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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"This is so delicious! I just made it and couldn't stop eating it. Thank you for an amazing recipe! I've been looking for salads to meal prep and this is perfect!" ~ T
"Wow! Since starting low carb, I’ve been looking for a good broccoli salad recipe… this one is amazing!! I like it just as well or even better than the standard recipe;)" ~ Lisa
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.
Don't toss the stalks!
While our broccoli salad recipe just uses the broccoli crowns, if you have leftover stalks, use them to make broccoli rice!
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
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Recipe
Keto Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 heads of broccoli tops only
- 8 slices well cooked and chopped bacon
- 1 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese shred it from a block
- ½ cup salted and roasted sunflower seeds
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon monk fruit or erythritol
Instructions
- Make the broccoli salad dressing by mixing the mayo, apple cider vinegar, and monk fruit (or erythritol) in a small bowl. Set it aside.
- Add the chopped broccoli, crumbled bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese, and sunflower seeds to a large bowl. Combine.
- Mix in the salad dressing. Enjoy! Chill for 1+ hours before serving to blend the flavors.
Notes
- Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Easy adaptions include swapping the bacon for ham or roasted chicken, using different cheese or nuts, or even mixing in low carb fruit like blueberries.
- The nutritional information is an estimate and does not subtract erythritol from the net carb count. This recipe roughly has 3 net carbs per serving after subtracting the fiber and erythritol. People following a keto diet subtract both of these from the carb count since they have zero impact on blood sugar. We highly recommend calculating the nutrition yourself also since all brands can vary.
Nutrition
Jaslyne says
May this for dinner, use half the amount of sweetener and wished I mixed the dressing with the broccoli first then add the rest of the ingredients. But all in all it was a pretty good salad.
Nicole says
Omg! I'm not a big fan of broccoli salad (but I love broccoli). I decided to make this for my friends who are keto. I love it! The apple cider get it a zing that I could eat 5 servings of! Saving this one!
Donna says
We loved this!
Sheila says
This was amazing!! Made it for dinner tonight with baked salmon!
Vicki says
Made this but substituted red and yellow peppers for the onions, it was so good! I did cut the recipe in half since I’m the only one on the keto lifestyle
Berenice says
2T is teaspoons Or tablespoons?
WholeLottaYum says
Tablespoons! Thanks for checking, I'll get that changed to Tbsp in the post
WholeLottaYum says
Tablespoons! I just updated the recipe to Tbsp to help clarify 🙂
Karen says
My mother always used “T” for tablespoon and “t” for teaspoon
All of her handwritten recipes that I use are that way. Same with my grandmother’s recipes!
Melinda V. Speer says
generally t = teaspoon, T = Tablespoon
Emily Hart says
It says it yields 10 servings. How many ounces or cups is that per serving?
WholeLottaYum says
I'm guessing about 3/4 cup? I'll have to measure next time I make it 🙂
Tanja says
I have made this a couple of times for Christmas events and get asked every time for the recipe. It’s absolutely delicious!
Stacy says
I buy my broccoli as florets in a large bag so had to look up an equivalent for this recipe. As best I can tell, two stalks of broccoli yield about 7 cups of florets. Maybe this info will be helpful to someone. Making the recipe this minute!
Jennifer says
Thanks! It was helpful for me!
Rebecca says
Can you use frozen broccoli tops?
WholeLottaYum says
The salad is best using fresh broccoli so I honestly don't know how defrosted frozen broccoli would turn out! keep us posted if you make it.
Cindy says
I male a very similar one but I add cauliflower and thin the dressing down with milk or half and half to make it thin. My family loves it. Thanks.
CJ says
Could you make this without the sweetener?
WholeLottaYum says
yes! You definitely can!
Camie says
I’m not a big fan of any of the keto sweeteners— I get a weird aftertaste. Has anyone made this without any sweetener?
WholeLottaYum says
I'm sure the keto broccoli salad would be great without sweetener too!
Cindy Bridges says
Try adding a few drops of liquid stevia. It helps offset the swerve aftertaste
Donna McKeller says
Do I have to add the sweetener?
WholeLottaYum says
No, you can leave out the sweetener 🙂
Angela says
What can we substitute for the erythritol?
WholeLottaYum says
Monkfruit or you can even leave the sweetener out of the keto broccoli salad.