The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe (Video)

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poolside sesame slaw – smitten kitchen

The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe – This spin on classic southern broccoli slaw is bursting with color and surprise ingredients.

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad is a classic side dish that is a true crowd-pleaser all year long.

However, I find we eat it most often in the summer when we are planning picnics and outdoor parties.

Broccoli Slaw Recipe

The traditional southern blend of tiny broccoli florets, bacon pieces, and dried fruit kissed with a creamy slaw-style dressing has been around for decades.

Some cooks add in seeds, nuts, onions, and other ingredients to provide additional flavor and crunch. This is all up to your own desired taste!

I have a few other ingredients I like to throw in to create the perkiest, most intriguing, ahem… The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe, my family has ever eaten.

What Ingredients You Will need

In addition to…

Broccoli
Dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
Bacon
Red onion
And sunflower kernels,

The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe also contains…

Diced apple
Shredded carrots
Finely chopped kale
And crushed red pepper to perfectly balance the sweet and heat.

It offers endless crunch, sweet bites of fruit, rich salty bacon and sunflower seeds, and a touch of spice!

bowl of ingredients before being mixed together in this broccoli slaw

How To Make This Broccoli Slaw Mix

Instructions

Chop and prep all the ingredients. In a large bowl add the broccoli florets, chopped kale, red onion, shredded carrots, chopped apple, dried cherries, chopped bacon, and sunflower kernels.

In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, crushed red pepper, and salt, until smooth.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until thoroughly coated. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. *Can be made up to 3 days ahead.

See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe.

Healthy Broccoli Salad with Kale

Why add kale to broccoli salad, one might ask?

I find that finely chopped kale blends perfectly into the broccoli creating little pockets to hold the dressing and other tasty tidbits.

It offers more nutritional value to the salad, than just broccoli alone. Yet friends and family members resistant to kale, won’t even know it’s there!

I’m tricky like that.

Meal Prep: Make-Ahead and Enjoy All Week

The Best Broccoli Salad Recipe is a fabulous make-ahead and leftover, especially for barbecues and potlucks.

The ingredients all hold their texture for up to a week in the fridge.

I have been known to stand with the refrigerator door open and eat it straight out of the storage container… For breakfast.

There’s no shame in loving this salad.

Other recipes you might like:

Check the printable recipe card below for the nutrient information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium, fiber, and vitamin c percentages.