The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe (and a $50 giveaway)

December 10, 2012

Shares 1

I love broccoli. I love it raw, baked, drenched in cheese, and splashed with balsamic vinegar. I’ve never met a broccoli dish I didn’t like. When Joe and I were thinking about adding a vegetable dish to our beloved Thanksgiving feast, we both thought of broccoli, but neither of us had a recipe in mind. Suddenly, it was the night before our feast, and we still hadn’t decided on a recipe. I took matters into my own hands. I was glad to have a couple of bags of BenefortÃƒ©Ã‚® broccoli. It’s washed, cut (in bite-sized pieces), and ready to use, so I opened the bag and dumped it into a bowl to make my favorite broccoli salad recipe. My broccoli salad was the biggest hit of the meal. There were only 3 or 4 little broccoli pieces left over, not even a bowlful. I was sad about that. I wanted to have it for breakfast the next day. There wasn’t enough left over for breakfast.

Servings

Ingredients

10 slices bacon
1 pound BenefortÃ© broccoli
1 cup golden raisins
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup walnuts chopped
6 tablespoons Nakano rice wine vinegar garlic flavor (that's a little more than 1/3 cup)
1 clove garlic or 2 if they're small
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups mayonnaise I wouldn't recommend Miracle Whip in this recipe.

Servings

Ingredients

10 slices bacon
1 pound BenefortÃ© broccoli
1 cup golden raisins
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup walnuts chopped
6 tablespoons Nakano rice wine vinegar garlic flavor (that's a little more than 1/3 cup)
1 clove garlic or 2 if they're small
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups mayonnaise I wouldn't recommend Miracle Whip in this recipe.

Instructions

Cook bacon over medium high heat. Drain it well and pat dry to remove as much of the grease as possible. Crumble the dried bacon and set it aside.
Pour half of the BenefortÃƒ© broccoli into a large mixing bowl. Add to it a large handful of golden raisins (my sister says that's a cup but I think it's more than that) and a large handful of walnuts.
Add the crumbled bacon and two big handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese. Don't worry about mixing it up yet.
In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, and mayo.
Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss it well. Make sure it's all blended and well-coated.
Refrigerate the salad for a couple of hours or overnight, to let the flavors blend.

Share this Recipe

This recipe came out so well that I made it again for our second Thanksgiving with Old Grandma, and this time, doubled the recipe. It lasted a little longer, but not much. As I mentioned above, I made my broccoli salad with BenefortÃƒ© from the Eat Smart brand. They recommend eating BenefortÃƒ© broccoli uncooked or lightly steamed (to preserve more of the nutrients), so broccoli salad was a perfect way to use it! BenefortÃƒ© is a naturally better broccoli that is the result of a ten-year process of cross-pollination and selection. Are you wondering what makes it naturally better? I was. BenefortÃƒ© combines the best characteristics of commercial broccoli with a wild variety found in Southern Italy that has a unique, increased ability to produce the phytonutrient glucoraphanin. Beneforte contains 2-3 times more of this nutrient than other varieties of broccoli. Glucoraphanin naturally boosts the bodyÃ¢â‚¬™s level of antioxidants enzymes, protecting you against environmental pollutants and free radicals. You can learn more at Eat Smart BenefortÃƒ©.

Win a $50 Sam’s Club gift card!

BenefortÃƒ© broccoli is available nationwide at Sam’s Club and select grocery stores, so BenefortÃƒ© is providing a $50 Sam’s Club gift card to one lucky Feels Like Home reader! To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment stating your favorite broccoli recipe. You can leave the link to it if you’d like. Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post This sweepstakes is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. This sweepstakes runs from 12/10 Ã¢â‚¬“ 12/17/12. Good luck! Compensation, giveaway prize, and product samples were received to share my honest opinion as a BenefortÃƒ© Broccoli Ambassador.