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I love broccoli just the way it is, but sometimes I like to mix it up a little bit. This warm and creamy broccoli salad recipe contains not only the crunch of sunflower seeds and a creamy dressing, but there’s BACON, which in my opinion always makes a dish better.
This broccoli salad recipe is naturally gluten-free, but it’s also fairly low-carb as long as you use dried cranberries with no added sugar and substitute the sugar in the dressing with a low-carb-friendly sweetener like erythritol. If you don’t like any of these particular mix-ins, then feel free to substitue or replace with ones you like better. You could use diced ham instead of bacon, or raisins instead of cranberries.
Let’s talk for a minute about the dressing. I could seriously drink it from a cup if that weren’t inappropriate. It’s tangy from the mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar, but then there’s also a bit of sweetness. If you find that you like this dressing as much as I do, you can put it on a regular old lettuce salad or even use it for coleslaw. Sometimes I mix up a big batch of it in a Mason jar and keep it in the fridge for an easy dressing all week long.
If this broccoli salad recipe doesn’t float your boat, you might like Paula Deen’s broccoli salad.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and diced
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Directions
- Steam the broccoli for 3 minutes on the stove or in the microwave.
- While the broccoli is steaming, mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Cut the steamed broccoli into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.
- Add the bacon, onion, sun dried tomatoes, cranberries, and sunflower seeds to the broccoli.
- Top with the dressing and stir to combine.
This salad is really good served at room temperature, but you can also put it all together and let it chill before serving. This allows the dressing to really soak into the salad and tastes amazing as well!
Try our Easy Sauteed Green Beans for another great vegetable side!
