BROCCOLI SALAD RECIPE

Wondering what to make as a side? Try this classic favorite that will be a hit with a crowd.

This broccoli salad is everything you expect from the classic potluck favorite: creamy, crunchy, salty, sweet, savory, and just the slightest bit funky thanks to the raisins .

WHY THIS BROCCOLI SALAD WORKS

I promise, once you make this broccoli salad, you’ll never make another broccoli salad. The combination of bacon, raisins, sunflower seeds and a simple mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar-based dressing is tried and true.

What makes this recipe so great is the process for preparing the broccoli. One bunch is food-processed until it’s almost crumb-fine and the second is chopped by hand into larger pieces.

The processed broccoli soaks up all of the dressing, binds everything together, and really brings out the flavor of the dish. The larger, hand-chopped pieces are there to make sure there’s something to sink your teeth into.

Try to make this recipe without processing the broccoli and you’ll see the difference for yourself. If you use only larger pieces, the dressing pools at the bottom of the bowl.

If you use a food processor for the whole thing, you’ll serve a bowl of broccoli mush.

THE TWO-CUT BROCCOLI METHOD

If you’ve been putting off making broccoli salad because of all of the chopping involved, fear not, a food processor makes the job easy. Use a standard-size food processor like this Hamilton Beach 8-Cup Workhorse Food Processor that holds 8 cups and processes in under 30 seconds.

You can mince by knife if you’d prefer, but you’ll add at least 10 minutes to the recipe and won’t get the same fine mince that makes this recipe sing.

THE DRESSING IS TANGY, NOT SWEET

It can be tempting to skimp on the vinegar in the dressing since there’s already sugar in the recipe. Don’t do it.

The tangy vinegar offsets the sweetness of the dressing and makes sure that your broccoli salad doesn’t taste like dessert. The same goes for cutting back on the amount of raisins, they’re there to balance out the vinegar.

If the dressing tastes flat when mixed together, add more vinegar. White vinegar is sharper, apple cider vinegar is a little warmer.

Use whichever you prefer.

IT GETS BETTER AS IT SITS

If you make this ahead of time for a get-together or other special occasion, allow about 20 minutes of active preparation and 4 hours resting time for optimal results. The flavors meld as it sits and the moisture in the dressing will soften the broccoli and plump up the raisins.

If you plan on serving it right away, know that the broccoli will taste more raw and the dressing will be sharper.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

Use fresh broccoli that has been trimmed of stems, washed, and patted dry. You’ll use one bunch in a food processor and hand-chop the second bunch.

USE FRESH BROCCOLI, NOT FROZEN

Using fresh broccoli will ensure that the broccoli will keep its consistency and shape. Using frozen broccoli will change the consistency of the mayonnaise-based salad dressing and make it more soupy.

WASH IT PROPERLY

A head of broccoli holds a lot of dirt. Be sure to properly wash the broccoli.

Fill a large bowl with water and add 1 cup white vinegar. Drop the head(s) of broccoli in the mixture and allow to soak for about 5 minutes.

Remove broccoli carefully so as not to redistribute the dirt (lift broccoli UP out of the bowl, not down and up) and rinse off under cold water in the sink.

WHICH PART OF THE BROCCOLI TO USE

The main, thick stem (the trunk of the tree) of the head of broccoli is very woody and difficult to cut. I like to save that piece for soup but do not add it to this recipe.

Use the florets (flower-y looking part) and the stems that look more like branches and are much thinner than the main, thick stem.

BAKE THE BACON

Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Add bacon slices making sure they do not overlap. Bake until crispy, 18-22 minutes depending upon the thickness of the bacon.

Remove from oven, drain on paper towel lined plate and allow to COOL COMPLETELY. Crumble into smaller pieces.

Baking the bacon makes them nice and flat and crispy. Pan fried bacon ends up curled and doesn’t cook as evenly.

Adding bacon that is still warm to a mayo-based dressing will upset the consistency of the dressing making it very greasy. Not only is it better for the recipe, it is a food safety issue to add warm items to mayo-based recipes.

BROCCOLI SALAD INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SALAD

• Broccoli: 2 big bunches. 1 bunch is done in a food processor; 1 bunch is cut by hand into small chunks.
• Bacon: 3/4 lb. Cook, cool completely, then crumble.
• Green onions: 3 stalks, sliced. Use all of them: the whites and the greens.
• Raisins: ½ cup. Golden raisins also work.
• ½ cup of sunflower seeds, dry roasted and salted.

FOR THE DRESSING

Just one thing from my blog post. ½ cup mayonnaise. A full fat mayo like Hellman’s or Duke’s works best.

• Sugar: half a cup.
• White vinegar: 2 tbsp. You can also use apple cider vinegar.

RECIPE NOTES: The dressing for this recipe can be made ahead of time. Keep refrigerated.

Stir well before using.

HOW TO MAKE BROCCOLI SALAD

STEP 1: WASH AND PREP THE BROCCOLI

• You’ll want to have two bunches of broccoli that are nice and dark green and have tight heads. If your broccoli is yellowing, don’t use it. It will be bitter.
• In a large bowl, add 1 cup of white vinegar and fill with cool water. Add broccoli and soak for 5 minutes. Remove broccoli, drain, then fill with fresh water and toss broccoli a couple of times. Dump while holding onto the broccoli and repeat. Now, you’ve properly cleaned them.
• Let them sit in colander to drain. Then, using a dish towel or paper towels, pat dry. _**DO NOT**_ skip this step, it’s important. Excess water will make the dressing runny.
• Remove the trunks and discard them. Trim off any skinny stems. Chop broccoli into two equal piles. We’re going to cut the broccoli in two different ways to give a variety of textures. One pile will be roughly chopped in a food processor. The other, chopped by hand into larger pieces.

STEP 2: PROCESS ONE BATCH, CHOP THE OTHER

• Place one of the piles of broccoli in a food processor and pulse until the broccoli resembles breadcrumbs. We’re trying for larger, uneven pieces. If you over-process it’ll turn to broccoli mush. Remove from food processor and place in large bowl.
• Hand-chop the other pile into small, even pieces. The goal is to have large pieces (think blueberry sized). Add to bowl of processed broccoli.
• I own this handy vegetable chopper that saves a lot of time when chopping larger quantities of veggies. Disclosure: This is an affiliate link meaning I’ll make a commission off your purchase at no extra charge to you. Grab yours HERE: Mueller Austria Pro-Series Manual Chopper:

STEP 3: ADD THE MIX-INS

• Cook bacon, preferably by baking it, allow to cool then crumble it. Place in bowl with broccoli. Pre-cooked bacon will not yield the same texture.
• Using both the green and white parts, chop three stems of green onion. The green onions lend a nice, mild sharpness. Place in bowl.
• Add raisins or golden raisins, green onions, sunflower seeds, and crumbled bacon to broccoli and stir until evenly dispersed. For best results, be sure to use roasted and salted seeds for maximum crunch and flavor. Raw seeds are quite bland.

STEP 4: MAKE THE DRESSING

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. It should be smooth and the sugar should be mostly dissolved.

The dressing will seem a bit thin at this point, but it will thicken as it sits on the vegetables. Taste and make sure it’s well-seasoned – see tip below.

• Hellmann’s and Duke’s make excellent mayo for this recipe. Reduced-fat mayo will result in a less rich dressing with a runnier consistency. Miracle whip is much sweeter and will make the dressing too sweet. The dressing does seem sweet until it’s added to the salad. All the flavors meld together creating a perfectly balanced combination of sweet and tangy flavors. Reducing the amount of sugar will result in a somewhat boring tasting dressing.

STEP 5: DRESS AND REST

Pour the dressing over the broccoli. Stir until everything is well-coated.

Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. It’ll taste even better after 4.

Right before serving, stir again, as some of the dressing will have fallen off the broccoli during refrigeration.

TIPS FOR THE BEST RESULTS

DRY THE BROCCOLI THOROUGHLY

Water doesn’t play nicely with the mayo-based dressing, so be sure to give the broccoli a really good shake after washing and/or give it a good pat with a dish towel before chopping. If your broccoli was extra-wet after washing, toss the pieces into a large salad spinner for a couple rotations and remove.

Otherwise, you’ll end up with a wetter salad than you’d like.

ADD SUNFLOWER SEEDS LAST IF TRANSPORTING

If you’re bringing this to a cookout or potluck and want to serve it right away upon arrival, hold off on adding the sunflower seeds until right before serving. They’ll get a bit less crunchy after sitting in the dressing for a couple hours.

TASTE AND ADJUST THE DRESSING BEFORE POURING

The dressing will seem a bit over-the-top before you stir it into the salad, as it is a little sharp, a little too sweet. That’s ok.

As it rests with the broccoli, all of the flavors will mellow out and come together. If it tastes perfectly seasoned before stirring into the salad, I’d add another splash of vinegar.

MAKE IT A BROCCOLI CAULIFLOWER SALAD

Sub in an equal amount of cauliflower for one of the two heads of broccoli. Use the same 2 cut method: half of it finely chopped and half by hand.

Cauliflower has a milder flavor than broccoli but adds some nice color and it reacts with the dressing a tad differently. Everything else in the recipe stays the same.

REDUCE THE SUGAR IF YOU PREFER LESS SWEET

You can reduce the amount of sugar to 1/3 cup. It won’t be as good, but it’s not going to be bad, either.

To me, though, broccoli salad tastes best with 1/2 cup sugar. Again, that’s not to say that version with 1/2 cup of sugar is any better than the version with 1/3 cup of sugar—they’re just different.

If you like the recipe to be more vinegar-y and less sweet, reduce the amount of sugar to 1/3 cup. But if you’re going for that nostalgic potluck broccoli salad taste, go with the recipe as written.

TOOLS THAT MAKE THIS FASTER

If you’re going to use broccoli florets in broccoli salad, which I highly recommend, you’re going to have to chop up a LOT of broccoli. Unless you have some serious knife skills, it’s going to take you 15-20 minutes.

That’s fine if you’re in a zen-y mood and find repetitive tasks relaxing. But if you’d rather NOT spend that amount of time chopping broccoli, here are two options:

• A food processor. This will chop up a whole bunch of broccoli in about 30 seconds.
• A veggie chopper. It will take longer than a food processor, but it’s another option if you’re looking to bypass any necessary knife skills.

Using these two tools, my prep time for this recipe was less than 5 minutes, and that’s chopping TWO BATCHES of broccoli.

STORAGE AND MAKE-AHEAD

HOW LONG DOES BROCCOLI SALAD LAST?

Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it’ll last 3-4 days. Over time, the salad’s flavor will continue to meld together, the sunflower seeds will get less crunchy, the raisins will get more plump, and the broccoli will soften.

CAN YOU MAKE IT THE DAY BEFORE?

You can make it the night before, and some people prefer it that way.

CAN YOU FREEZE BROCCOLI SALAD?

The texture of the salad will get quite mushy, and the mayonnaise in the dressing will separate. It’s not recommended.

STORING LEFTOVERS AFTER A POTLUCK

Mayonnaise is a breeding ground for bacteria, so if you’ve had broccoli salad sitting out for two hours or more, toss it. If you’ve taken home leftovers, store them in the refrigerator, and be sure to enjoy them within 3-4 days.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I USE PRE-SHREDDED BROCCOLI SLAW INSTEAD OF FRESH BROCCOLI?

You can use broccoli slaw in place of chopped up broccoli florets. Broccoli slaw is the part of broccoli that doesn’t have the florets on them.

It will change the texture and taste of the dish. It won’t taste as broccoly as using broccoli florets, and the texture of the salad will be a bit more fibrous.

CAN I MAKE THIS WITHOUT MAYO?

You can substitute some of the mayo with full-fat, plain Greek yogurt, but not all. For us, replacing half the mayo with Greek yogurt takes some of the richness away but it’s still creamy.

If we replace all of it, the dressing is much thinner and tastes strongly of yogurt. We’d suggest staying away from vegan mayo substitutes.

While most have too much of a neutral taste, others have a fairly strong aftertaste that doesn’t play well in raw applications like this one.

DO THE RAISINS HAVE TO BE IN THERE?

The sweet-chewiness of the raisins goes a long way toward balancing out the saltiness of the bacon and the tang of the dressing. Without some sort of dried fruit in this recipe it tastes rather one-note.

We’re not huge cranberry fans, but if you want to leave out the raisins, dried cranberries are probably your best bet, knowing full well they’ll be a bit more tart.

WHAT KIND OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS SHOULD I USE?

We prefer roasted and salted. Not only do they offer added crunch, but the roasted have a nutty/toasty flavor that’s absent in raw.

You can use pepitas in lieu of the sunflower seeds. We’re not opposed to this, but find pepitas to be softer and have a much milder taste.

Either way, if you can’t find shelled seeds, they’re usually located in the nut or snack aisle.

HOW FAR AHEAD CAN I MAKE THIS?

While the broccoli salad will keep longer than this, we find the texture to be best within 24 hours of mixing . As the broccoli sits in the dressing, it will soften up a bit and lose its crunch, and the same goes for the sunflower seeds.

If you want to make it further in advance, try leaving out the sunflower seeds and tossing them in just before serving.

MY KIDS WON’T EAT THE BROCCOLI.

ANY TIPS?

Instead of chopping some/all of the broccoli, pulse it in a food processor so the pieces are really teeny tiny. It’s far less noticeable that way.

Our kids will eat this salad happily, likely eating around the bacon and such. We’ve seen them dig through looking for raisins and sunflower seeds, only to unwittingly gobble up broccoli along with it.

We’ve also found that when it’s mixed with other things, particularly the raisins and pepitas, they’re more likely to eat it.

CAN I ADD CHEESE TO THIS?

Avoid adding any cheeses that will breakdown into the dressing. This will make the whole salad very greasy.

Sharp cheddar, shredded or diced, is the most common. Simply add the cheese to the bowl along with all of the other mix-ins and give it a good toss.

You can also add some tiny cubes or crumbled feta if you prefer something less creamy and more savory.

Broccoli salad is one of those recipes I’ve had for years. It’s been to countless potlucks and many people have requested the recipe.

And for good reason. This recipe is so much easier than most deli versions and tastes amazing.

MORE SALAD RECIPES YOU’LL WANT TO MAKE

Macaroni Salad – A side dish at every cookout. Everyone asks for this recipe. Super easy & creamy.

Make ahead salads are perfect for get-togethers. They travel well and are super crowd pleasing.

This broccoli salad can be made a day ahead and will not let you down.

Happy cooking friends.