Looking for a delicious summer salad that will be devoured at your next backyard BBQ? Try our easy broccoli salad recipe; it's quick, savory, and healthy.
Not sure what other easy salads to make? Try our southern potato salad or creamy coleslaw, they're always a hit! You'll love our tomato olive salad as well.
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Ingredients
Our easy broccoli salad takes pantry staple ingredients that are easy to find. Let's talk about the key ingredients.
- Vegetables: We used fresh broccoli florets and grape tomatoes.
- Aromatics: We used a sweet onion.
- Dairy: We used butter and smoked Gouda.
- Meat: We used crumbled bacon.
- Nuts: We used toasted slivered almonds.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Want a sweet version? Increase the sugar and switch out the tomatoes for dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, raisins, or green grapes.
- Don't want to use raw broccoli? The easy solution is to blanch it for a softer version.
- Don't like almonds? Try cashews, pecans, pepitas, or sunflowers.
- Need to make this vegan? Omit the bacon and cheese, and swap the sugar for maple syrup.
- Want to make this an easy meal? Add slices of grilled chicken.
- Want to use other veggies? Try shredded carrots, finely chopped kale, or fresh corn kernels.
- Want to make it healthier? Swap the regular mayo for mayo made with olive oil or use Greek yogurt instead.
- Don't want to use sugar? Use a quick and easy sugar substitute such as honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients. Cook and crumble the bacon. Cut up the broccoli florets, half the tomatoes, cube the Gouda, and finely chop the sweet onion.
- Melt the butter in a small skillet set over medium heat. Add the slivered almonds and stir to coat in the butter. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the almonds are light brown, then transfer them to a small bowl.
- Mix the broccoli and sweet onion together.
3. Whisk the mayo, sugar, and vinegar together to make the easy dressing. Taste the dressing, if necessary add salt and black pepper.
4. Pour the dressing onto the mixture.
5. Toss well to combine. Make sure every piece of broccoli is coated in the dressing.
If you are making this salad more than one hour in advance, hold off on adding the tomatoes. This will keep the tomatoes from going to mushy. Cover the small bowls of crumbled bacon, toasted almonds, and cubed cheese and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours in advance.
6. Add most of the tomatoes, but leave some for garnish. Cover and chill in the fridge for one hour.
7. Just before serving, add most of the bacon, almond, and cheese. Mix well with tongs. If you made this salad more than one hour in advance, add the tomatoes at this step.
8. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with remaining tomatoes, bacon, almond, and cheese. Serve up this easy to make dish immediately, and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Maybe you've never eaten this kind of salad, and you're curious about the typical ingredients. Besides raw florets, most salads have onion, either red or sweet.
If you want a savory version, add bacon, cherry tomatoes, and cheese. If you want a sweet salad, add fruit. Raisins or dried cranberries are the most common, but dried tart cherries, green grapes, or diced apples would also be an easy and tasty choice.
Nuts are also usually thrown in at the end to provide extra crunch and protein. Almonds, cashews, and pecans are popular, but if you have a nut allergy, use sunflower seeds.
Here are some chef tips to make it easy to cut broccoli. Start by removing any leaves and cutting off the bottom of the stem. Then shave off the tough outer skin on the stalk with a sharp knife or veggie peeler. Cut the stalk off from the head and then cut off the florets. Slice large florets down the middle, then pull them apart.
Yes, don't throw the stalks away! Use the stems in slaw, soups, stir-fries, or smoothies. Cut them into a variety of shapes depending on how you want to use them. They're easy to slice into coins or julienne cuts or you can spiralize them or shred them with a food processor.
For this recipe, there is no need to cook the broccoli. This easy recipe is made with raw broccoli because the dressing softens it the longer it sits. Make sure to cut the florets small for the best texture.
On the other hand, if you don't like the taste of raw broccoli, or you need it to be softer because of recent dental work, blanching the broccoli is the easy way to go. Just blanch it for 1 minute in boiling water, then transfer it to an ice bath. Drain and cool before using in the salad.
Serve
If you're looking for desserts to serve with this broccoli salad, try our buttermilk pie, no bake cherry cheesecake, cranberry apple galette, sour cherry pie, and sour cream pound cake.
Savory sides that would taste great with broccoli salad include Southern baked beans, Southern potato salad, Chick-fil-A coleslaw, and Italian pasta salad.
Expert Tips
- Want maximum freshness? Add tomatoes one hour before eating and consume the whole dish within 24 hours.
- In a hurry? It's easy to simply skip the chill time.
- Tempted to use frozen broccoli? Don't--it won't taste the same and the texture would be too different.
- Don't throw out the broccoli stalk. Freeze it for soup, slaw, stir-fries, stem it, or eat it raw. Coin, julienne, or chop the stem.
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Recipe
Easy Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- ½ cup bacon, crumbled, roughly 6 slices
- 1 pat butter
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 6 cups broccoli florets, roughly 3 heads
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
- ⅓ cup smoked Gouda, cubed
- ⅓ cup sweet onion, finely chopped
For the Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Instructions
Making the Dressing
- Whisk together the mayo, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl. Adjust the amounts of sugar or vinegar to taste. If necessary, add a bit of salt and black pepper. If you want it spicy, add crushed red pepper flakes.
Making the Salad
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until done, turning once with a fork. Drain on paper towels. Let cool, then chop or tear into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced almonds, stirring frequently for a few minutes, until they are light brown. Remove from heat and put into a bowl.
- Rinse the broccoli head and stems. Remove any leaves, cut off the bottom of the stem, then peel it. Cut the stalk from the head, and cut the head into florets. To make florets smaller, cut a slice down the middle of the stem, then pull it apart.
- Rinse and quarter the grape tomatoes. Cube the cheese, and finely chop the onion.
- Mix the broccoli and onion together.
- Add the dressing to the veggies and toss to combine. Add most of the tomatoes, leaving some for garnish, then toss again. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or up to overnight. Place the small bowls of bacon, almonds, and cheese in the fridge until the salad is ready to serve.
- Just before serving, add most of the bacon, almonds and cheese. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, then sprinkle the remaining bacon, almonds, cheese, and tomatoes as garnish. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Add tomatoes one hour before eating and consume the whole salad within 24 hours for maximum freshness.
- Skip the chill time, if you're in a hurry.
- Using frozen broccoli won't taste the same and the texture would be too different.
- Freeze the broccoli stalks for soup, slaw, stir fries, stem it, or eat it raw. Coin, julienne, or chop the stem.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
This recipe was originally published on May 25, 2018.
Sandi
Enjoyed this salad!
Emma
We're so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for making the recipe! 🙂