Lightly coated in a creamy apple cider vinegar dressing and tossed with almonds, carrots, red onions, and bacon, this broccoli salad is loaded with flavor and texture. Ready in around 30 minutes, it’s the perfect make-ahead side for summer BBQs or last-minute parties, and makes a great base for a quick lunch or snack. While this dish is easily adaptable, our classic, simple recipe is the perfect base to jump off of to experiment with your broccoli salad as you please. Here’s how to make it the best it can be:
The creamy dressing.
This salad is tied together by a simple, two-ingredient dressing—mayo and apple cider vinegar—with salt and black pepper to taste. If you want an added kick, try adding in some Dijon mustard like we did in our keto broccoli salad recipe. Craving something a little sweeter? Feel free to add a pinch of sugar (or your favorite sugar substitute) to taste.
Broccoli salad variations:
While we love the classic combination of flavors and textures in this recipe, this salad is extremely versatile based on what you have on hand. Try adding in some shredded cheddar or goat cheese crumbles for cheesiness, or avocado for creaminess. We think a little crunch is necessary, but feel free to sub the almonds for roughly chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds. Need this to be vegetarian? Skip the bacon and leave as is, or add chopped olives to replace its salty flair.
Storage:
If you want to make this ahead, we recommend waiting until just before you eat to dress everything (otherwise, things might get a bit soggy). Once made, this salad will keep for 3 to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
Kosher salt
heads broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
carrots, shredded
red onion, thinly sliced
slices cooked bacon, crumbled
dried cranberries
sliced almonds
mayonnaise
apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Lena Abraham is a freelance contributor with Delish, and was formerly Senior Food Editor, where she developed and styled recipes for video and photo, and also stayed on top of current food trends. She’s been working in the food industry for over 10 years, and will argue that the best fish tacos in the world are made in New York. Don’t @ her.
