A light, tangy dressing jazzes up this Broccoli Salad with dried cranberries, almonds, and bacon. A classic summer side dish!
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Classic Broccoli Salad is one my favorite simple summer sides. It’s perfect to serve with steak, burgers, chicken, or anything you’ve got going on your grill.
Fresh and light and just right for a hot summer day!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Make-Ahead – It’s an easy make-ahead recipe.
- Healthy Option – It’s a fresh and healthy side dish to help round out an indulgent menu.
- Gorgeous – It’s colorful and pretty!
- Kid-Friendly – The slightly sweet dressing and loads of crunch appeal to kiddos (and grownups!) who aren’t sure how they feel about broccoli.
Are you sold? Okay then, let’s get to it!
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli – You’ll need 2 or 3 broccoli crowns. Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces for about 6 cups total. You can scale the amount down if you’d like a higher ratio of dressing to broccoli. As written, this salad is lightly dressed.
- Bacon – Cooked and crumbled. You will only need 5 slices of bacon for this recipe but I like to cook the whole package at once and refrigerate the extra to reheat in the microwave for breakfast the next morning. See my notes below on my favorite method for cooking bacon.
- Red onion – Diced.
- Dried cranberries – Like Craisins.
- White wine vinegar
- Sugar – A little granulated sugar adds a touch of sweetness to the dressing.
- Mayonnaise – I like to use a healthy fat mayo like olive oil mayo.
- Sour cream – I use light sour cream. An easy way to lighten it up without affecting the flavor.
- Slivered almonds
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Are you all bakin’ your bacon yet? I think it’s the cleanest, easiest method.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil. You can use parchment paper, if you prefer, or even leave the baking sheet bare.
- Place the bacon in an even layer and transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes or until nicely crisped.
- Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. It works like a dream and the clean up is a breeze. Just throw out the greasy foil, give the pan a quick rinse and you’re done!
How to Make Broccoli Salad
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- In a large serving bowl, combine the broccoli, onion and dried cranberries and pour the dressing over the top and toss until well combined. Cover and refrigerate the Broccoli Salad for at least two hours or up to six hours. Reserve the almonds and bacon to add just before serving so they keep their texture.
Pro Tip
You don’t want to skip the step of refrigerating the salad before serving. Spending a little time in the refrigerator gives the broccoli some time to soften just a bit.
Storage Tips
Leftovers keep very well. Just transfer them to an airtight container and use within 2 days for the best quality.
More Broccoli Salad Recipes
- Lemony Tortellini Broccoli Salad
- 5 Minute Broccoli Kale Slaw
- Broccoli Grape Salad with Feta
- Tortellini Broccoli Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
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Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 5 slices thick sliced bacon
- 2 or 3 broccoli crowns, cut into bite size pieces (approximately 6 cups)
- ⅓ cup red onion, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise, I like to use a healthy fat mayo like olive oil mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup light sour cream
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds
Instructions
Cook the Bacon
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the bacon in an even layer and transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes or until nicely crisped. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. When cooled, crumble and set aside.
Broccoli Salad
- In a large serving bowl, combine the broccoli, onion and dried cranberries. In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, light sour cream, white wine vinegar, and sugar. Pour over broccoli mixture, and toss until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to six hours.
- When ready to serve, stir in the crumbled bacon and slivered almonds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
This post was originally published on June 2, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
Without the bacon and cheese it’s healthy, otherwise… not so much.
I was mistaken on the cheese, there is none.
You could easily modify to your liking and omit the bacon. But, a little bacon adds so much flavor! This recipe doesn’t call for cheese but I do think there are a lot out there that do.
This is a yummy salad but we use chopped green onion instead of the red onion…. Both are delish
Oh yes! There she goes adding bacon!!! What a simple summer salad and I love the addition of the dried cranberries! I’d love having this next to a grilled ribeye!
Just a little bit of bacon – can’t hurt right?
Valerie, thank you so much for stopping by today so I could discover your fantastic Broccoli Salad. I had broccoli salad a few years ago and have been dying to make some. This recipe looks amazing.
I hope you enjoy it Donna 🙂
What a beautiful salad Valerie! I have never added bacon to my broccoli salad before… next time!!
I love your broccoli salad recipe! And I did not know that we can also bake the bacon to make it crispy! I’m always pan frying… duh. I think oven method is totally easy way. 375F for 15 minutes, got it! Might as well I try your broccoli salad at the same time too. 😉 Yum!
It’s the only way I cook bacon Nami. It works great! I hope you enjoy the salad.
This looks like a wonderful broccoli salad recipe! I think I will have to try it instead of my regular recipe next time!
thanks for saying hi on my blog today!
and I love love love broccoli salad! When I first started blogging, I swear, I mentioned it like…3x a week! 🙂
looks so easy to prepare and delicious…mouthwatering!
I love this broccoli salad. It’s always such a crowd pleaser. People who hate broccoli will devour this salad.
Ooooh! So lovely 🙂 All the right components, most importantly BACON!
Buzzed
Dang girl, this is fantastic. I adore broccoli. Almost as much as burgers.