Best Ever Broccoli Salad Recipe is an easy, classic broccoli salad recipe with a homemade Greek yogurt dressing. The salad is full of broccoli, bacon, dried cranberries, onion, almonds, and parmesan cheese.
Broccoli Salad Recipe
Everyone needs a good staple Broccoli Salad Recipe in their back pocket and let me tell you, I’ve got the best of the best here for you today!
Broccoli Salads are a party staple! Potlucks, BBQ’s, family get togethers.. you name it, a broccoli salad is there. Next time, call ahead and volunteer to bring that salad because it is the easiest side dish ever!!
Not only is it easy as pie, it tastes incredible. I may or may not have eaten it for 3 meals in a row while testing the recipe. #noshame Print this recipe off or save it to Pinterest so you’ll be able to wow all of your family and friends at your next party!
What ingredients go in a Broccoli Salad?
I love this question- whatever you want!! You are the boss! My recipe here is how I like to eat it (and I think it is absolutely perfect as is) but if your family doesn’t like almonds, then by all means switch them out for sun flower seeds instead!
Here are some typical ingredients for a Broccoli Salad Recipe. I think the broccoli and 5 other additions is about perfect. Feel free to switch and swap!
- broccoli
- bacon
- red onion
- shredded carrots
- dried cranberries
- dried cherries
- raisins
- grapes
- apples
- almonds
- sunflower kernels
- walnuts
- pecans
- parmesan cheese
For this particular broccoli salad recipe, broccoli, bacon, red onion, dried cranberries (craisins), almonds and parmesan cheese are the ingredients included.
What Dressing goes on this Broccoli Salad Recipe?
Typically the dressing is a white, creamy homemade dressing that consists of mayo, a vinegar, and a sweetener. For this particular recipe we will be using Greek yogurt. If you are not a Greek yogurt fan or would just prefer to use Mayonnaise, be my guest. 😊 Both will work great.
The dressing consists of Greek yogurt, milk, white vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. The dressing is tangy and it balances well with all of the flavors in the salad.
How to make Broccoli Salad Recipe
The hardest part of making this broccoli salad recipe will be prepping the broccoli! Not even kidding! This is what took me the longest. My kids love helping with this part. You’ll just want to break the broccoli down into very small, bite sized pieces.
You can buy and entire head of broccoli and break it down if you’d like, I sometimes buy the ready to eat bag of broccoli from the grocery store to cut down on time just a smidge.
Once the broccoli is broken down into bite sized pieces, place in a bowl alongside some parmesan cheese (the real, shredded kind) and dried cranberries. Set aside.
The remaining ingredients that need to be prepped are the bacon, almonds and onion.
For the bacon, you can buy the real bacon bits at the grocery store if you want. I’ve done that before and they are actually really good! If you go to Costco, buy the microwaveable bacon.. life changing!! This time around, I made my bacon in the air fryer as I was prepping the broccoli. Either way, you will need bacon bits.
[mv_video key=”fxjwc8vef8c7oud4zgq0″ sticky volume=”70″ aspectRatio title=”Broccoli Salad Recipe” thumbnail=”https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/fxjwc8vef8c7oud4zgq0.jpg”]For the almonds, I like to roughly chop whole, lightly salted almonds. If you want to make this step easier, you could buy the slivered almonds in the baking isle at the grocery store!
Lastly, the onion. I call for the onion to be finely diced. This is because I find that onion can be overpowering if diced largely or left in rings. You do you, though. 😉
Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
Now let’s chat Dressing really fast one more time. The dressing is super simple and comes together in about 2 minutes. Greek yogurt, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper are whisked together. Boom, done! Again, Mayo can be substituted for the Greek yogurt if you prefer.
When initially tossing the salad with the dressing, only use about 2/3 of the dressing. Save the last 1/3 to toss with the salad right before serving. The broccoli will soak up a lot of the dressing while in the refrigerator so it will need that last splash of dressing.
Can I make this Broccoli Salad Recipe ahead of time?
Yes! You can make this salad up to 24 hours ahead of time without losing quality of the salad. I would suggest waiting to add in the bacon until right before serving if planning on making it ahead of time.
How long does this Broccoli Salad Recipe last in the fridge?
The broccoli salad will stay fresh for 3 days, but it really is best within the first 48 hours.
Can Broccoli Salad be frozen?
I would not suggest freezing broccoli salad. If you have lots leftover, make your neighbors day and take them a few servings. 😊
What should I serve with Broccoli Salad?
Some of my favorite meals to eat alongside Broccoli Salad are:
We can’t forget dessert, can we? Here are some of my favorite easy potluck/ BBQ dessert recipes:
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Best Ever Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups broccoli bite sized pieces
- 1 cup bacon bits
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup onion finely diced
Dressing
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the broccoli by breaking it down into small bite sized pieces.
- Toss the small pieces of broccoli with the bacon bits, dried cranberries, chopped almonds, shredded parmesan cheese and onion in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper until smooth.
- Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Reserve the remaining 1/3 to add to the salad right before serving. (The broccoli will soak up the dressing in the refrigerator)
- Store in the refrigerator until serving. Toss the remaining dressing into the salad, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Best Ever Broccoli Salad Recipe
Best Ever Broccoli Salad Recipe is an easy, classic broccoli salad recipe with a homemade Greek yogurt dressing. The salad is full of broccoli, bacon, dried cranberries, onion, almonds, and parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 cups broccoli bite sized pieces
- 1 cup bacon bits
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup chopped almonds
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup onion finely diced
Dressing
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the broccoli by breaking it down into small bite sized pieces.
- Toss the small pieces of broccoli with the bacon bits, dried cranberries, chopped almonds, shredded parmesan cheese and onion in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt, milk, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper until smooth.
- Pour 2/3 of the dressingover the salad and toss to combine. Reserve the remaining 1/3 to add to the salad right before serving. (The broccoli will soak up the dressing in the refrigerator)
- Store in the refrigerator until serving. Toss the remaining dressing into the salad, if needed.
Notes
-Can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time.
-Will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
elizabeth says
Great recipe. So easy and yummy. Great easy and tasty way to get more veggies in my diet.