by 
Easy Broccoli Salad is filled with fresh broccoli, crunchy bacon bits and sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and a simple homemade dressing.
This salad is perfect any time of the year for almost any occasion!
A favorite salad
This is one of my most requested recipes from family and friends. A friend first introduced it to me years ago. I've been making it ever since, and it's my husband's favorite salad.
I make it for family dinners, camping trips, parties, and weddings. My niece requested it on her wedding dinner buffet (we catered the wedding and served more than 100 people). Recently, I made it for a large family gathering of about 50 people. This is one of those salads that's easy to make for 8 people but manageable for 100 people. I'm sharing my basic recipe below and all my tips for making this for a crowd.
Why you'll love broccoli salad
- Fresh and Crunchy Texture: Broccoli salad combines the crisp crunch of fresh broccoli with sunflower seeds, crispy bacon, and dried cranberries, making each bite satisfying and flavorful.
- A Perfect Balance of Flavors: Combining fresh broccoli, savory bacon, and a tangy, slightly sweet dressing creates a delicious mix of flavors that keeps every bite exciting.
- Fresh and Flavorful: This broccoli salad is made with crisp broccoli and simple, fresh ingredients.
Ingredients for broccoli salad
- Fresh Broccoli - You'll need two heads of broccoli. The total weight will be between 1 ½ - 2 pounds before you've trimmed them.
- Bacon - I prefer to cook my bacon for this recipe, but you could also use packaged bacon bits. I use four strips of thick bacon.
- Sunflower Seeds - Use roasted and salted sunflower seeds.
- Dried Cranberries - Adds the perfect sweet and tart flavor.
- Red Onions - You could also use a white onion or a sweet onion if you prefer.
- Mayonnaise - Base for the dressing. Use your favorite mayo.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - Or use white wine vinegar.
- Sugar - Helps balance the flavor of the dressing.
Steps to make broccoli salad
- Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix dressing together by combining mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Place broccoli, onions, bacon, sunflower seeds, and cranberries in a large mixing bowl.
- Add dressing to salad and gently fold everything together so it is well mixed.
- Top with additional bacon bits and sunflower seeds.
Recipe tips
- Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- If you prefer a sweeter dressing, add an additional tablespoon of sugar to the dressing.
- Save a small amount of sunflower seeds and bacon bits to add to the top of the salad as a garnish.
- I prefer to make and serve this salad on the same day.
- If making more than 2-3 hours ahead of time, add the sunflower seeds and bacon just before serving. This helps maintain their crunch.
- Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
♨️ How to mellow a strong onion
To reduce the sharpness of red onion, soak the chopped pieces in cold water for 10 minutes. This simple step helps mellow its strong flavor.
To make for 100 people
Broccoli salad is a great salad to serve for a crowd. You can easily double, quadruple, or multiply this recipe to any size you need. When making for a large crowd, there are a few tips I follow.
- Plan ahead. Write out the amounts you'll need for each ingredient and make a grocery list.
- Prep everything at least one day ahead of time and store in separate containers.
- The broccoli should only be washed and cut one day ahead of time. Any earlier and the cut stems may begin to darken.
- I used 20-25 pounds of broccoli. When it was all cut up, it filled a seven-gallon container. I included more of the stem pieces than I normally would. This helped stretch the broccoli. For the stems, I cut the dried cut end off the bottom and discarded it. Then I diced the softer parts of the stem.
- Make certain you have a large enough container to hold the broccoli and a container to mix everything together.
- When adding the dressing, don't add it all at once. Add it in small batches then mix. There's a chance you won't need to use all of the dressing.
- Try to keep the proportions about the same. But don't worry if you end up with a bit more bacon or a bit less sunflower seeds. I just added them in.
- To save space when transporting, place the fully mixed salad in large zip-top bags and then lay flat in a cooler. The salad can be dumped straight out of the bag into your serving bowl.
Frequently asked questions
Broccoli salad will last for 3-4 days when covered and stored in the refrigerator.
Yes, you add a cup of small cubes or shredded cheddar cheese to your salad.
Serving suggestions
Broccoli salad goes with just about any main dish. Some favorites to try include:
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my delicious salad recipes!
Easy Broccoli Salad Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Salad
- 8 cups Chopped Broccoli (2 heads, about 1 ½ - 2 pounds)
- ½ cup red onion (diced)
- ½ cup bacon bits (4 slices of thick bacon, cooked)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds (roasted and salted)
Instructions
Dressing
- Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk until smooth.1 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Salad
- In a large mixing bowl, add broccoli, onion, bacon, cranberries, and sunflower seeds.*Reserve a bit of the bacon and sunflower seeds to use as a garnish.8 cups Chopped Broccoli, ½ cup red onion, ½ cup bacon bits, ½ cup dried cranberries, ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- Add dressing and combine. Gently fold everything together until the dressing coats all the broccoli.
- Top with reserved bacon bits and sunflower seeds.
Notes
-
- Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
-
- If you prefer a sweeter dressing, add an additional tablespoon of sugar to the dressing.
-
- Save a small amount of sunflower seeds and bacon bits to add to the top of the salad as a garnish.
-
- I prefer to make and serve this salad on the same day.
-
- If making more than 2-3 hours ahead of time, add the sunflower seeds and bacon just before serving. This helps maintain their crunch.
-
- Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Tips for making salad for 100 people can be found in the post above this recipe card.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Connie Svoboda says
I wish I had taken a picture of the wonderful salad I created, but I couldn't wait to eat it! I'm an organic gardener, so everything was fresh. Upon a bed of various lettuces, I surrounded the outer edges of the plate with thin slices of zucchini, leaving a open spot in the middle for the broccoli salad (made as you have, with some exceptions). Made with: big pieces of bacon, because this was the main dish; made with mayo and chunky bleu cheese dressing, and honey; and then additionally seasoning dressing with dried cilantro, lemon pepper, and a touch of cayenne pepper; and then finally sprinkling lemon pepper on zucchini slices and generously drizzling balsamic Caprice glaze over everything. Soooo yummy!! Thanks for the great idea! It made a wonderful main course salad!
Kathy says
What a great idea! And lucky you to have such a great garden! Thanks for sharing your ideas! 🙂