Best Ever Broccoli Salad + Video
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The Best Ever Broccoli Salad is a simple recipe combining broccoli, bacon, raisins, onion and nuts. They come together in the most amazing summer salad yet. The sweet and creamy dressing really makes this the perfect summer side that you won’t be able to get enough of!
Several years ago we got together with Chad’s relatives for a family reunion.
A quaint gathering at my mother in law’s house to spent time together and enjoy each others company while we ate and played.
Chad’s family from California drove in and brought a few dishes with them. I remember the first time I saw it…
Fresh broccoli with dressing, onions and pine nuts. I had never seen such a thing and dove right in.
Oh it was a good thing I did. It was pure heaven. I asked his aunt Karen and his cousin Shelly what this divine creation was.
Broccoli Salad! Who knew? Well after about 6 bowls I asked for the recipe.
To be honest I never wrote it down but I have remembered that salad for almost 7 years now.
Once summer was upon us I knew I needed to create my own broccoli salad and I did. It is as amazing as I remember.
Broccoli Salad
The combination of fresh broccoli, bacon, plump raisins, red onion and roasted pine nuts create the most amazing summer salad yet.
The sweet and creamy dressing really makes this the perfect summer side!
To be honest, no one in my house was interested in eating it. So… I may have enjoyed this salad for lunch and dinner for almost a week! Oh my word it is amazing.
Helpful Tips to make The Best Ever Broccoli Salad:
- Blanching the broccoli does take a few minutes but it is so worth it!
- For a thicker dressing you can omit the lemon juice.
- If you don’t prefer pine nuts you can use chopped pecans or walnuts.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Best Ever Broccoli Salad with Bacon + Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh broccoli florets, washed
- 1 cup bacon crumbles
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup toasted pine nuts, or your favorite nut
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Drain water and rinse with ice cold water or place broccoli in an ice bath. Drain and set aside.
- Reserve a small handful of bacon, raisins and pine nuts for garnish.
- In a medium bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Place broccoli, onion and remaining raisins in a large bowl. Pour dressing over top. Toss to coat. Chill.
- When ready to serve add nuts and bacon and toss well. Garnish with reserved bacon, raisins and pine nuts. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published June 2014
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Hi Donna, this is such a great salad, I've made one pretty similar but this one really has all the bells and whistles. Love it!
This sounds like such a satisfying salad. I can see why you ate six bowls! I shall have to make a batch of this for myself. Thank you for sharing this lovely dish.
Love this salad!! Pinned it!!
Donna What are bacon crumbles? Bacon bits or imitation bacon – Can you use real bacon?
Hi Beverly! I buy a bag of real bacon crumbles at Costco and keep it in the fridge for convenience. You can definitely substitute real bacon. I would cook it until crisp, drain cool and crumble. I would use 1 pound of bacon, more or less to taste. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
Donna — I'm glad you posted this. I have a recipe very similar to yours and it's been a long time since I made it. Good reminder. I love, love, love your your fb page and website. So many super good recipes and I love your narrative. It's like we're sitting at the kitchen table just talking about favorite recipes. Thanks again! — Kaye M., Memphis, TN
Thank you so much Kaye. We love hearing from our readers and I am so happy to hear you love our stories. The kitchen table is where the heart of our home is. I would love to sit down and chat. xo
I've been making this salad for over 20 years, It was in a cookbook compiled of recipes from teachers and parents when my daughter was in high school. The difference was it used sunflower seeds and the broccoli was raw. I absolutely love it!
Can you tell me what the bacon can be substituted with? We eat meat just not bacon. I made your Greek Tortelini Salad and my gosh it was amazing. Can't wait to try this one too!
Ham.
I make the Lazymans version. All the same ingredients except, I use sunflower seeds and the dressing is Marie's Poppy Seed. Yummy and very quick when in a hurry.
I have 2 recipes for this salad. Both are almost the same, but one uses walnuts and the other uses peanuts. However, one adds a cubed apple and boy does that make it good. I like yours with more things such as lemon juice and sour cream and WOW I love the pine nuts. I also think blanching the broccoli is safer as you don't know who touched that raw vegetable at the market.
I use sunflower seeds and add shredded cheddar cheese to mine. This really is a delicious salad!
This may be my favorite broccoli salad. I did add about 3/4 C shredded sharp cheddar, used 6 green onions instead of red onions and made 1 1/2 times the dressing. I also used Trader Joe's roasted/salted sunflower seeds in place of pine nuts. Did not add more salt. The dressing was fantastic.
I use cranberries walnut or pecans I decrease the sugar being a diabetic
I've made this salad a number of times and someone will ALWAYS ask for the recipe 🙂 It's also great the next day if there is any left. I found that making either double or triple the recipe keeps everybody happy. Also, I've been cooking my bacon in the oven – the salad can be prepared while the bacon sizzles away happily (it also makes cleanup quicker). Awesome salad!
Can you use frozen broccoli florettes?
My mom’s friend used to bring this for barbecues and I always figured it was very difficult to make, but this recipe was so easy to follow and it was AMAZING!