Name: Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 head of broccoli, tops only; 1 head of cauliflower, tops only; 8 slices well cooked and chopped bacon; 1 cup red onion, diced; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1/2 cup salted and roasted sunflower seeds; 1/2 cup raisins; 1 cup mayonnaise; 2 T fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar); 2 Tbsp sweetener

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An easy broccoli cauliflower salad recipe chock full of hearty ingredients like bacon, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, and raisins. This simple cold salad recipe keeps well and is the perfect side dish for a potluck, BBQ, or during the holidays. It’s always a favorite!

The cauliflower broccoli salad is already gluten-free and lower-carb, to make it sugar-free be sure to use no sugar mayo, swap the sugar for erythritol or honey, and be sure to use naturally sweetened fruit instead of sugar added.

To make this a keto-friendly broccoli salad simply make the above swaps and leave the raisins out. You can also make it paleo and Whole 30 with just a couple swaps too!

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

When I think of potluck dinners and summer BBQ’s, a cold broccoli salad or broccoli and cauliflower sad 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 haha.

A traditional recipe for broccoli cauliflower salad calls for lots of hearty sweet and savory ingredients like bacon, mayonnaise, cheese, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit. If you’ve been following our site for a while you probably know my husband has been on a keto diet for over year, if you’re on a keto diet you might prefer our sugar free and keto broccoli salad recipe version!

Cauliflower Broccoli Salad Ingredients

What is so great about this cold broccoli and cauliflower salad recipe is that it’s easy to swap ingredients if you want to change it up. Feel free to use all broccoli, all cauliflower, use ham instead of bacon, use a different type of seed or nut, PLUS you can use fresh fruit like grapes, blueberries, or apples instead of raisins.

Want a broccoli cauliflower salad with something different than bacon? Feel free to substitute ham, turkey, or your favorite protein substitute.

Salad Ingredient List

1 head of broccoli-tops only
1 head of cauliflower- tops only
1/2 lb bacon, cooked & chopped (about 4-5 pieces)
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup mayonnaise – Best Foods or this is our favorite no sugar mayo
2 T fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
2-3 T sugar (swap erythritol or monk fruit for no sugar)

How to Make Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

To make this delicious broccoli cauliflower salad recipe, you’ll want to start by making the salad dressing. This is a mayo based dressing and you wouldn’t even know it had mayo in it since you can’t taste it at all!

Some cauliflower broccoli salad variations out there use a mix of mayo and sour cream, we have tried that and it does NOT have as much flavor as just using mayonnaise. We ONLY make the mayo version, the key is to use a high-quality mayo like Best Foods, Kraft, Sir Kensington’s or Primal Kitchen’s Olive Oil Mayo that’s sugar free and paleo/keto friendly.

You can make the recipe even healthier by using lighter mayo, or using a different type of sweeteners like honey or erythritol.

Mix the mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. Please do not use lemon juice concentrate in this step, it never turns out as well as buying fresh lemon. In a pinch it’s better to use apple cider vinegar than trying to make this with lemon concentrate.

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.

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.

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

Mix the vegetable mixture together. You could, in theory, add the broccoli salad dressing before mixing the vegetable mix together and just do this as one step. I personally like to combine the vegetables and other ingredients just to make sure it evenly combines.

Add the broccoli cauliflower 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.

Can you make broccoli cauliflower salad ahead of time?

Making the cauliflower and broccoli salad ahead of time is a smart idea. At a minimum, you’ll want it to rest in the fridge for one hour to help the dressing and salad flavors to blend together. This is one of those salad recipes that the longer you let it sit the better it tastes! I usually make this low carb broccoli salad the morning of when I need it later that afternoon or evening. It’s perfectly fine to make the day before too!

Because the broccoli cauliflower salad with bacon is perfect as a make-ahead salad recipe, this is probably one of the reasons we always have it for the holidays. No one has time to cook an entire Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in one day, adding in a couple of make-ahead dishes really helps out immensely.

How Long is Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Good For?

Broccoli cauliflower salad is good for up to 4 days in the fridge. Be sure to store it in a container with a lid or covered in plastic and then stir it together before serving again. The cold broccoli cauliflower salad is also a terrific option for lunch meal prep since the broccoli and cauliflower hold their shape and don’t get soggy like lettuce greens do.

Adaption for Keto/Low Carb Broccoli Salad

This broccoli and cauliflower salad with mayo is already low carb and only has 12 net carbs per serving. You can bring the net carbs down to only 3 per serving with the following swaps:

Leave the raisins out entirely
Use a keto-friendly no sugar mayo like Sir Kensington’s or Primal Kitchen
Instead of sugar, swap the sweetener for 2-3 Tbsp erythritol or monkfruit

Adaption for Paleo / Whole 30 Broccoli Salad

Don’t add raisins, you could swap with a paleo-friendly fruit whether it be fresh or dried as long as it doesn’t have sugar
Don’t add cheese
Use a no sugar paleo-approved mayo like Primal Kitchen
Instead of sugar, swap the sweetener for 2-3 Tbsp of paleo-approved sweetener or don’t use sweetener

Can you make broccoli cauliflower salad vegetarian or vegan?

To make this cold cauliflower broccoli salad recipe vegetarian or vegan:

Use a vegan cheese or don’t add it at all
Leave the bacon out or use a vegan/vegetarian substitute, maybe even mix a little nutritional yeast in? (I have not tried that but I love nutritional yeast!)
Use a dairy-free mayo

Even More Broccoli Recipes You’ll Enjoy

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Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

An easy and delicious cold broccoli cauliflower salad that includes bacon, sunflower seeds, and a zesty mayo based dressing. This cauliflower broccoli salad is gluten-free, lower in carbs, and is perfect for holiday gatherings, potlucks and BBQ's!

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli, tops only
1 head of cauliflower, tops only
8 slices well cooked and chopped bacon
1 cup red onion, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salted and roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
2 Tbsp sweetener

Instructions

mix the mayo, lemon juice and sugar in small bowl to make the cauliflower & broccoli salad dressing and set aside
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl
Add the dressing mixture and combine well
Chill for 1+ hours before serving

Notes

You can substitute dried cranberries, currants, or dried berries for the raisins, or even fresh fruit like grapes, blueberries, or apples.

Using just chopped broccoli is another variation of this salad recipe.

Use apple cider vinegar if you don't have fresh lemons.

Keeps up to 4 days in the fridge.

Keto/Low Carb Cauliflower Broccoli Salad