Our favorite broccoli salad recipe is a mix of broccoli, bacon, cheddar cheese, walnuts, and golden raisins topped with a creamy and sweet mayonnaise yogurt dressing. It's the best easy and healthy summer BBQ side dish!
I love broccoli.
I love it raw, baked, boiled, 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 pre-cut broccoli and used them to make my favorite cold broccoli salad.
My broccoli salad was the biggest hit of the meal. There were only 3 or 4 little broccoli pieces left over, not even a small bowlful.
I was sad about that. I wanted to have it for breakfast the next day. There wasn't enough left over even for breakfast.
This recipe came out so well that I made it again for our second Thanksgiving feast with Old Grandma, and this time, I doubled the recipe. It lasted a little longer, but not much.
How to make our favorite broccoli salad
- 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 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.
- 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 to overnight to let the flavors blend.
Can you boil the broccoli for broccoli salad?
Of course you can! This time, we made our broccoli salad using raw broccoli, but if you'd prefer yours to be a little more tender, feel free to boil or blanch it according to these instructions.
Try these other delicious salads while you're here:
- BLT Salad with the Best Homemade Lemon Mayo Salad Dressing
- The Best Keto Broccoli Salad with No Mayo
- Our Favorite Broccoli Salad Recipe (with mayo)
- No Crunch Potato Salad Recipe
- Oriental Salad with Ramen Noodles (Chinese Coleslaw)
- Cucumber Pasta Salad - A Healthy Alternative to Creamy Pasta Salad
- Egg and Asparagus Salad with Mimosa Vinaigrette Dressing
- The Best Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs
Recipe
Our Favorite Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 slices bacon
- 1 pounds broccoli
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1-2 cups cheddar cheese
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar garlic flavor (a little more than โ cup)
- 1 cloves garlic or 2 if they're small
- ยผ cup sugar
- 1 cup mayonnaise I wouldn't recommend Miracle Whip in this recipe.
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
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 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.
Kyl Neusch says
Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli
Megan Parsons says
I like Broccoli and cheese!!!! makeighleekyleigh at yahoo.com
sheri says
yum...broccoli
Kelly D says
I like a shrimp & broccoli stir fry.
Kelly D says
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/280164901345951744
Cheryl Abdelnour says
I like the Broccoli-Sweet Potato Soup--- http://beneforte.com/recipes/sides/broccoli_sweet_potato_soup.asp
Cheryl Abdelnour says
I tweeted-- https://twitter.com/mt4cb/status/280184763837456385
Judith B. says
My favorite is Cauliflower and Brocolli Au Gratin which uses cream cheese in the sauce and can be found on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNqIr5Ob-yk&feature
Angela Cisco says
Chicken and broccoli Alfredo pizza
Angela Cisco says
tweeted https://twitter.com/angelasbits/status/280251675141357569
micheal dale grim says
i love brocolli and cauliflower and cheese bake!!!yummy
micheal dale grim says
[tweet https://twitter.com/michealgrim/status/280301026823790592%5D
ky2here says
I love indian spices so this is an instant classic: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=278342
ky2here at msn dot com
ky2here says
https://twitter.com/ky2here1/status/280315946172837888
ky2here at msn dot com
Penny says
I'm a simple gal; broccoli and cheese is fine by me ๐
Penny says
https://twitter.com/shinkokami/status/280327748931694592
Wendy Kroy says
I used to love the broccoli and sun dried tomato penne at California Pizza Kitchen years and years ago.
Wendy Kroy says
tweeted at
twitter.com/TwatteringOne/status/280336057122320385
Amy M says
I love simply roasted broccoli....simple and perfect!
Amy M says
Here's my tweet! https://twitter.com/amiablyamy/status/280337098316320768
Nichola says
Roasted Broccoli- Preheat oven to 425, coat chopped fresh brocolli with olive oil. Add chopped Garlic, roast for 20-25 minutes. Top with parmesan and lemon juice. YUM!
Erica C. says
I like to mix broccoli in fettucini alfredo.
Valerie Taylor Mabrey says
broccoli soup
vmkids3 at msn dot com
Kennedy says
I like broccoli with red sauce. And broccoli cheese soup. MMM...
Katherine says
My daughter does a broccoli salad with bacon and noodles
Katherine says
https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/280416491323662336
Jacie Wright says
I love broccoli beef stir fry. Here is the recipe I like best
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2012/02/the-best-broccoli-beef.html
Teresa R. says
My favorite recipe for broccoli is a broccoli and beef stir fry I found on Mel's kitchen cafe blog. Thanks for this great giveaway.
Mary DeBorde says
My daughter LOVES broccoli, so I'm giving her your recipe! Thank you so much
for sharing, plus this sweet giveaway <3
My favorite broccoli dish is simple but tasty:
Warm up about 1/2 cup of sweet & sour sauce in a med sized saucepan.
Add to this about 2 cups diced broccoli or just the *flowerettes*.
Throw in a fistful of finely chopped almonds or cashews.
Warm and stir the above.
THEN, thinly spread whipped cream cheese over the contents of a box of rice crackers.
Pour the warmed broccoli mixture into 4 guest/serving bowls and arrange several of the rice crackers around the outside of each serving bowl.
Optional: Serve with sticky rice instead of/or in addition to rice crackers
Feeds 4
Happy Holidays <3
Mary
zenrei57 (at) hotmail dot com
Tara Ziegmont says
That sounds delicious! We're going to have to try it. ๐
joni says
I love broccoli battered and deep fried.