Easy Creamy Broccoli Salad with Bacon
We love this easy broccoli salad recipe! Crunchy broccoli, bacon, and dried cranberries are tossed with creamy dressing made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Jump to the Broccoli Salad Recipe
More Broccoli Recipes: If you love raw broccoli dishes, try our broccoli slaw with sunflower seeds and dried fruit or for something warming, try our broccoli cheddar soup!
Making broccoli salad
Crisp raw broccoli is tossed with bacon, dried cranberries, red onion and a zesty dressing made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. It’s quick to make, simple, and outrageously delicious!
This recipe started with a faint memory of something my Mom would make when I was a child. Raw broccoli, a lightly sweetened mayo-based dressing, bacon, and cheese. I wasn’t the biggest fan of vegetables as a child, but I do remember loving her broccoli salad.
Here’s our version with broccoli, red onion, mayonnaise (instead of a sweetened version, ours is doctored up with zesty mustard), bacon and instead of cheese, we throw in a handful of dried cranberries. Not that cheese would be a bad idea!
I love the salty crunch of bacon in this salad. We bake our bacon — it is hands-off, takes around 15 minutes and, if you use a foil-lined pan, is less messy than making it on the stovetop. If you are meat-free, try some salty almonds instead.
Don’t Throw Away Broccoli Stems
When I first started cooking for myself, whenever it came to chopping up broccoli, I’d slam my knife down just below the crown and throw away the stem. Thankfully someone, somewhere down the line set me straight. Broccoli stems are excellent — especially in this salad.
We save and roast broccoli stems all the time. Take a look at our favorite oven roasted vegetables recipe that includes broccoli stems! We also talk all about them in our ultimate guide for roasting broccoli.
The end of the stem — let’s say about half-an-inch from the bottom is probably going to be too hardy and woody. Cut that off and discard, you won’t be needing that for the salad.
The rest of the stem is usable. Depending on how hardy the stem is, it might be a good idea to run a vegetable peeler up and down the stem to remove the outer (sometimes tough) layer. Then, chop into small pieces.
More broccoli recipes
- Seriously Good Broccoli Coleslaw
- Cheddar Baked Broccoli
- Crispy Roasted Broccolini
- The Ultimate Guide for Roasting Broccoli
- 30 Minute Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
Recipe updated, originally posted February 2015. Since posting this in 2015, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Easy Creamy Broccoli Salad with Bacon
- PREP
In this simple broccoli salad recipe, we toss broccoli with bacon, dried cranberries, red onion, and a tangy dressing made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar. For the bacon, we recommend baking it instead of cooking it on the stovetop — it is more hands-off that way. See our article sharing how to cook bacon for tips.
Vegan Broccoli Salad: Transform this into a vegan-friendly salad by substituting the bacon with 1/2 to 3/4 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds and using vegan mayonnaise. Here’s our recipe for vegan mayo.
Makes approximately 6 servings
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
4 slices thick-cut bacon
1/4 of a medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 pound broccoli (1 medium bunch)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mayonnaise, try our homemade mayonnaise recipe
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Cook the bacon until crisp (see note below). Chop into small pieces.
Add onion to a small bowl and cover with warm water. Leave for 10 minutes, then drain. This tones the raw onion flavor a little.
Meanwhile, separate the broccoli crowns from their thick stem. Remove the woodiest part of the stem — usually 1/2-inch from the bottom — and discard (or save for stock). Chop the remaining portion of the stem into bite-size chunks. (If the stem is hardy, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer layer and then chop–see our video to watch us do this.). Next, snap the florets from the broccoli crown and pull them apart so that they are bite-size. Rinse broccoli, and then pat or spin dry.
Drain the red onion and toss with the broccoli, bacon, and cranberries in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt, and a few grinds of pepper together. Taste for seasoning, then adjust.
Pour two-thirds of the dressing over the broccoli and onion and mix well. If the salad seems dry, add a little more of the dressing. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving or keep refrigerated (it should last two to three days, but we have never been able to keep our hands off it for that long).
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cooking Bacon: For this salad (and almost all other dishes that need a few slices of bacon), we like to use our oven to cook the bacon. Baking bacon is hands-off and results in crisp bacon slices, perfect for this salad. Bake bacon slices in a 400 degree F oven until crisp, 12 to 18 minutes.
- Make Double the Dressing: Leftover dressing can be used as a spread for sandwiches, dip for vegetables, or served with grilled or roasted vegetables, chicken or meats.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 225 / Protein 5 g / Carbohydrate 15 g / Dietary Fiber 3 g / Total Sugars 8 g / Total Fat 17 g / Saturated Fat 3 g / Cholesterol 14 mg
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One suggestion I have is that if the salad will not be all used in one sitting, add the cranberries and toasted nuts separately when serving, otherwise they tend to get plump and soft, which it’s fine if you like it like that but I prefer the crunchy and chewy texture!
Totally delicious and so quick and easy. Added some pine nuts and used currants instead of cranberries as was out. It worked well.
Easy and absolutely delicious!!
This salad is always a hit for potluck. Easy to make and taste so good, broccoli is healthy too. Love it. I am making it for daughter’s birthday tomorrow. It’s a special request
So easy & looks very delicious proud to serve it today for Xmas lunch.
Tried this for the first time tonight and it was really enjoyed by all. Will be making this again.
Broccoli salad looks so delicious, I plan to make it soon. Thanks for the recipe.
Your recipes sound awesome! I’m baking bacon right now and am looking forward to making the broccoli salad tomorrow.
delicious broccoli salad, I will make it.
Delicious, much better than the “original” broccoli salad with sugar in the dressing. Thanks!
This sounds wonderful! I’m gonna try it at my daughter’s baby shower in May!
Thank you for the nice recipes.