This broccoli salad recipe is a delicious cookout side dish! It features fresh broccoli, dried cranberries, and toasted nuts and seeds in a creamy dressing.
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This broccoli salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes. A creamy, tangy homemade dressing coats crisp broccoli florets, chewy dried cranberries, sharp red onion, and smoky roasted almonds and sunflower seeds. It’s my lighter spin on classic Midwest broccoli salad, and though you won’t find any cheese or bacon here, it’s every bit as delicious. Even salad skeptics love it.
This broccoli salad recipe is easy to make, and even better, make ahead. A few hours or a day in the fridge gives the broccoli a chance to soften and soak up the dressing’s punchy flavor. Pack it up for a potluck, a cookout, or a weekday lunch, or serve it as a holiday side dish. It’s guaranteed to be a hit!
A Broccoli Salad Recipe That’s Good for You
Broccoli salad is a standard cookout side dish, but the typical classic broccoli salad recipe is loaded up with sugar, ample mayo, bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese. My version is a fresher, healthier twist—I nix the sugar, meat, and cheese altogether. The result is a crisp, refreshing salad that’ll be the star of your cookouts all summer long!
How to Make Broccoli Salad
The first step in this recipe is chopping the broccoli. Make sure to cut the florets into bite-sized pieces and to finely dice the stems. The small pieces will soften more and soak up the dressing better than larger pieces will.
Next, you’ll mix up the homemade broccoli salad dressing. Instead of using the typical 1 cup mayo: 2 tablespoons vinegar ratio for my broccoli salad dressing, I replace some of the mayo with olive oil and up the proportion of vinegar. I also add a few teaspoons of Dijon mustard and a little honey to the mix, making for a light, super tangy dressing with a delectable sweet/salty flavor.
Add the broccoli, red onion, and dried cranberries to the creamy dressing, and stir to coat.
Now for the best part: the smoky toasted nuts and seeds! Tamari almonds and sunflower seeds or pepitas add wonderful crunch to the salad and bring richness and smoky flavor. They’re the perfect nutritious substitute for real bacon and cheese.
They’re easy to make—toss the almonds and seeds with tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika. Toast in a 350°F oven for 10 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Top the salad with the nuts and seeds.
Season to taste, and enjoy!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Best Broccoli Salad Recipe Tips
Want to make the best broccoli salad around? Here are a few simple tips:
- Cut your broccoli small. Because this salad features raw broccoli, you want to make sure the pieces are small enough to become fully coated and soften in the dressing. Also, when the broccoli pieces are a similar size to the other ingredients in the salad, you can get a little of everything in each bite.
- Let it marinate. This salad is good right after it’s made, but it’s even better after a few hours (or even days) in the fridge. The broccoli softens and absorbs the flavors of the dressing—my family loved it on day three!
- Save some nuts for the last minute. Sure, I like to make this salad ahead so that the flavors can develop, but the key to making it great is the crispy, smoky nuts and seeds on top. If you add them too early, they’ll lose their crunch, so save some to sprinkle on right before serving!
How to Store and Make Ahead
- If you’re making this recipe ahead, wait to add the almonds and sunflower seeds or pepitas. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Store the rest of the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add the nuts and seeds right before you eat.
- If you have leftover salad, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
What to Serve with Broccoli Salad
This broccoli salad recipe is a perfect side dish for potlucks and cookouts! Serve it alongside classic cookout recipes like these:
- Best Veggie Burger
- Easy Black Bean Burger
- Portobello Mushroom Burger
- Vegan Hot Dogs
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
Round out the meal with other summer favorites like grilled zucchini and grilled corn on the cob. Don’t forget the lemonade to drink!
Our readers love to serve this salad at holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter too.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this salad, try one of these easy salad recipes next:
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Best Potato Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Watermelon Salad
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Orzo Salad
- Greek Salad
- Or any of these 52 Best Salad Recipes!
Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound broccoli crowns
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- â…“ cup diced red onion
- â…“ cup dried cranberries
Smoky tamari almonds
- ½ cup almonds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds or pepitas
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the broccoli florets into ½-inch pieces and any remaining stems into a ¼-inch dice. Peel any woody or coarse parts from the stem first.
- In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic, and salt. Add the broccoli, onions, and cranberries and toss to coat.
- Place the almonds and sunflower seeds on the baking sheet, toss with the tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika and spread into a thin layer. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes (they’ll get crispier as they sit).
- Toss the nuts and seeds into the salad, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Season to taste and serve.
Notes
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I don’t have enough broccoli for 6 people so adding chopped apples!
This is seriously the best salad I’ve ever had!!! Followed recipe to the letter and it’s amazing. Scoffed half the bowl!
I made this recipe last weekend and my friends and I just loved it.
I’m so glad it was a hit, Ana!
Hello,
My spouse does not like smoked paprika,
Can I use regular paprika?
Hi Lyne, yep, you could!
The ingredients for this are always on our shopping list. We add grilled chicken, sharp cheddar and roasted/salted pecans and peanuts. It’s delicious and we eat it on a regular basis.
Aww! I’m so glad you love the recipe. Your variation sounds great!
Hello. Do you think I could add cauliflower to this recipe, or better with just the stated ingredients?
Hi, I think replacing some of the broccoli with cauliflower would work well! There’s not a lot of extra dressing, so I would definitely sub it for some of the broccoli instead of just adding it.
This Hummus really is THE BEST! It’s my second time making it in two weeks. I love it so much. It’s creamy, flavouful and tastes amazing. I sprinkled your Dukkah on it, love that too.
Thanks Gals for these great recipes, with Love, Steph, Melbourne. Australia.
So glad you love it, Stephanie! And the dukkah too. 😊
So good. Love the dressing! I subbed raisins instead of cranberry’s and sprinkled super seeds instead of almonds. This is what I had in hand. Perfect!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Okay Janine! I have enjoyed broccoli salad for years and this salad is fantastic!
Roasting the seasoned pepitas and almonds is what seals the deal for me. It gives a crunch and saltiness that is so satisfying.
Thanks for this!!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Kim!
Wow! What a delicious salad. Easy to make. Not sure how it will keep as I’ve never had any left over !!!
Hi Chris, I’m so glad you love the recipe!
Amazing salad recipe. I substituted pecans for the almonds which really gave me a bacon-y I will try the the dressing with cabbage based cole slaw. Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved the salad, Bella!
Delicious and healthy! My family really enjoyed this dish, and everyone with for seconds. I didn’t make the tamari almonds, and just sprinkled sunflower seeds over the salad right as I served it. Will definitely make again
Great salad, to bulk this up I added quinoa. Thanks for this great recipe.
This was delicious…thank you!!! I made it for Fourth of July and it was a big hit. I have a question though…I am counting my macros and the nutrition facts don’t mention the serving size. Is that for the entire salad and if not what portion is the serving size referring to? Thanks again!
My friends raved about this salad! I served the nut seed mix on the side and friends were eating it as a snack, loving the flavors. Needless to say, they asked me to send this recipe to each of them.
Fresh and great taste profile.
Omg this recipe is amazing!! Usually when I make a salad like this I like it the first day and by the second day I don’t really want it anymore. But not with this salad – I’ve been eating it every day and can’t get enough. The flavors are sooo good! It’s simple to make and great to have on hand. The roasted almonds & seed combo is delicious as well (I only had slivered almonds and already roasted pumpkin seeds, and it still worked well!). This will be a new go-to for me.
Loved the taste!! It tasted so right. Perfect! I’ll make it again. Thank you for sharing
I loved the taste! I use the vegannaise instead of mayo. And, I use the sugar-free cranberries. It tasted so great! Yummy! And, healthy ! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Very tasty! Löved it.