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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Great recipe my husband isn’t a big vegetable eater but likes this salad. Perfect for a picnic side dish or family gathering.
This salad is amazing! I added some shredded cheddar cheese and walnuts. It turned out nicely.
love this recipe
This is a wonderful recipe!!! I just made it to take to a family gathering tomorrow. I had to sample it, and it was great even before the 1-hour chill period. I did omit the onions, though; I feel like they would overpower the other ingredients, and not in a good way.
My family can’t get enough of this! I always bring this holiday party’s!!
The salad turned out deliciously. My husband gave it a thumbs up.
Made this today to have something a little different for a Thanksgiving side this year. Shoulda made 3x as much!!!
Everyone loves when I make this salad, even people who don’t like broccoli! I add cheddar cheese to make it even more yummy! Sometimes I do grapes instead of the Craisins, and use different kind of nuts just to spice it up!
I love this salad I make it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and there is never any leftovers to take home. I do change the ingredients a little bit instead of the cranberries I use red grapes cut up and no bacon bits. I also use a little more sugar to make it a little sweeter.
There was nothing left! Gotta make more next time.
Absolutely perfect, as it is! If my finecky husband can devour bowls of this at one time, you’ve got yourself a winner. The only thing that I do differently is increase my measurements on the dressing (we tend to prefer the salad a bit more moist), but other than that – “FABULOUS FEASTING!!”
I need to double or triple it for church get together…. Should I just do as is, increasing
Yes! This recipe is great made ahead and doubled or tripled. The only ingredients I would maybe not quite double is the red onion, but that is personal preference.
Silly question – but do you think I could use pepitas instead of sunflower seeds or would that be yucky? BTW – you are my GO TO for ALL of my recipes!! THANK YOU!!
I think that’d be great!
So simple, yet so tasty. I made this for a family dinner and people RAVED about it. My husband hasn’t stopped talking about wanting to make it again. I also love that it’s versatile for the add-ins, so you can mix and match whatever you like. For example, I used raisins and chopped walnuts with the bacon bits and it was fantastic. Great recipe!
thanks for sharing this great recipe! mae for a work group lunch and was a huge hit with many likes. used an avocado based mayo and added shredded carrots. Will definitely be making again. delicious
We have this delicious broccoli salad at least once a week. My picky son will eat a big bowl as a meal in itself during the summer. Perfect as written. Thank you.
This recipe is awesome. Brought it to my neighbor’s party yesterday—so good !
It is the best broccoli salad X
Brought this to a dinner night.
Everyone asked for recipe!
I made hours early, and stored in one of those
tight fit lid plastic containers-flipped throughout day
then placed back in fridge ‘til service.
We put the berries, nuts on side as preferred.
Cranberries are nice change
Thank you for your recipe!
this was a big hit for a potluck dinner we attended. Will definitely be making this again.
I made the broccoli salad. I followed your recipe, and it turned out beautifully. This is really delicious!
tasted very yummy
Another fabulous salad recipe. All my guests loved it :)
Can you freeze the leftovers if there is any
Thank you so much Patti! I would not recommend freezing this salad.
I make this recipe so my husband and I wll eat broccoli. As others have said you can adjust the recipe to your own taste but most times I make it as is. I halve the recipe because it is only for the two of use and it has saved many broccoli from the compost.