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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I’m excited to try all these delicious sounding recipes. Thanks for helping this super busy woman/mom out!
Can I make this 2 days ahead of time for party or should I wait until a day ahead?
2 days just be just fine Kelly.
A wonderful broccoli salad. I’ve made this twice in the past two weeks and it’s delicious. Healthy way to eat broccoli. My husband does not like broccoli but he really enjoyed this salad. Thanks for sharing.
in the broccli salad can pumpkin seeds be used instead of sunflower??
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Martha, but I think that sounds great! If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Excellent Brocoli Salad! Definitely needs real, fried bacon!
Awesome! Added chopped red bell pepper as I didn’t have raisins or craisins to add some colour. As my two heads of broccoli seemed to not be enough, I added some celery and chopped up pea shoots as a filler. With the GOOD bacon from the side of farm pig we bought last fall. So delicious.
I’m in love with the broccoli salad. I’ve made it twice in 2 months.
best recipe and a keeper for sure!!!
This is as easy as it is delicious! A real picnic favorite! I will be taking this to every event from now on!
I substituted raisins and almonds for the cranberries and sunflower seeds and it was scrumptious! I don’t think you can mess this up with substitutions.
Thank you for my new go-to, can’t miss recipe!
This is one of my very favorite salads, ever since my sister in law Vicki introduced it to me one Christmas dinner, she passed away 3 yrs ago at the age of 53. So I now refur to it as Vicki’s salad. She would sometimes add cauliflower & cheddar cheese to it also. yyyuummmmm!
My all-time favorite! I use chopped dried apricots instead of cranberries or raisins.
Not only is this broccoli salad easy to make, it tastes amazing. I did substitute some things out. I used dried blueberries instead of the cranberries and I roasted some pecans in place of the sunflower seeds. I also used Oscar Mayer real bacon bits. This recipe can be halved, which is what I did. This will be my go to salad for sure. Thank you so much for sharing.
This is my go-to broccoli salad recipe. It’s a hit at potlucks and at home! The one from my childhood had to be refrigerated for 24 hours, and stirred five or six times during that 24 hours. This recipe is much less fussy and just as delicious!
Oh how i love this broccoli salad and the dressing is so simple but so so yummy .
Delicious. Even my son-in-law liked it. He’s picky about food.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your favorite broccoli salad recipe. I think I’m going to give it a try! I’m especially excited to try the bacon and cheese combination. I’m sure it will be a hit at my next get-together. Thanks again!
Been trying for years to get dressing recipe for Walmarts broccoli salad. Now I know .
Taste very good I would make this again. It went over well there was nothing thing left in the bowl.
This is my favorite recipe for broccoli salad. We love it, and so does everyone else! I love to take it to potlucks and receive all of the great compliments!
So easy to make and delicious!
Best broccoli salad I have ever had and so easy to make