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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This recipe is great! I found it online after a friend made the salad for an event. I never had Broccoli Salad before and loved it! (I am a HUGE fan) I have made it twice in a month. Upon reading the comments, I swapped the sunflower seeds for glazed/candied nuts. The combination of flavors is a joy to the taste buds. Great recipe!
I had a favorite broccoli salad but did not have my recipe with me on a family gathering. I found this one on line …and now have switch to this recipe as my new “go to” recipe! A lot less sugar than my old recipe and the sugar was not missed! The salad was a hit!
i have made this salad before, it’s so so yummy, this time only made with 2 cups of brocolli, everyone wanted more.. so next time, 3cups..! Delicious!
Made this for Easter and it was fantastic. All the right ingredients and flavor. Everyone enjoyed it!
Had a bunch of broccoli and cauliflower to use up and this was perfect! Very flavorful. Added some pickled red onion I had in the fridge.
I couldn’t find my recipe for the dressing, so I thought I’d try this one. It tasted a bit off, so I called my sister for our recipe and this one adds one too many tablespoons of ACV. Other than that, it’s a good recipe. Others may want to experiment with one less Tablespoon of the ACV.
Do you cook the broccoli at all ?
KO, no the broccoli does not need to be cooked.
I could eat this for breakfast lunch and dinner. thank you for this delicious salad. I brought it to a family dinner and received so many compliments!
That’s amazing to hear—broccoli salad all day sounds good to me! I’m thrilled it was such a hit at your family dinner.
My late Aunt used to make this broccolli salad without the cranberries and I had the recipe but lost it during a kitchen remodel so I was glad to find it on here. i’m with you Breakfast lunch and dinner.
This recipe is so good. One thing I like to do is instead of sunflower seeds I use candied pecans. The ones that are in the salad dressing section supermarkets. it really makes a nice taste with a slight crunch.
This is a real update to the first broccoli salads I’ve made for years. I did need to use roasted and salted pumpkin seeds in place of sunflower seeds. Still really delicious! This will be a salad I make and keep on hand for lunches, and dinners.
My go to recipe! Everyone who tries it wants the recipe so I send them here! Thanks
How much of each ingredient in creamy broccoli salad?
Hi Lavonda, we have this delicious creamy broccoli slaw recipe that you might enjoy!
if you hit the “jump to recipe” button up top. it will take you to the break down of all ingredients.
This sounds so good! Can I use yellow or sweet onions in place of red? I don’t have red currently.
I would suggest sweet onion over yellow onions.
You can also skip the raw onion and add onion powder to the dressing. Some people in my family don’t like raw onion, so I do that a lot.
Great tip Sandy, thanks for sharing!
first time making this and it was soooooooo good!
Everyone loved this dish when I made it. I will be making this again to everyone’s delight
Can you sub the mayo with yogurt or would that really not work
Other readers have replaced the mayo with greek yogurt with good results, but I have never tried. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I love this salad. I made it for my church Christmas lunch. and it was a hit with everyone.
Omitted the cranberries (personal preference) and this was excellent!
Me too Molly a little too tart for me however my Daughter always tells me I need to branch out and try new things but the original recipe was perfection without the cranberries. No branching this time. haha!
Do you use raw or roasted sunflower seeds?
I prefer the flavor of toasted sunflower seeds.
Raw salted but I don’t think there is a difference, but I could be wrong.
delicious!!!