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 cut into bite-sized pieces
- ⅓ cup red onion diced
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup bacon bits
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- salt & 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 needed a green salad veggie to serve with crab cakes, potato salad, marinated fresh tomatoes, to serve for a dinner party of eight. Hardly any left! Since I already had the potato salad with mayo/cider vinegar, I opted for a champagne vinaigrette salad dressing.
I’m not a fan of broccoli, but this was superb, we only had enough leftover for a small serving for two.
Stumbled upon this recipe, not sure how but dang where has this salad been all my life!? So so easy and tasty, making you feel like you’re eating semi-healthy. My husband is not a fan of mayo dressing but loves the tang of the recipe and so am I. Thank you!
Delicious and simple.
I made this for a family BBQ. Received calls three days later telling me they still were thinking about that broccoli salad! And you know what? So was I, so I made it again. Ha!
Made it according to the recipe and wouldn’t change a thing. I added the dressing gradually and didn’t end up using all of it – my head of broccoli may not have yielded quite as much as the recipe calls for, but the ratios were still delicious. So pleased with this recipe and will be making this on repeat. Thank you!
I used 3 tablespoons of Splenda (I’m diabetic) and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Delicious!
Yum
Too much mayo for me so I cut it to about 1/3 cup (maybe less), doubled the dried cranberries, in place of sugar and apple cider vinegar I used a liberal amount of cinnamon-pear balsamic vinegar. used roasted and seasoned sunflower seeds so no salt and pepper needed. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. Lol. Best ever!
You can use yogurt instead of Mayo or do half and half Mayo and yogurt. It’s a different taste but healthier.
I use lite miracle whip, better taste for this salad and 1/5 the calories of mayo!
Any recommendations on how to make this dairy free? And confirmation that this is gluten-free.
Hi Rosey, to confirm this recipe is gluten-free you will need to check the ingredients that you are using. It would be gluten-friendly but depending on the severity of the allergy you will want to ensure all ingredients used are made without cross-contamination. This recipe should be naturally dairy-free as well, but you will want to confirm that you are using a dairy-free mayo. I hope that helps!
Perfect for my Bible Study group meeting. We have some people eating Keto diet so I let people add the cranberries if they wanted to and I left out the sugar. To each his own! Thank you!!! Next time I may try it with the shredded broccoli. I have swallowing difficulties and that might be easier for me.
Is there an easy way to shell the sunflower seeds? I had never used them before.
When purchasing sunflower seeds for this recipe, I purchase them already shelled. While I haven’t tried it, this page has a method for removing the shells. Let us know how it goes.
I’ve been making this for a couple years now and I’m asked to bring it to every single family get together. Everyone loves it.
Loved it. Thank you for not including Kale!
I made this salad for Easter .My whole family and guests absolutely loved it! Thank you for an easy great recipe !!
This broccoli salad recipe is easy and delicious and a favorite of ours! I can take it to our Bible study monthly dinner and everyone will look forward to it.Thank you, Holly!
Thanks for easy and tasty recipe!
Made this as my dish to pass for a gathering and haven’t gone more than two weeks without making it since then! So easy and delicious.
Hi Holly, for your broccoli salad, I only have white vinegar and white wine vinegar. Will
either one of these work? If so, which is better?
Thank you very much.
Janet
Either would work but I would suggest white wine vinegar. Let us know how it goes!
i recommend toasting pecans in replacement of the sunflower seeds. delicious recipe!
Thank you Charlotte Clarke, as I cannot have seeds!
Great, easy recipe that is a hit every time I make it. I also use my rind peeler and add finely shredded carrots.
It was fast and delicious as promised. I didn’t have sun flower seeds so I substituted with pine nuts.