Keto Broccoli Salad (Low Carb, No Sugar)

You'll obsess over our viral keto broccoli salad with fried bacon, cheese, and sunflower seeds. Top off the salad with a keto-friendly sweet dressing that'll be the star of your next potluck, holiday table, or your work lunch room. Just 5 net carbs per serving!

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Our broccoli salad keto recipe is the best!

Raw broccoli bacon salad has been a classic since the 1970's, this is a keto adaption of our family favorite that I've been making for decades. This salad will seriously rave reviews from your friends and family and no one would ever guess it's low carb and sugar free.

The traditional broccoli salad recipe calls for lots of sugar, lemon juice, and sweetened cranberries or raisins. We've taken out the sugar and swapped the lemon for apple cider vinegar, which adds a nice kick and makes the salad taste even better. You won't even miss the dried fruit with that sweet tangy dressing!

Our version holds its shape and doesn't get soggy, it'll keep for many days in the fridge, which also makes it great for lunch meal prep. This is also a simple recipe to customize by changing the protein, the type of cheese, or you can use a different kind of nuts.

We originally wrote this in 2018, it was updated and rewritten with new photos added in 2024. It's the same great recipe!

Ingredients you'll need

• broccoli-tops only - You can either buy broccoli crowns or buy whole broccoli and cut the stalks off. Swapping half of the broccoli for cauliflower is a great variation!
• well cooked and chopped bacon - bake or air fry your own or buy a bag of pre-cooked bacon from Costco. You could also use diced ham, roasted chicken, or turkey.
• diced red onion - green onions taste good eaten raw too
• shredded cheddar cheese - any shredded cheese will work here, to keep it as low carb as possible we recommend shredding cheese from a block instead of using cheddar from a bag that adds potato starch (and hidden carbs)
• salted sunflower seeds - pecans, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts are great too
• mayonnaise - Use a sugar free mayo. You can also swap half of the mayo for sour cream or Greek yogurt.
•  apple cider vinegar (or fresh lemon juice) - we prefer to make this a keto broccoli salad with apple cider vinegar since it's easy and lower in carbs than lemon juice. 
• granulated monk fruit to add a touch of sweetness. Or use stevia to taste (it's much stronger than monk fruit).

This is just an overview of what you need and how to make it, get the full instructions and quantities down in the recipe card at the bottom.

Variations 

• Change the dressing. Instead of making the dressing you can swap it for a low carb Ranch dressing, or another creamy favorite.
• Cook the broccoli by parboiling it or roasting it.
• Add low carb fruit like blueberries
• Make it vegetarian by leaving out the bacon. Add more nuts, roasted chickpeas, or another plant based salty substitute.

How to make low carb bacon broccoli salad

Make the dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and monk fruit in a small bowl and set it aside. 

Prep the veggies. You're just using chopped broccoli crowns here, not the stalk. 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. Chop it into very small pieces and add to a large bowl. 

Add remaining ingredients. Add the chopped onion, shredded cheddar, chopped bacon, and sunflower seeds to the large bowl.

Add the dressing and combine it with the broccoli salad ingredients. We recommend letting the salad rest in the fridge for at least an hour or two before serving to blend the flavors. Enjoy!

Recipe tips

• You can definitely serve the salad right after assembling, yet it has an even better flavor if you let it rest in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight.
• We mix the dressing in with salad but you can serve it on the side too!
• To keep the carbs as low as possible, shred the cheese from a block, and use mayo and bacon that don't add sugar.
• Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.

More keto broccoli recipes

• Broccoli Cakes
• Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Roasted Broccoli Recipe
• Homemade Cheddar Sauce
• Chicken Divan Casserole

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Recipe