Use this simple recipe to make a Broccoli Cauliflower Bacon Salad. This broccoli cauliflower salad is made with a tangy vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to keep veggies crisp while still soaking up the vinaigrette
Worth It: Feels indulgent even without mayo
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- Tangy broccoli salad – I love a creamy broccoli salad as much as the next person, but sometimes you need something a little lighter. Skip the mayonnaise and use an apple cider vinaigrette for a fresher taste.
- Backyard barbecue favorite – Serve this at your next backyard barbecue and amaze your guests. People who swear they don’t like broccoli and cauliflower will even enjoy this salad.
- Simple but decadent – This easy broccoli salad is still super decadent thanks to the bacon, almonds and sunflower seeds. The fresh onion and red bell pepper add bursts of flavory. Finally, the dried craisins add just a subtle bit of sweetness.
Serving Suggestions
This broccoli cauliflower bacon salad makes the perfect side dish to serve alongside some of your favorite grilled items. I like to serve it with this Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken or balsamic grilled chicken.
Balance out the meal by serving some S’mores Cookies or Peach Blueberry Crisp for dessert.
I love to bring this broccoli salad recipe to potlucks with friends! Surprise people with a non mayo based broccoli salad and see if they like it.
For a pasta salad addition to your meal, try this tortellini pasta salad!
Ingredients
- Raw broccoli florets and raw cauliflower florets – you can buy these precut or cut them yourself
- Red onion – I love raw red onion in a salad. It is so bright and delicious
- Red bell pepper – the fresh crunch and slightly sweet flavor of the pepper is perfect
- Slivered or sliced almonds – I used slivered, but you can use slices or crushed pieces
- Bacon – the bacon is tasty with all of the vegetables in this salad
- Craisins – craisins are my favorite dried fruit for broccoli bacon salad because it’s a chewy bit of sweetness
- Sunflower seeds – if you don’t have sunflower seeds, pepitas would also be tasty
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette recipe – I love making homemade dressing, but you could also use a store bought dressing
Ingredient substitutions
This recipe is great for any eaters. It is already gluten and dairy free, plus it is paleo friendly. You can also easily make this recipe completely vegan by leaving out the bacon. If you aren’t a fan of pork bacon, you can easily use turkey bacon instead.
You could also use pre made crispy bacon pieces to skip a cooking step. Feel free to add some cheese to this cauliflower broccoli salad. I like shredded cheddar cheese or some small sharp cheddar cheese cubes.
Substitute the almonds and sunflower seeds for any nuts and seeds like pecans or walnuts. If you don’t like dried cranberries, you can use raisins or any dried fruit that you like.
I love to use my homemade apple cider vinaigrette recipe as the dressing for this broccoli and cauliflower salad, but it is much easier to use a pre made dressing. You can use any pre made dressing that you like, with a red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar base.
If you like your broccoli salad creamy, you could make a dressing and add a bit of sour cream, plain greek yogurt, or light mayonnaise to give it that texture.
How to make a broccoli cauliflower salad
Step 1: blanch broccoli and cauliflower
To begin, chop broccoli and cauliflower florets into smaller pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt your water. Prepare a large ice bath on the side.
If you are cooking your bacon, make it in a skillet or in the oven. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate when done to crisp up.
Then, blanch the broccoli and cauliflower by boiling them for 2 minutes. Next, immediately transfer the vegetables to the ice water. Once cooled, drain them and add to a large mixing bowl.
We want to just blanch the veggies so that they still have a nice bite and crunch in the salad. Once blanched they can easily absorb the flavor of the vinaigrette.
Step 2: Mix all other ingredients and chill
Then, add red onions, red bell pepper, almonds, bacon, craisins and sunflower seeds to the large bowl with the blanched broccoli and cauliflower.
Whisk together your vinaigrette and pour it over the salad. Finally, chill in the fridge about an hour before serving for optimal enjoyment. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Storage
Once prepared, store leftovers of this broccoli cauliflower bacon salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can serve this salad chilled or at room temperature.
If you’re looking for another delicious summer recipe with cauliflower, try this easy giardiniera recipe. It is perfect as a side dish or garnish for a charcuterie board.
Check out these other summer salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Broccoli Cauliflower and Bacon Salad
Ingredients
- 16 oz bag of broccoli and cauliflower floret mix
- 1/2 a red onion diced
- 1/2 a red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds
- 6 pieces of bacon cooked and chopped
- 1/4 cup craisins
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 3/4 cup of Mad About Food apple cider vinaigrette recipe or 3/4 cup of vinaigrette of your choice
Instructions
- Chop broccoli and cauliflower florets into smaller pieces.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large ice bath on the side.
- Blanch the broccoli and cauliflower by boiling them for 2 minutes and then immediately transfer the vegetables to the ice water. Once cooled, drain them and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add red onions, red bell pepper, almonds, bacon, craisins and sunflower seeds to the blanched broccoli and cauliflower. Toss in the vinaigrette.
- Chill in the fridge about an hour before serving for optimal enjoyment.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to use any nuts or seeds you like in place of the almonds and sunflower seeds
- I prefer to serve this salad chilled, but you can also serve it at room temperature
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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