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.
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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!
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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The first recipe that popped up when I searched for a broccoli salad while doing my last minute Christmas shopping. This recipe is simple and amazing! Thanks for the reviews too.
I can’t imagine how much salad 8 cups of broccoli would yield though.
So glad you loved it!
This Broccoli salad was a fantastic hit! It was so easy to make and so delish!! I made it for a Christmas party and it was recipe that everyone wanted! It is on my favorite list for sure!!
Thank you for sharing Gretchen! It is a great party salad!
The salad I had was great.
I loved the pigs in the blankets
So glad you loved it Tara!
Excellent recipe! We substituted chopped pistachios for the sunflower seeds (because we had no seeds) and put in pineapple while reducing the amount of sugar.
So glad you loved it Paul! Those sound like delicious additions.
I think I’d prefer the pistachios as well.
Definitely give it a try Angelina! Let us know what you think.
This was delicious!! I’m not a brocolli lover and I will certainly eat it raw from now on. It was less overpowering. I paired it with a caprese salad and venison steaks. I didn’t have any sunflower seeds so I used pine nuts instead. The whole family ate it, including Master 4. Thank you for inspiring me!! From New Zealand
I’m so glad you loved it… pine nuts would be great in this too!
Anyone ever blanch the broccoli first to knock off the ‘rawness’ of the broccoli? I love it raw, but my wife and kids not so much.
I’ve never tried it, but that should work Mike. Let us know if you do try it!
Yes, I’ve been blanching it 2 1/2 minutes and dipping into ice water before spinning off moisture on my salad spinner. It makes it a brighter green and I read that by doing this it eliminates whatever is in raw broccoli that can play havoc with thyroid.
I Love anything that involves Broccoli, such a perfect combo!
Enjoy Maria!
Great salad!!! I added cheese cubes and cauliflower yummy
So glad you enjoyed it! I love the addition of cauliflower!!
I’m going to try this salad for a family get together tomorrow, can I make the salad with the dressing today and it would be okay for dinner tomorrow? Thanks
Yes this recipe is great made ahead of time.
Can this broccoli salad be made the day before?
Yes this recipe is great made ahead of time.
Used pecans instead of sunflower seeds.more crunch..and I like the idea of no bacon..liquid smoke in the vegan mayo dressing perhaps…easy dish for any summer bbq..vegan.glutenfree..only nut allergies perhaps…go back to sunflower seeds then
Awesome the nutritional info was included!!! Please let me know what the serving size is for that info. Thanks!
The salad makes 8 servings. Enjoy!
it’s colorful and so yummy I should try it
Love this salad. Great for company and goes well with anything grilled! I do add red grapes cut in half, to mine. Gives a bit of a sweet taste, along with the vinegar flavors. A winner here! Thank you!
So glad you love the salad Donna!
There must be an easier way to find a recipe rather than looking at all the pictures. I’m sure I saw it on the email after August 10 and thought I’d saved it. Now I have all the ingredients and can’t find it. Maid-Rite Copycat (Better than the Original)
I’m sorry, I don’t have a Maid-Rite Copycat recipe (however I do have a search bar if you’d like to search for recipes). On a desktop, the search bar is near the top, just below the photo of me on the right hand side (or click recipe index at the top).
On mobile, the search is at the top if you click the menu on the top left (3 little lines).
My recipe is similar. My recipe calls for the raw broccoli, red grapes, red onion, pecans and chopped bacon. The dressing is mayo, vinegar and sugar. My family loves it.
Sounds delicious!
I used vegan mayo instead, and added hemp seeds instead of bacon bits! Also threw in some chickpeas and pumpkin seeds and it turned out soo amazing.
Great idea Summer! Thank you for sharing!
Can you replace mayonnaise with miracle whip?
Sure you can!
I love this recipe as does everyone else. I also add some cauliflower to this salad. Still just as yummy.
That’s a great idea! Glad you enjoyed it Holly!
Absolutely love broccoli salad! Never tried it with dried cranberries before, so will have to give it a go some time.
You’ll be happy you did. It’s delicious!