This cold Broccoli Bacon Salad is the perfect side dish for your next summer bbq, party or potluck. Crunchy broccoli florets tossed with creamy tangy dressing. Loaded with crispy bacon, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and more goodness for a lot of different textures and flavors.
There is something about the combination of broccoli and bacon together tossed in a creamy, tangy sweet dressing that will convert even those who are anti-broccoli into broccoli lovers! It’s one of my favorite ways to eat broccoli!
Looking for more salads that goes well as a side for parties, potluck, or with everyday dinner? Here you go! Caprese Salad with Avocado, Lemon Orzo Spinach Salad, Vietnamese Spring Roll Salad, Crispy Smashed Potato Salad and Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad are some of our other favorites!
Easy Broccoli Salad with Bacon
It has been long overdue – I’ve been wanting to share this Broccoli Bacon Salad on the blog for so long. I first learned how yummy and easy it is years ago and being the broccoli lover that I am (other favorites include Roasted Lemon Garlic Broccoli, Broccoli au Gratin and Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup), I knew I had to share this one too!
Served cold or at room temperature, broccoli with bacon salad is tossed with this creamy, sweet and slightly tangy mayo-based dressing, along with sweet dried cranberries and sunflower seeds that complements and balances out the crunch from the raw broccoli.
And that salty, crunchy bacon rounds out the dish so well – it’s the savory profile we needed to complete the dish.
Just like Bacon Deviled Eggs and Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders, bacon truly elevates this dish.
Broccoli bacon salad one of those recipes that makes raw broccoli fabulous, and is a good one to try if you are iffy about raw veggies and want to change that!
This broccoli bacon salad recipe is a copycat of some of the broccoli salads we have had across the years. I like it a lot more than the store-bought ones because I can control and adjust the flavors, and how much sauce and seasoning goes into it.
In addition, this is incredibly easy to throw together and fits many diets types (keto, low carb, gluten free), and keeps really well as well – yes to meal prepping it or making it ahead!
Broccoli Salad Ingredients
I personally love the mixture of fresh and pantry ingredients. Here are the ingredients we are using to make broccoli bacon salad:
- Bacon – I typically get cooked bacon or bacon bits to speed up the process. If you are cooking raw bacon, you can air fry, pan fry or roast them in the oven. Instructions are available below.
- Broccoli – fresh broccoli, not frozen broccoli! Frozen broccoli will be mushy. One of best part about cold broccoli salad is its crunchy texture. Chop them into small tiny pieces so it’s easy to eat!
- Sunflower seeds – another crunchy element that brings a slight nutty flavor and a lot of great textures.
- Dried cranberries – you can substitute for raisins. Another great texture and also introduce some sweetness. The sweetness balance out the tangy creamy dressing really well.
- Red onions – Chop them up finely so that it doesn’t overpower the dish, but gives it a sharp flavor that balances out the creaminess in the dish.
- Mayonnaise – use good quality mayo such as Hellman’s for best taste. I personally would avoid miracle whip – it’s just not the same!
- Apple cider vinegar – this helps balances out the creaminess and richness in the mayo. White vinegar can be used in place if needed.
- Granulated sugar – used to balance out the flavor of the dressing and gives it a hint of sweetness.
- Salt – used to really open up the flavors – avoid skipping if possible!
How to make cold Broccoli Bacon Salad
You’re about to see how easy it is to make this Broccoli Bacon Salad!
Cook Bacon
If you are planning to cook raw bacon, do that first. Or, you can make things simple and use cooked bacon or bacon bits.
If you are cooking raw bacon, you can cook it in a few different ways:
- Oven – line a baking dish with aluminum foil and place bacon next to each other on the pan. Cook at 400ºF for 12-17 minutes, or until bacon reaches desired crispiness. No grease splatter, hardly any cleanup, and you can cook a lot in one go – this is typically my go to method!
- Air fryer – Line bacon on an air fryer tray, air fry at 350ºF for 7-14 minutes, or until bacon reaches desired crispiness
- Pan fry – sear bacon on a skillet on the stovetop. Flip to cook both sides until it reaches desired crispiness.
When bacon is done, cut into smaller pieces.
Make the Dressing
For the dressing, whisk together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, granulated sugar and a pinch of salt.
It’s so simple, and yet produces the most delicious creamy, tangy dressing with a hint of sweetness – very similar to the dressing in my Broccoli Kale Salad.
Bring Everything Together!
Prepare the rest of the ingredients that goes into the salad – chop up broccoli into florets, dice red onions.
Bring all the salad ingredients into a large bowl – broccoli florets, diced red onions, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and bacon.
Pour creamy dressing mixture over broccoli salad, then use a spatula to mix and toss the salad to combine. Be gentle so you don’t smoosh any of the ingredients, but make sure the mixture is combined pretty well!
And there you have it. A delicious and easy cooked bacon broccoli salad tossed with crumbled bacon pieces is ready!
The salad dressing is so yummy…it is creamy, tangy, sweet and pairs perfectly with the fresh broccoli florets and crunchy savory bacon.
Broccoli Salad with bacon is also one of those rare salads that can be made ahead of time because it can sit in the dressing for a few hours without getting too soggy.
Try it out and I hope you will be pleasantly surprise by how amazing (and easy!) this cold Broccoli Bacon Salad is!
What to serve with Broccoli Bacon Salad
Broccoli Bacon Salad makes a great side to summer cookout food and spring picnic – serve alongside steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, seafoods, smoked bbq meats (ribs, brisket, pulled pork), the list can go on and on.
My mouth is watering as I am typing that…
Variations and Substitutions
There’s only so much you can and should deviate from this recipe, but if you’d like to you can consider the option below.
- Add cheese – add some grated sharp cheddar cheese for a savory flavor twist. Other cheeses work too!
- Use Greek yogurt – I use nonfat plain Greek yogurt to keep this lower in calories. This will result in a slightly tangier taste, but it tastes great! You might want to add more sugar to balance out the tartness. Or, if you want to reduce the mayonnaise but don’t want too much of the tang from the Greek yogurt, use half mayonnaise and half Greek yogurt.
- Other nuts and seeds – use a variety of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts, cashews) or seeds (pumpkin) for texture.
- Dress up the dressing – add herbs such as oregano, use Worcestershire sauce instead of (or in addition to) vinegar.
- Other fruits or dried fruits – use raisins, fresh berries etc instead of dried cranberries.
- Bulk it up – add shredded rotisserie chicken to make this into a lunch or lighter dinner.
Make Ahead and Storage
Broccoli bacon salad can be prepare 1-2 days in advanced and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
When ready to serve, simply bring it out from the refrigerator and serve cold or in room temperature. Before serving, consider mixing it a little so that the broccoli and bacon is once again coated in creamy sauce.
However, if you want your bacon to be crunchy, I would store the broccoli mixture separate from the dressing when making ahead.
Storing broccoli bacon salad is simple. It can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Do not freeze.
Tips and Tricks
Some notes on how to best create this cold broccoli bacon salad:
- Use pre-cooked bacon: to significantly save time, you can simply buy pre-cooked bacon and either heat it up in the microwave, or throw it into the Broccoli Bacon Salad cold
- Remove excess moisture: for best result, pat dry Broccoli florets with paper towel if it is wet. It is important to use dry florets so it doesn’t water down the salad. Similarly, if you are cooking bacon, pat dry to remove excess grease.
- Chop broccoli florets into small pieces: small pieces of florets makes the salad easier to bite into.
- Toss bacon into the salad last: do this if you like your bacon crispy. It will eventually get soggy if it sits in the sauce for a while.
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not recommend doing it. Frozen broccoli will be soggy when it is defrosted and you lose the crunchy textures. It is best to make this with fresh broccoli.
1. Instead of mayo, use low fat mayo, avocado mayo or Greek yogurt.
2. Use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.
I don’t think it’s necessary to blanche the broccoli – just serve it raw!
Bacon is crispy in the first few hours after you make this, but the sauce will eventually sit on bacon and make them less crispy. When making ahead, if you really want super crispy bacon, refrigerate cooked strips of bacon separately from the sauce and broccoli, crumble when ready to eat, serve on top of the broccoli salad.
This salad is supposed to be served cold or at room temperature. As such, you should only microwave it up to room temperature at the most if you’re eating leftovers. I typically find that I do not need to heat this bacon broccoli salad and prefer to serve it cold from the fridge.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
More Yummy Veggies!
Do head this way for more of my other veggie side dish faves. Here are some veggie side dishes I make around the house all the time and love!
- Garlic Honey Carrots
- Garlic Parmesan Asparagus
- Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans
- Garlic Parmesan Hasselback Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Roasted Lemon Garlic Broccoli
Broccoli Bacon Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad
- 7-8 strips cooked bacon chopped
- 6 cups broccoli florets chopped
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, add chopped bacon, chopped broccoli florets, diced red onion, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds.
- In a small mixing bowl, add mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt. Mix well.
- Poor the dressing over the broccoli mixture. Toss to coat.
- Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Oven – line a baking dish with aluminum foil and place bacon on the pan next to each other. Cook at 400ºF for 12-17 minutes, or until bacon reaches desired crispiness.
- Air fryer – Line bacon on an air fryer tray, air fry at 350ºF for 7-14 minutes, or until bacon reaches desired crispiness
- Pan fry – sear bacon on a skillet on the stovetop. Flip to cook both sides until it reaches desired crispiness.
Can I substitute greek yogurt for the mayo?
That should be fine! Let me know how it goes!
This was amazing! We tried it at home and it’s the best broccoli salad we’ve had. We then made it for some friends and they fell in love with it as well – definitely one for the books!
Thank you so much, Makenzie! <3 So happy to hear that!