Creamy and crunchy, this make-ahead, 8-ingredient broccoli salad is never the wrong choice

Imagine a robust broccoli salad that’s colorful, crisp, creamy, salty and sweet thanks to smoky bacon, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and tangy mayonnaise-based dressing.

Broccoli salad requires just 8 ingredients (none of them fancy) and no lengthy prep work. In fact, there’s no cooking involved.

This salad is a crowd pleaser year-round, just as welcome at a summer picnic as it is a fall tailgate, neighborhood potluck or festive holiday table. And since broccoli salad is best when made in advance, it’s the perfect dish for a busy schedule.

Here are a few tips to ensure your broccoli salad is perfect every time.

How to make broccoli salad

Cut your broccoli into small pieces. This not only ensures that every floret gets coated with the creamy dressing, but you’re also guaranteed to get a bit of every ingredient in each bite.

Wash and drain your broccoli florets in advance. The broccoli for this salad doesn’t need to be cooked, but it does need to be rinsed well to remove any dirt (and potential critters). I suggest immersing your fresh florets in a large bowl of cold water, then lift the florets from the water with your hands, leaving the dirt in the bottom of the bowl. Transfer the florets to a colander or salad spinner and thoroughly dry to ensure you don’t dilute the dressing. You can use pre-cut florets for this salad, but I find the cut ends are often dried out. I suggest using fresh broccoli heads or crowns.

Use real bacon. Crispy bacon adds a salty-smoky quality to this salad, which partners beautifully with the sweet cranberries. I strongly suggest you use real bacon, not imitation pieces.

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Pro tip: Speed up cooking time and avoid a greasy cooktop by roasting your bacon. To roast your bacon, spread the strips out on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and roast at 400F degrees for 15 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels before chopping.

Red onion is classic, but you can use green onions. Both red and green onions (scallions) add a wonderful, sweet onion flavor. Green onions will also add a fresh, grassy note.

Cranberries are traditional in this salad, but you can use raisins. Both dark and golden raisins will work in this recipe, so feel free to use them instead of cranberries if you prefer.

Sunflower seeds add great crunch, but you can swap in nuts. Chopped almonds, walnuts, pecans and pine nuts are also great in this salad. Toast the nuts in a dry skillet before adding them for a huge flavor boost.  

Use your favorite mayonnaise. I prefer an olive-oil based dressing for this salad, but feel free to use your favorite mayonnaise variety, including Miracle Whip.

Shed a few calories and fat grams by replacing some mayo with Greek yogurt. Let me be clear, broccoli salad is not considered diet food, especially because we add a copious amount of bacon. That said, you can make the salad healthier by replacing half of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt and by eliminating half or all the bacon.

Add extra vegetables. Adding vegetables to broccoli salad is a great way to stretch the salad while adding varying flavors and textures. Great options include chopped carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, celery and bell peppers.

Allow your salad to marinate for at least 3 hours. This gives the ingredients time to marry and evolve, while giving the broccoli a chance to soak up the dressing.

Broccoli Salad

The great thing about broccoli salad is that it keeps getting better the longer you let it marinate. Make-ahead or store leftover broccoli salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 8 cups broccoli florets (about 3 pounds of broccoli crowns, or 3 to 4 heads of broccoli), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup chopped cooked bacon
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup sunflower seeds, salted or unsalted
• ⅓ cup diced red onion

For the dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, bacon, cranberries, sunflower seeds and red onion. Toss to combine. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cider vinegar, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
3. Add the dressing to the broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Stir the salad and season to taste with salt and black pepper before serving.

Questions or comments? Email the culinary team at cooking@azcentral.com.