This is the best healthy broccoli salad recipe! With a rich and creamy dressing and the perfect amount of crunch this salad is made with broccoli, red onion, almonds and fresh grapes. It's great for picnics, barbecues and makes the perfect side dish.
Why you will love this recipe:
- This healthy broccoli salad is my new favourite side dish. It has the best creamy dressing and the combination of broccoli, fresh grapes and crunchy almonds blends perfectly.
- This best thing about this simple broccoli salad is how quick and easy it is to make. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare!
- It's made with pantry staple ingredients and it also makes great leftovers so it's great for meal prep.
- This broccoli salad is healthy, paleo, Whole30 compliant, dairy free, gluten free and sugar free.
- You don't need to blanch the broccoli to make this salad.
- This recipe is a fun twist on a traditional broccoli salad recipe because it's made with no bacon.
- This broccoli salad can easily be made vegan by using a vegan mayonnaise.
- This healthy salad recipe is made with no yogurt and no sugar.
If you love delicious salad recipes you will also love my Italian grinder salad.
Taste and texture:
This easy broccoli salad recipe has the most amazing flavour! The dressing is rich and creamy and has the salad has the crunchy texture from the slivered almonds and fresh broccoli. Grapes add the perfect amount of sweetness which contrasts really well with the tart, tangy dressing. There is a reason this is one of my favorite side dishes!
Key ingredients and substitutions:
You should be able to find all of these simple ingredients at your local grocery store. For the exact measurements refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Mayonnaise - A good mayonnaise is key to making a delicious broccoli salad. It's used to make the delicious creamy dressing. I love using my homemade mayonnaise for this recipe but you can use your favourite store bought mayo too.
- Dijon mustard - to give the dressing just a little tang and extra flavour.
- Coconut vinegar and balsamic vinegar - the combination of these two vinegars makes the creamy dressing on this salad taste so good! Coconut oil can be hard to find so you can swap this for apple cider vinegar if you don't have coconut vinegar.
- Fresh broccoli - the star of this healthy salad is fresh broccoli. I kept it simple and use raw broccoli for this recipe. No need for blanching the broccoli. You will want the broccoli to be in bite-sized pieces so you can either cut the crisp broccoli florets yourself or buy pre-washed and pre-cut broccoli to make this an even easier recipe.
- Grapes - grapes add the perfect amount of sweetness to this classic side dish. They contrast perfectly with the tartness of the broccoli and the creamy dressing. Instead of grapes you could add other fruit such as apples.
- Slivered almonds - not only do almonds taste amazing and add flavour to this salad, they also give it a nice crunchy texture. You could swap the almonds for another nut or seed too. Other delicious options include pine nuts, crunchy sunflower seeds or cashews.
How to make:
Step one:
First, put all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl or big bowl.
Step two:
Then put the dressing ingredients in another small bowl or glass measuring cup and stir everything well until it's smooth and creamy.
Step three:
Now pour the salad dressing over the salad ingredients.
Step four:
Now mix the broccoli mixture and dressing well so that the salad ingredients are evenly coated. Then serve and enjoy!
Top Tip:
This salad tastes even better if you let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours (or overnight) before serving so it's even better the next day!
Recipe variations:
- For even more crunch add some cooked bacon bits, crispy bacon, or turkey bacon to this delicious side dish.
- Instead of slivered almonds you could use pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds to make this healthy side dish.
- If you prefer to blanche your broccoli when you make this perfect summer salad feel free to do so.
- To make this into a vegan broccoli salad use a vegan mayonnaise.
- If you prefer a sweeter dressing add 1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup to the dressing.
- If you are serving a crowd feel free to double or triple this recipe.
How to serve:
The best part about this broccoli salad is that it can be used and served in so many ways. Here are a few great ways to serve it:
- This crunchy broccoli salad goes really well with burgers and I often pair them with my favourite pork burgers, gluten free burgers or duck burgers.
- Paleo broccoli salad makes a great side dish for pork chops like my blueberry pork chops.
- Pair this good broccoli salad with ribs! These slow cooker ribs are my favourite.
- This is the perfect recipe to serve with chicken wings including salt and pepper chicken wings or honey lemon pepper wings.
- This easy side dish goes great with steak, grilled chicken or fish! It's a great salad to serve at family dinners.
- Broccoli salad is the perfect side dish and easy recipe to bring to picnics, summer parties, potlucks, a summer bbq or tailgate.
How to store:
Store this salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Frequently asked questions:
Nope! For this broccoli salad there is no need to steam the broccoli, I just use raw broccoli but if you prefer you can also blanche it.
Some broccoli salad recipes will ask you to blanch the broccoli, but not all. This simple broccoli salad requires no blanching so it is ready in no time.
Yes! You can easily make a broccoli salad with no bacon. Instead of bacon, other options to add crunch to broccoli salad include using nuts or seeds such as slivered almonds, pecans or pine nuts.
No, broccoli salad does not freeze well. After being frozen the broccoli will become rather mushy when it thaws.
Other recipes you will love:
- Dairy free ice cream bars
- Kale and Apple Salad
- Asian Coleslaw
- Easy Green Beans and Almonds
- Teriyaki Broccoli Stir Fry
- Healthy Potato Salad
- Walnut Dressing
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Recipe
Healthy Broccoli Salad
Equipment
- Large bowl
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli, finely chopped
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup sliced red grapes
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion (or more to taste)
Dressing Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon coconut vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine all the salad ingredients.
- In a separate bowl or jar, combine the dressing ingredients and stir them well until they are smooth.
- Add the dressing to the salad and stir everything well until combined.
- Optional: put the salad in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving to help the flavours become stronger and the broccoli to get more crisp.
Notes
- This salad tastes even better if left in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use.
- Store this salad in the fridge for up to a week after you make it.
Lindsay
I'm not going to be able to get Coconut Vinegar in time to make this recipe. What's your best suggestion for an alternative?
Erin Carter
I have personally not tried it with any other vinegar so I am not sure how the taste would change if you do. I would probably try apple cider since I often have that one but if you try another please let me know.
Tatiana
Loved this recipe. I used apple cider vinegar and it worked great! So tasty. So simple. Thanks Erin!
Erin Carter
Oh yay I'm so glad you like it!!!!