Meet my new favorite broccoli salad recipe...aka the best cookout side dish! With a lightly creamy, tangy dressing, it's fresh, healthy, and delicious.
This broccoli salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes. 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. A creamy, tangy dressing coats crisp broccoli florets, chewy dried cranberries, sharp red onion, and smoky roasted nuts. Even salad skeptics will 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. 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 broccoli salad 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 tamari almonds and pepitas! They add wonderful crunch to the salad and bring richness and smoky flavor. They’re the perfect nutritious substitute for bacon and cheese. They’re easy to make—toss the almonds and pepitas with tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika, and toast in a 350°F oven for 10 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Top the salad with the nuts.
Season to taste, and enjoy!
Tip: If you can’t find pepitas, sunflower seeds work here too!
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!
Storage
- If you’re making this recipe ahead, wait to add the almonds and 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 almonds and pepitas 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!
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this summer 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 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound broccoli crowns
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, I like Sir Kensington's or vegan mayo
- 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- ⅓ cup diced red onions
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
Smoky tamari almonds
- ½ cup almonds
- ½ cup 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 ¼-inch dice. Peel any woody or course 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 pepitas on the baking sheet, toss with the tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika and spread into a thin layer. Bake 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 almonds and pepitas into the salad, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Season to taste and serve.
Notes
I just made this tonight and it is delicious! I subbed the mayo in the dressing for tahini. Not really in efforts to make it healthier, just because I’ve been really into tahini lately. The results were great! Keeping this recipe for sure.
Hi Amy, I’m glad you loved it! I love tahini so much, I’ll have to try it that way 🙂
Can I sub soy sauce instead of tamari? Same proportion? Thanks!
yep, you can!
Another winner! Used shallot instead of onion because I tend to tolerate that Better in the raw. Like others have said – this is excellent and the marinade almost “cooks” the broccoli (almost like vegetarian ceviche). So easy and yummy and definitely will make an appearance at potlucks this summer. I am also wondering about subbing out some of the Mayo/oil for yogurt (I’d use Greek kite hill almond) just to lighten it a bit. It does not taste too heavy or have a fatty mouth feel whatsoever (quite the opposite in fact), but given I could easily eat half the recipe myself, I’d be interested to bring down the oil amount just a little and enjoy the fat via the delicious nuts and seeds. If I try this, will report back!
I made a double batch of this salad for thanksgiving and it was a hit!! I used agave instead of maple syrup and a shallot for the onion (what I had on hand). Totally recommend making ahead of time as the marinade softens and flavors the broccoli to perfection. Wouldn’t change a thing about this—thank you for such a delicious healthy recipe that my carnivorous family couldn’t get enough of!
Hi Jamie, I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Absolutely delicious! This is now one of my go to side dishes!
Hi Nicole, I’m so happy you loved the broccoli salad!
Thanks for this recipe!
I made it today for the first time. It certainly will not be the last time!
Hi Alicia, I’m so glad you loved the salad! Thanks for taking a minute to let me know!
Simply AMAZING!! Adding it to the rotation. I ended up using Dijon mustard mayonnaise. In the words of my almost 2 yo. Num num num!! I’ve been cruising your website for plenty more recipes to try! No shortage of options 🙂
awwww, I’m so glad to hear that you all loved it so much. Especially love to hear which recipes go over well with the kiddos! 🙂
Just made this tonight and everyone loved it! Thanks for this recipe. I plan to make again.
I just made this–it was so good! Thanks so much for all of the wonderful recipes.
I prepared this for a birthday BBQ and it was a hit! I followed the recipe and doubled it! I accidentally added halved cherry tomatoes, I left half at home. Both batches were gone and I’ve gotten requests to share the recipe! Thank you for this lovely dude dish!
I made this as directed for a party the night before. I left the nuts out and mixed right before. I think the marinade might have softened the broccoli a slight bit because I also normally don’t like it raw but IT WAS AMAZING! All the flavors and colors blend beautifully. A new fav!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this for a family BBQ yesterday and when I was leaving one of my aunts said, “Thank you for the delicious broccoli! That’s something I never thought I’d say…”
🙂
Ha ha, I love hearing that!
What a beautiful delicious salad, thank you!!
This is amazing! Perfect salad for Memorial Day weekend!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I just brought this to a work potluck and everyone loved it! It wasn’t until just now that I realized I left out the olive oil entirely, but I t turned out great anyway! I also used sliced almonds instead of whole ones, and I liked that it matched the texture of the pepitas.
Hi Emily, I’m so so glad everyone loved it!
Can’t wait to try this one. Like being able to make it ahead and let the flavors marinate. Works well when you need to “bring a dish” for a gathering. Want to clarify something. You say to work the pepitas and almonds into the salad but to save a few before serving. If you are going to make this the night before a luncheon would you save all of them to work in right before serving or just a few.
Hi Roxane, I’d mix half into the salad when you make it, and put half into a baggie to sprinkle on top either before you leave the house or once you get there, whichever is more convenient! It’ll be delicious either which way, I just like to sprinkle a few near the end so that they’re crispy. I hope you love the salad!
Thank you, Jeanine. I am sure I will.
another great salad, thank you, love the almond texture contrast with the rest of the ingredients, cranberries are a nice flavor punch too, make ahead even better
Hi Sabrina, I’m so glad you loved it!
I made it tonight! #todiefor. This one’s a
KEEPER!!
yay!! I hope you liked the pasta salad as well 🙂
Is it possible to substitute Greek yogurt for the mayo? Otherwise the salad looks so healthy and delicious!!
Hi Laura, I haven’t tried it but I think it would be good – I’d just add a little more salt to taste.
If you make it as-is, I promise you will not even know that there’s mayo in here, there’s so little of it in relation to the amount of broccoli. It just adds a bit of creaminess to coat the raw broccoli. Or if you use vegan mayo (such as Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise), then there’s no actual mayo because it’s made of chickpeas.
I made this salad using greek yogurt mainly because I always have it on hand and it would take me a long time to use up a jar of mayo, vegan or otherwise. The Sir Kensington’s you mentioned was only sold as a really big bottle and even the vegan mayo at my grocery store was a big size. Also had to omit the red onions because it aggravates reflux for me. It was fantastic even with the modifications. Didn’t need the extra salt because I am used to less salt so definitely taste before deciding. What was really interesting for me was using smoked paprika for the first time. It really added a kick to the salad and this is one spice I can see using elsewhere. Highly recommend this one!
Hi Roxane, I’m so glad you loved it with the greek yogurt!
Jeanine, I think you’ve outdone yourself with this one. I appreciate very much having most of the sugar gone. I might steam the broccoli very lightly, as neither my husband nor I care much for raw broccoli. I also like the idea of the tamari roasted almond and pepitas. This salad would go very well with the brisket burger recipe I picked up from another favorite blog this morning…
Thanks Susan, I hope you enjoy it!
The dressing is perfect as is. I think that yogurt would make it unpleasantly tangy. I’ll be making this many times. Thanks!
Hi Karen, I’m so glad you loved it!!