Cold Broccoli salad recipe with bacon is a great side dish for a family meal, and it is also an excellent side dish for a summer potluck. Full of fresh broccoli, savory bacon and sweet cranberries, this creamy broccoli salad has the perfect blend of flavors and a nice crunch.
We eat a lot of broccoli in our house because it is a vegetable the whole family can agree on. (Well, the baby hasn’t acquired a taste for it yet, but she will get there.) Although I often serve it steamed with just lemon juice, sometimes I like to mix things up with broccoli salad.
There are so many ways to prepare broccoli; steamed, baked, roasted, in a casserole, stuffed in chicken, etc. It’s important not to forget the simplest — raw. Broccoli is one of those veggies I can’t help but snack on while I prepare it.
No matter how many times I prepare broccoli, every time I find myself channeling Dana Carvey and singing Choppin’ brocc-o-li! Who else remembers that Saturday Night Live skit, from 1986?! Funny stuff.
But I digress, back to actually chopping broccoli to make a delicious cold broccoli salad recipe with bacon. Yum.
Cold Broccoli Salad Recipe With Bacon
I love the flavor combination of dried cranberries in a salad, but because I always have raisins in the house because the kids love to snack on them I have also substituted cranberries for raisins. I prefer the sweet and tart of the cranberry, but raisins are good too in a pinch.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb broccoli, cut into small pieces (raw)
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
Directions:
Add broccoli bacon, onion, cranberries and sunflower seeds together in a large bowl. Mix well. Add mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar and mix well until evenly coated.
The key to cold salads is to chill well. I find that most mayonnaise-based salads are better if you can chill overnight. An hour at the minimum, but overnight is defiantly preferred.
Give the salad another good stir before serving.
Veggie Salads
Looking for more ways to mix up your vegetable dishes? Here are more great veggie salads.
Stephanie says
This looks super yummy! I love broccoli salad but I never knew how to make it at home!
Jessica says
Our local grocery store makes a similar broccoli salad. I’ve been trying to find a recipe like this for months. Thank!
Maritza says
Absolutely loved it! Since I’m on Keto I left put the cranberries and sunflower seeds and I substituted the sugar and wine in the salad dressing. Came out amazing.
jen says
That sounds like a delicious substitution!