Vintage Broccoli Salad (2024)

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Why We Love This Recipe

• It’s a tried, tested, and proven winner!
• There are lovely contrasts between the tangy dressing, salty bacon, and sweet cranberries.
• You can make it ahead.
• Loads of ways to substitute ingredients.

Ingredient Notes

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• Fresh broccoli — You can use whole heads of broccoli or purchase a package of fresh broccoli florets to make your life easier; you’ll need 10 to 12 ounces of florets.
• Red onion — I prefer red onion for this recipe, but use whatever you have on hand, just be sure to finely dice it.
• Mayonnaise — Or substitute a good quality plain Greek yogurt if you don’t like mayo.
• Dried cranberries — The perfect sweet complement to the vinegar, bacon, and sunflower seeds in this recipe; of course you could substitute raisins if you like.
• Bacon — Either fry up a few pieces of bacon, use the pre-cooked bacon available in the grocery store or use the real bacon pieces (not bits!) available in the salad dressing section.
• Cheddar cheese — Use either sharp or extra sharp, and be sure to grate it yourself.
• Sunflower seeds — You’ll want the salted, roasted kernels.
• Sugar — Plain, white granulated type.
• Vinegar — Use white or cider vinegar.

How I Make Broccoli Salad

Blanch the Broccoli

👉 PRO TIP: You’ll find lots of broccoli salad recipes that use raw broccoli florets, but I think this recipe is much better if you take just a little time to blanch the florets. Blanching keeps the broccoli firm but the taste will be a little less “raw” and it also sets the pretty green color. This is an optional step, but I think it’s really worth doing.

1. To blanch the florets, bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 1 minute. Immediately pour the broccoli into a colander. Add a little ice (about 2 cups) and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Allow the broccoli to drain very well. Spread it out on paper towels or set it in a colander. You want the broccoli as dry as possible.

Make the Dressing

2. In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Whisk together until the sugar has dissolved.

Combine Dressing with Other Ingredients

3. Add the onion, cranberries, sunflower kernels, broccoli, cheese, and bacon. Toss gently, taking care not to break up the broccoli, until everything is well mixed and coated with the dressing.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour for the flavors to combine.

Recipe Success Tips

• Save time by purchasing ready to cook broccoli florets rather than whole heads of broccoli.
• Blanching the broccoli is totally optional, but I do recommend it. I like my broccoli just that wee bit cooked and without so much of the raw taste. However, it’s perfectly fine to skip that step and just toss in the raw florets.
• For best results, be sure to make the salad ahead of time so that the flavors have a chance to mellow. Refrigerate it for at least one hour and up to eight hours.
• Store the leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
• Be sure to grate the cheese yourself. Don’t buy the pre-grated cheese for this recipe.
• To save time, use the real bacon pieces (not bits!) available in the salad dressing section at your grocery store.
• If the red onion seems too strong, rinse it briefly under cool water and let it dry before adding to the salad.

Substitutions

• Instead of mayonnaise, substitute a good quality plain Greek yogurt.
• Raisins make a great substitute for dried cranberries.
• You can use roasted, salted peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pepitas, pine nuts, or pistachios instead of the sunflower kernels. Almost any roasted salted nut will work fine.
• Use a sugar substitute such as Splenda.
• Use cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.

Questions About Broccoli Salad

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