This broccoli salad recipe is loaded with crispy bacon, crunchy toasted pecans, creamy cubed cheddar, and tossed in the most amazing homemade dressing. This salad is simple, quick, and super easy to make!
If you prefer broccoli salad without cheddar, you will definitely love my cranberry broccoli salad recipe. And for something a little meatier, try my healthy broccoli chicken salad.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here. This post has been sponsored by Darigold.
How to broccoli Salad
- The first thing you’ll want to do before you start cutting everything up is making the broccoli salad dressing. Just lightly whisk the mayo, sour cream, sugar, dijon, and apple cider vinegar together and set it aside for later.
- Now chop up all the remaining ingredients according to the printable recipe below.
- At this point, you can either toss everything in a large serving bowl or organize it nicely and neatly like I did (obviously for curb appeal). Once you’ve got that all tossed in, drizzle on your broccoli salad dressing and stir the salad together.
Tips for making the best broccoli salad
- Cut the broccoli into small pieces. This makes it easier to have more variety in each bite. This also allows for a more even/equal coating of the dressing with the broccoli.
- Let the dressing and ingredients marinate together. Letting it sit for at least several hours lets the flavors blend together better.
- Add any nuts or seeds at the end prior to eating. This prevents the seeds and nuts from getting soft and losing their crunchiness.
- Having your cheese in cubes gives for a better cheddar bite versus shredded cheese.
- Never blanch the broccoli for broccoli salad
Is broccoli salad low carb?
Broccoli alone is low carb. However, it depends on what you put in your dressing. My dressing isn’t the healthiest or entirely low carb since there is sugar in the recipe, but it tastes delicious! For a healthier broccoli salad, you are more than welcome to replace the mayo with olive oil and replace the sour cream with greek yogurt.
How long can broccoli salad stay I the fridge?
This broccoli salad, if properly sealed, can stay in your fridge for up to a week.
More Salad recipes you will LOVE!
- Italian Pasta salad
- Crunchy purple cabbage salad– Keto, low carb
- Bacon tomato green bean salad– also low carb
- Spinach Strawberry Feta Salad– sweet and mild, and great for berry season
- Grilled Corn Salad– perfect for the end of summer
- Tuna egg salad– filling and low carb
Watch a video on how to make this incredible broccoli salad recipe here:
This broccoli salad is loaded with crispy bacon, crunchy toasted pecans, creamy cubed cheddar, and tossed in the most amazing homemade dressing. This salad is simple, quick, and super easy to make!
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 8 oz medium cheddar
- 5 cups broccoli
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 8 slices bacon about 1/3 cup
- 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
In a small bowl add 1 cup of mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tsp apple cider Vinegar, and 4 tsp of sugar. Whisk that all together and set it aside.
- Now dice up 1/4 cup or red onion into tiny pieces, then chop up about 1/2 cup of toasted unsalted pecans.
Then you’ll want to take a block of medium cheddar and slice it up into cubes using a sharp knife. My cheddar cubes were about 1/2 inch thick.
Now add 5 cups of broccoli florets into a large bowl, then add the cubed cheddar, 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, the chopped pecans, the diced onion, 1/3 cup of crumbled bacon, and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds.
- Now you can take the dressing you made earlier and drizzle it over the entire salad. Then toss all the Salad ingredients together until everything is well combined
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