Easy Broccoli Salad

We love this easy broccoli salad recipe with crisp broccoli, smoky bacon, and a tangy, creamy dressing. It’s quick to make and outrageously delicious!

This broccoli salad recipe started with a faint memory of something my Mom would make when I was a child: raw broccoli, a mayo-based dressing, and bacon.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of vegetables while growing up, but I remember loving my Mom’s broccoli salad. Now this recipe has turned into one of Adam’s favorites. We usually don’t end up with leftovers. For a slaw-style salad, try our easy broccoli slaw.

Key Ingredients

• Broccoli: You’ll use fresh raw broccoli for this salad (although, you can always swap that for roasted broccoli if you want to). I use broccoli florets and the stems! Don’t toss your broccoli stems. They are delicious. By the way, I feel the same way about stems when roasting broccoli and sautéing broccoli.
• Bacon: My Mom always put bacon in her broccoli salad, so that’s what I’ve done here. I bake my bacon. If you want this salad to be meatless, leave it out (salty roasted nuts like almonds are a great substitute).
• Red Onion: While any onion will work in this salad, I love the color of red onion against the bright green of the broccoli. If your onion is especially pungent, chop and add it to cold water for 10 minutes before rinsing it to tone things down a little.
• Dried Cranberries: Add a little sweetness to this salad. You can substitute them with any dried fruit.
• Creamy Broccoli Salad Dressing: Made with just three ingredients (mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar), this dressing is creamy, tangy, and perfectly simple. It coats the broccoli beautifully without feeling heavy.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Broccoli Salad

Tip 1: Prep broccoli for the salad. You can buy precut broccoli for this salad, but it’s easy (and often fresher) to prep it yourself. I love buying broccoli with the stems, which are lovely in this salad. Here’s how I prep it:

1. Cut the crown from the stems.
2. Cut or pull the crown into small florets.
3. Trim the dry ends of the stems (cut away about 1/2-inch up the stem)
4. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer of the stems, then slice them into thin matchsticks.

Tip 2: Make the easy dressing. I love our broccoli salad dressing so much. You’ll stir together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar. It’s simple and really delicious with the raw broccoli.

Tip 3: Make the salad. Toss everything into a big bowl (the broccoli, onions, and cranberries). Then, pour over the dressing. Just like when making broccoli slaw, I start with two-thirds of the dressing and add more if needed.

Tip 4: Add bacon. Adding bacon does something magical when combined with the dressing. It keeps pulling me back to take another bite. I bake my bacon, which is mostly hands-off and takes around 15 minutes. See our tips for how to make crispy baked bacon.

Tip 4: Let the salad sit. The last tip is the easiest. After tossing everything together, let the salad sit for 15 minutes. The broccoli softens slightly and absorbs the flavors of the dressing.

More Broccoli Recipes

• Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Cheddar Baked Broccoli
• Crispy Roasted Broccolini
• Easy Roasted Broccoli
• Sautéed Broccoli