• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Audra's Appetite

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Shop: Kitchen
  • Shop: Products

The Best Broccoli Salad

March 11, 2019 by Audra's Appetite 3 Comments

One of the BEST examples that salads do NOT have to taste boring!!! ? This broccoli salad truly contains the best things about traditional broccoli salads, with a delicious, slightly-healthier-than-traditional dressing that I’m confident you will love! This broccoli salad is bursting with fresh broccoli (duh), red onion, chewy raisins, salty sunflower seeds, crispy salty bacon, crunchy sweet apples, and smothered in a tangy-yet-sweet creamy dressing.

Time for a little salad action over here after this chocolate goodness. Just like this blueberry farro feta chicken salad, Brussels sprouts salad, and fig fall salad , this salad is PACKED with so many different textures and flavors. It all started way back a few months ago during the  Christmas season when I was assigned to bring a salad dish to one of our family Christmas celebrations. I initially thought of bringing this Brussels sprouts salad, since it went over well at Thanksgiving. BUT after making that salad serious so many times in a row, I thought it was time for something new!

I’m happy to report that this broccoli salad was very popular as well at my family Christmases (I made it a couple times for different celebrations), and I’ve made it several times since! In fact, my brothers even requested to keep the leftovers, so I count that as a win. ?

Creamy Dressing

In my understanding, most dressings for broccoli salads are made up mostly of mayo (plus sugar). I’m not really the biggest mayo fan, with small exceptions for some chicken salads or when it’s somewhat hidden in some sort of mixed dish. In this BEST broccoli salad, I used a combination of both olive-oil mayo and full-fat plan Greek yogurt as the base of the dressing! You can use nonfat or 2% fat yogurt, but the full-fat is obviously creamier and still provides some protein. A bit of apple cider vinegar (ACV) for some tang, and honey to add some sweetness just rounds out the dressing! You will only need ½ cup olive-oil mayo and 1 tablespoon honey for the entire salad, which is a fraction of the mayo and sugar most recipes call for. But I’m 100% confident you will LOVE IT.

While I haven’t tried it, you could like use all mayo or all yogurt instead of mixing both. Let me know if you try this!

Let’s break down the ingredients and substitutions in this broccoli salad!

Ingredients in Broccoli Salad

Broccoli.

Can’t really have a broccoli salad without broccoli. ?

Red Onion.

You can use white onion, but I prefer the taste of red onion raw.

Raisins.

Feel free to substitute cranberries or golden raisins if you wish! I’ve also used fresh grapes instead of the raisins.

Sunflower seeds.

I love using roasted and salted for the best flavor.

Apples.

My favorites are Pink Lady, Gala, Honeycrisp, or Fuji!

Bacon.

Any variety you like! Just make sure you cook it (obviously) before adding it to the salad! My favorite, hands-off method is baking broccoli in the oven; usually 400 degrees about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon and your preferred crispy-ness factor (I like mine CRISPY).

Serving Suggestions

As written, this broccoli salad makes a delicious and versatile side dish for so many occasions! Family holiday, cook out/BBQ, weeknight side dish with dinner, etc. However, I also love adding chicken or chickpeas to this salad to make it more of a meal! Unlike most lettuce-base salads, this salad actually holds up well in the fridge for a couple days making it an excellent option to take leftovers to work for lunch! Regardless of how you eat this broccoli salad, I’m hope you love it as much as I do! It’s simply perfect year round. ?


5.0 from 1 reviews
The Best Broccoli Salad
 
Save Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
One of the BEST examples that salads do NOT have to be taste boring!!! This broccoli salad truly contains the best things about traditional broccoli salads, with a delicious, slightly-healthier-than-traditional dressing I’m confident you will love! This broccoli salad is bursting with fresh broccoli (duh), red onion, chewy raisins, salty sunflower seeds, crispy salty bacon, crunchy sweet apples, and smothered in a tan confident you will love!
Author: Audra's Appetite
Recipe type: Side Dish, Salad, Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 1.5 lb. broccoli, chopped fine (about 7 cups chopped)
  • 1 red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • ½-3/4 cup raisins
  • ½ cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds
  • 2 apples, chopped
  • ½ lb. bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used full-fat)
  • ½ cup olive-oil mayo (I used Kraft brand)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, stir together broccoli, red onion, raisins, sunflower seeds, apples, and bacon.
  2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the dressing: Greek Yogurt, mayo, apple cider vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Pour dressing over salad and mix until combined.
  4. Store leftovers in fridge!
3.5.3251

 

Filed Under: All Recipes Tagged With: broccoli, broccoli salad, entree, meal prep, salad, Side Dish

Recent Comments

  • Audra's Appetite on PB&J Baked Oatmeal Cups
  • Suzanne on PB&J Baked Oatmeal Cups
  • Audra's Appetite on Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
  • Acaimie Chastain on Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
  • Cory on Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter (Copy-Cat RX Nut Butter)
  • Cory on Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter (Copy-Cat RX Nut Butter)
  • Catherine on Kodiak Cake Muffins
  • Catherine on Mocha Breakfast Cookies
  • Christina on Cinnamon Raisin Oat Bread (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
  • Tara on Kodiak Cake Sheet Pan Pancakes
Previous Post: « Chocolate Brownie Protein Cookie Dough
Next Post: Paleo Lemon Blueberry Muffins »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jake Fiedler

    March 12, 2019 at 11:40 am

    That’s one of my favorites.

    Reply
    • Audra's Appetite

      March 12, 2019 at 1:28 pm

      So glad you like it 🙂 You should make it again!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

Hi! I'm Brittany Audra, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). I love experimenting in the kitchen and trying new recipes. I'm excited to share my own creations with you, as well as nutrition topics. I'm so glad you're here! Hope you enjoy! Read More…

Subscribe for updates!

Let’s connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Let’s Connect!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • Brownie Protein Bites (Single Serving)
  • BBQ Pulled Pork Flatbread Pizza
  • Single Serving Protein Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
  • Lemon Poppy seed Baked Oatmeal
  • Crispy Baked Fish

Recent Comments

  • Audra's Appetite on PB&J Baked Oatmeal Cups
  • Suzanne on PB&J Baked Oatmeal Cups
  • Audra's Appetite on Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
  • Acaimie Chastain on Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
  • Cory on Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter (Copy-Cat RX Nut Butter)

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018

Categories

  • All Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Condiments
  • Dessert
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lunch/Dinner
  • Nut Butters
  • Nutrition
  • Side Dish
  • Snacks

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework