Easy Creamy Broccoli Salad with Bacon
- PREP 20min
- COOK 15min
- TOTAL 35min
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.
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.
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