this recipe!!
I made this recipe last night and it’s delicious. I found it was the perfect combination of ingredients. It wasn’t too sweet and a light salad for summer that you have as a side or meal. Today I added some chick peas for lunch and they complimented it nicely. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be making again.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it many times now and most recently turned it into a pasta salad! I just doubled the dressing portions and added a box of cooked, cooled pasta and some shredded cheddar cheese. Now it’s a full meal!
Even the teenagers loved it. Best broccoli salad ever
Thank you, always helpful!
Love this recipe!
I just made this and taste tested it before chilling and it’s exactly what I had hoped! I never sign up for recipe sites, but I’ve used this one so oftwn, It’s time!
Followed recipe, but the dressing was too sweet for me. I’d use have the sugar if I made it again.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Sammy! I would love to hear what you think of it with the reduced sugar.