Classic Broccoli Salad

Classic Broccoli Salad is a quick and easy dish made with fresh broccoli, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, red onions, and a tangy dressing. This is tossed together in a large bowl and served cold as a side dish or appetizer at your next gathering.

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This homemade dish is perfect for casual dinners or an easy lunch.  It’s also a great recipe for potlucks and backyard cookouts that everyone will love.

Classic Broccoli Salad is a tasty side dish that pairs well with Sriracha Mayo Burgers, Garlic Shrimp Scampi, or Citrus Marinated Chicken Tacos.

Ingredients To Make Classic Broccoli Salad

• broccoli florets
• red onion
• cheddar cheese
• raisins
• walnuts
• sunflower seeds
• bacon
• mayonnaise
• sugar
• apple cider vinegar

How to Make Classic Broccoli Salad

In a small bowl mix together the mayo, sugar and apple cider vinegar. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch broccoli for about a minute.

Drain broccoli and place in a medium sized bowl. Add red onion, cheddar cheese, raisins, walnuts, sunflower seeds and bacon.

Add dressing and toss. Refrigerate until chilled then serve.

Tips & Notes

Substitutions for Broccoli Salad 

This salad recipe is easy to adjust to make it your own. Change out the ingredients with what you have in your pantry to fix your tastes and preferences. Here are some options to get you started. 

• Broccoli: Replace the broccoli with cauliflower or broccoli rabe.  
• Mix-ins: Add dried cranberries, chopped celery, parsley, sliced almonds, chopped pecans, sesame seeds, or bell peppers for a diverse dish.    
• Mayo: To make this salad dressing healthier, you can use sour cream or plain Greek yogurt instead of the mayonnaise. The flavor will be slightly different and you may need to adjust the sugar or apple cider vinegar. 
• Vinegar: You can also swap out the apple cider vinegar for another acid like lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar.  

How to Serve 

Broccoli salad is delicious as a side dish or appetizer for your meal. You can take it to backyard barbeques or potluck dinner parties and nestle it in with the pasta salad and potato salad.  

This salad is best served cold, so be sure to refrigerate it before serving for the best texture and flavor. This also allows the dressing to soak into the broccoli, making it even more flavorful. 

How to Store Broccoli Salad 

Refrigerate: Keep any leftover broccoli salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Eat it cold from the fridge and add a little extra mayo if the salad is too thick.  

Freeze: Freezing salad with broccoli, cheese, and mayo dressing isn’t the best idea. It’s much better to make it fresh each time you want to make it. It’s simple to make, so this will be easy! 

FAQs 

Classic Broccoli Salad

Course: Side Dishes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

Total time

10

minutes

Crisp and tangy Classic Broccoli Salad with flavors of bacon, cheddar cheese, red onion, raisins, walnuts and sunflower seeds.

Ingredients

• 2 bunches broccoli florets, cut into small pieces

• ½ cup red onion, finely diced

• 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

• ½ cup raisins

• ½ cup walnuts, chopped

• ½ cup sunflower seeds

• 10-12 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

• Dressing:

• ¾ cup mayo

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 4 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

• In a small bowl mix together the mayo, sugar and apple cider vinegar. Set aside. 
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch broccoli for about a minute. 
• Drain broccoli and place in a medium sized bowl. Add red onion, cheddar cheese, raisins, walnuts, sunflower seeds and bacon. 
• Add dressing and toss. Refrigerate until chilled then serve. 

More Salad Recipes:

• Chicken Thai Salad

Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you thought with a comment below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @cinnamonandsagecoblog