Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

An easy cauliflower and broccoli salad recipe chock full of hearty ingredients like bacon, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, and raisins. Great as a side dish for a potluck, BBQ, or during the holidays.

This broccoli cauliflower salad with bacon is so good!

When I think of potluck dinners and summer BBQs,  a cold broccoli salad or broccoli and cauliflower salad with mayo version always seems to be served at our get-together. For over two decades this has been one of my assigned family recipes, so I have this one memorized!

• Broccoli cauliflower salad is a hearty salad that keeps for days and doesn't get soggy.
• It's super hearty with a delicious blend of sweet and salty, plus soft and crunchy.
• It's a perfect recipe for holidays, a BBQ, or lunch meal prep too.
• This is already gluten-free and lower-carb, and includes sugar-free and keto friendly adaptions below.

Ingredients you'll need

• broccoli - just the head, not the stalks
• cauliflower - just the heads, not the stalks
• bacon, cooked & chopped (about 4-5 pieces)- looking for a different protein? Substitute cubed ham or smoked turkey.
• red onion
• cheddar cheese
• salted sunflower seeds - any type of salted nut would be great here including almond, walnuts, or cashews
• raisins - or dried cranberries or dried berries
• mayonnaise - Best Foods or this is our favorite no sugar  mayo
• lemon juice - fresh! Not concentrate. (or apple cider vinegar)
• sugar -swap erythritol or monk fruit for no sugar, use can also use honey, coconut sugar, or maple syrup. 

Variations

• Instead of making a homemade dressing for broccoli salad, you can also just add Ranch dressing or Italian dressing.
• Use sour cream instead of mayo, it doesn't have as much flavor but add any seasoning you'd like
• Instead of dried fruit, make a broccoli salad with fresh fruit like grapes or apples

Substitutions

• Cheese: No cheddar? Try swapping it out for some feta or gouda or shredded Colby Jack.
• Dried fruit: If you're not a fan of raisins, dried cranberries, dried berries, or chopped dates will also do the trick.
• Nuts/Seeds: Instead of sunflower seeds you could also use pecans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts,
• Dressing: Not into mayo? Greek yogurt or a mix of olive oil and vinegar can be used for the dressing.

How to make cauliflower broccoli salad

Step 1. Make the dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, and sweetener in a small bowl. Set it aside.

The recipe calls for 1 broccoli head and 1 cauliflower head, you'll want to cut off just the top. I don't worry if I get little bits of stem pieces in the salad, but most of the broccoli should just be the heads.

Using the remaining unused broccoli for riced broccoli or cauliflower rice is a perfect way to use up the rest of the broccoli. 

Step 2. Chop the broccoli and cauliflower into very small pieces and put into a medium-size bowl. Here's a visual on how small of pieces we cut the broccoli and cauliflower into.

Step 3. Combine salad ingredients. Add the diced onion, shredded cheddar, chopped bacon, raisins, and sunflower seeds to a large bowl, along with the chopped cauliflower broccoli pieces.

Step 4. Add the salad dressing to the rest of the vegetable, cheese, and bacon mixture and gently combine. Let sit in the fridge for at least one hour before serving so flavors can blend.

Jenni's tips

• Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• You can make this the day before, which helps the flavors to blend even more!

More broccoli recipes 

• Pan-Fried Broccoli Fritters
• Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Roasted Broccoli Recipe
• Homemade Cheese Sauce
• Chicken Casserole with Broccoli
• Keto Broccoli Salad

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