Favorite Broccoli Salad
This broccoli salad recipe is the best! It's healthy, too, thanks to the delicious honey-mustard vinaigrette (no mayo). This broccoli salad packs great for lunch and potlucks. It'll be your new favorite!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Let’s hit restart with my favorite broccoli salad recipe! It will become your new favorite, too.
This is the best broccoli salad I’ve ever had. Why? It’s crisp, crunchy and fresh, which is exactly what I want broccoli salad to be.
It’s also seriously addictive, thanks to the sweet-and-savory combination of freshly toasted sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and cheddar cheese.
I borrowed the honey-mustard vinaigrette from my Brussels sprout slaw, and it plays up raw broccoli’s best features. Who needs mayo when you have creamy and tangy honey-mustard dressing?
The Best Healthy Broccoli Salad
Standard potluck-issue broccoli salads include mayonnaise, sugar and bacon, and you won’t find any of those here.
I included the usual cheddar cheese since my assistant Mara absolutely loved it that way. The cheddar offers some creamy indulgence to the salad, which makes it a perfect transition food from rich holiday meals to healthier options.
That said, if you’re craving a lighter salad, you’ll also enjoy the recipe without cheese.
Watch How to Make Broccoli Salad
Is broccoli salad good for you?
Yes! I consider humble old broccoli to be a total super food, and this salad is loaded with broccoli. Broccoli is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables, which offer potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer health benefits. Other members include cauliflower, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts.
Broccoli is also high in fiber and folate. Learn more about broccoli’s health benefits here.
Do you have to cook the broccoli for broccoli salad?
No, raw broccoli is fairly standard in broccoli salads. It doesn’t taste completely raw in this broccoli salad, since the vinaigrette breaks down the broccoli a bit. Chop up your broccoli florets into very small pieces, and you will have an irresistibly fresh broccoli salad.
If you hate raw broccoli, though, you can blanch the florets. Add the florets to a pot of boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer the florets to an ice bath to halt the cooking process. Drain the cooled broccoli well before using.
If you’re looking for a packable, potluck-friendly side salad, this is it. I’ve enjoyed a big bowl of it as a light meal, too. Please let me know how it turns out for you in the comments!
If you’re looking for more pack-for-work options, I’ve got you covered right here.
Craving more broccoli? Don’t miss these recipes:
Favorite Broccoli Salad
This broccoli salad recipe is the best! It’s healthy, too, thanks to the delicious honey-mustard vinaigrette (no mayo). This broccoli salad packs great for lunch and potlucks. Recipe yields 6 side servings.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 pound broccoli florets (from 1 ½ pounds broccoli stalks), thinly sliced and then roughly chopped (see photos)
- ½ cup raw sunflower seeds or slivered almonds
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries or dried tart cherries, chopped
Honey mustard dressing
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Toast the sunflower seeds: Pour the sunflower seeds into a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently (careful, they’ll burn!), until the seeds are turning golden on the sides, about 5 minutes. Pour the toasted seeds into a large serving bowl.
- Add the chopped broccoli, onion, cheese and cranberries to the serving bowl. Set aside.
- In a 1-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients (olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, garlic and salt). Whisk until the mixture is well blended.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until all of the broccoli is lightly coated in dressing. I highly recommend letting the salad marinate for at least 20 minutes, or even overnight in the refrigerator.
- Divide the salad into individual bowls and serve. Leftovers will keep well for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, covered.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my honey mustard Brussels sprout slaw.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Do you cook the brocoli?
No need to!
Wow was this good! I’ll be honest, I love broccoli salad with mayo, sugar and bacon, so I had reservations. But I am eating healthier now, and decided to try your recipe because I use so many of your delicious recipes. I didn’t have sunflower seeds so rough chopped almonds I had roasted. This is so fresh, crunchy and just enough sweet from the honey and craisins. And my vegetarian daughter could eat it and she loved it too! This is a keeper! Thank you,!
You’re welcome, Bonnie! Thank you for your review.
Is amazing! Made a few modifications but overall recipe fairly similar. Be aware, if you put nuts in the salad and put it in the fridge. They won’t be as crunchy. I’d suggest waiting to add them until your ready to eat!
Thank you, RK! I appreciate your review.
Delicious! Definitely recommend letting salad sit for at least a few hours before eating it
Cheese is a delicious addition
Thank you, Vanessa! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent dressing, I decreased the olive oil to 1/4 cup and added a few tablespoons of mayo. I don’t care for dressings that are mayo-heavy and this one was perfect.
Thank you for sharing, Nessa! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Have been making this salad for nearly 4 years now and we still love it! Also keeps well in the fridge, which is a bonus!
I love to hear that, Kate! Thank you for your review.
Yet again, another wonderful Cookie + Kate recipe! I had lots of shredded Parmesan cheese so I replaced the cheddar for the parm. I thought it tasted great! Also, my family and I all swore we could taste bacon in the salad but of course it wasn’t in there. What a score! Tasting bacon without any of its drawbacks!
I tried it and it was totally worth it. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Oghor!
This was great! Loved the contrast between salty and umami from cheese, the crunchiness from broccoli and nuts or seeds and sweet from cranberries and tart sweetness from dressing. We added some shredded carrots which enhanced the colors, too.
Amazing!! At a picnic yesterday, we ate traditional, mayo-laden broccoli salad that tasted good, but left me wanting a healthier alternative. I had a 2 pound bag of broccoli from Costco and put it to good use in your recipe. It was a hit with my husband and me! I’ll be making this frequently. Thank you for all your great recipes. You are my go-to recipe website!
Thank you for sharing, Marjey! I’m glad you found a use for it. I appreciate your review.
I made this today. It’s delicious. Lovely crunchy texture with a little bit of sweetness. A great way to eat broccoli!
Hi! I’ve tried some of your recipes and they’re great. I’m also a food writer and “new” cookbook author but needed to try something a bit different to entice hubby to eat his broccoli. So many of the broccoli salad recipes are full of mayo and too sweet. I prepared yours exactly as written using toasted sliced almonds. It was delicious and even better the next day. I plan to post my photo of your recipe with a link directly to this page and attribution to you. Thanks for the easy tasty healthy recipe. https://kitchenmaven.org
I’m glad you loved it, Judith! I appreciate your review.
Could I use purple cauliflower in part of this recipe instead of broccoli? (So broccoli+purple cauliflower as I’m growing both of them!)
And if I could, should I roast the cauliflower a bit?
I find this works best, but it may be interesting with cauliflower. Let me know if you try it! I have had a roasted cauliflower and potato salad before, and didn’t mind it. I haven’t tried it with this method,though.
So delicious! I make this all the time and it’s always a hit. Thank you Kate :)
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
OMG so delicious!! Ate it as main course!!
That’s great to hear, Tara! Thank you for your review.
Just put “Favorite Broccoli Salad” in the fridge for a party I’m going too this evening. Everyone can bring what they want but I have to bring my salad. Everyone loves it. I double the recipe. Great recipe.Sometimes I change the nuts or seeds but never the cranberries and no cheese.
Wonderful, Bette! I appreciate your review.
I love this receipe. I’ve shared the link to it to family and friends who also love it. It’s adjustable in terms of ingredients and still tastes delicious. I eleminate cheese and/or nuts for guests with allergies. The dressing is acctually what makes this a delicious salad. I only have issues with all the chopping involved, which may not be a problem for others.
I’m glad it is a hit! Thank you for sharing this recipe, R. Morgan.
Yum. Broccoli and red onion from farmer’s market. Subbed a no-salt trail mix fruit and nut mix, not toasted, for the sunflower seeds (what I had on hand). Delicious. Served with a skillet honey garlic salmon fillet and rice. So good. And I made enough for lunch tomorrow. Lucky me! Loved that it didn’t have mayo. Will definitely make again.
That’s great to hear, Carol! Thank you for your review.
Oh so good! I was looking for a salad recipe that I had all the ingredients for and this was it, I’m so glad I made it. I did substitute Pepitas for the sunflower seeds because that is what I had. This broccoli salad recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank You!
Great to hear, hope! I’m glad you were able to make it work with what you had.
This was so delicious! Everyone loved it! I also added some red cabbage from our garden for color. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
I’m glad you love it, Beth! Thank you for your review.
My go to recipe. I tend to use a diced apple or pear in lieu of the dried cranberries/cherries, as its hard to find those w/out added sugar. I also sub maple syrup for honey. I have used toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas and chopped pecans. And often use swiss cheese in lieu of cheddar. But this recipe is the perfect formula.
Kate I make this salad all the time and it’s so amazing! Also so versatile! I have changed the cranberries for raisins and have left out seeds at times. Also change up the cheese to what I have on hand. It’s always delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Suzanne!
I love this recipe! I was looking for a broccoli salad without mayonnaise and this recipe was perfect. It is a nice compliment to the other Thanksgiving dishes. I made this for my family last year and four people hounded me for the recipe afterwards. Delicious! I will be making this again this year!!!
That’s great to hear, Matthew! I appreciate your review.
This recipe is so fresh and delicious! It does taste best when made hours ahead of time so the flavors meld, but it’s good when you only have about a half hour to spare. I was directed to make this for a holiday dinner and had to triple the recipe because the host’s family loved it so much!
So dang good. I’m eating it right now. I used dried currants as that’s all I had and white onion. I will be adding this to my regular rotation!
Seriously so good! My new favourite
That’s great to hear, Erin! I appreciate your review.
I’m sitting by the pool in Maui right now, so understand your need to escape the cold. It’s definitely my happy place. If you’re coming with a little one, there are lots of things to do here, and many restaurants with kid-friendly menus and spaces. Aloha!
Thank you, Alison! I can’t wait.
This reminds me of a similar salad which also included red and green cabbage slaw, plus a small amount of grated carrots, no cheese , served with a similar dressing with poppy seeds .
We made this tonight . 20 stars !!!! It is awesome and we are looking forward to more broccoli recipes and other veggies too. Thank you very much ,it is a lovely salad and a full meal in itself. Tomorrow we are using the rest up and adding some cold pasta and chickpeas . It will be lovely .
Reign
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Reign.
Absolutely delicious. Used whole grain mustard as I only had that on hand. Left out the cheese. Husband asked me to keep the recipe and that’s the end of the story :) thank you!
Happy to hear that, Jean!
LOVE this salad! I use half the amount of honey, tart cherries instead of cranberries, and substituted feta for cheddar. It’s amazing!
I have made this twice now and it’s delicious! I did use pepitas instead of sunflower seeds because that’s what I had and for cheese I used goat cheese crumbles. The creaminess goes well. Thanks!
You’re welcome, April! Thank you for your review.
As usual, your recipe did not disappoint! We’re big Cookie & Kate fans at our house, but I was nervous about making this recipe for my husband because he LOVES the version we have at Christmas which is made with mayo. Not surprisingly, he raved about this one and said we should have it for lunch often! It makes a great weekday lunch.
Great to hear, Laurie! I appreciate your review.
Not sure if I didn’t leave a comment already but goodness me this salad stole hearts last summer to everyone even meat eaters, thank you back on the page to try something new this year to impress.
Great to hear, Joanna!
I just came across this recipe. When my sons were young (now age 24 and 26) I made broccoli all the time because they loved it. I got burned out and haven’t eaten much broccoli since they left for college.
Hooray! Now I found a way to eat broccoli again. I love this salad and will make it often. My only modification was reducing the onion by 1/2 because I don’t like a strong onion flavor. I will be trying out some of the suggestions in the comment section as well. Thank you!
Great to hear, Diane! I appreciate your review.
Delicious! You can skip the cheese too, but a good quality cheddar will taste great!
This salad is the ultimate to watch friends take a little at first and then go back again for more and more! Absolutely delicious recipe and a firm fav of ours. Make it and see if you surprise every guest who tries it for the first time. Love ❤️ ❤️
Great to hear, Tracy! I appreciate your review.
Thank you Kate for the best broccoli salad I have ever eaten! Took me an hour to prep but well worth the time! The flavors are all balanced…and I would serve this proudly with any meal I serve. I have roasted your beets many times. Yummy!!! Thank you for sharing your recipes and your notes too. Your notes engaged me to try things I may not have tried. I am in love with your website and you! I will now buy your cookbook! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have kept Cookie in my prayers…
Thank you for your kind words, Sheila. I’m glad you have loved this recipe.
My mom made this for Easter & my husband asked me to get the recipe. It’s a winner!
Great to hear, Shannon!
Yum! I wanted to make a broccoli salad tonight and knew I’d find a great recipe here. I made half the recipe and looks like we should get at least 4, more likely 6 side servings. I didn’t have quite enough broccoli so made up the weight difference with some diced red pepper, which looks very nice (note to self: this would make a good Christmas dinner salad – with white cheese rather than orange – especially since it can be made ahead). The cutting method for the broccoli is great – so simple, but I’d never thought of it, and it yields up the perfect texture, quickly and easily. Do include some of the stems, peeled if necessary and diced small – or keep to grate into a slaw or add to soup. Thanks for another winner, Kate!
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it, Ann! I appreciate your review.
I should add, the garlic flavour can get pretty strong once this has sat for a day or two in the fridge, so you might want to tone back on it if making for a family gathering or a potluck where you don’t know everyone’s preferences.
Absolutely delish. I didn’t have cranberries so added pomegranate instead. Also subbed the onion for thinly sliced pickled onion which works well with the cheddar.
I’m glad you ended up enjoying it, Elle! I appreciate your review.
Just made this for the third time since I discovered it recently. It’s a winner! First two times, I made it exactly per the recipe and it was amazeballs. This time (just for what’s on hand in my kitchen…) I swapped tart cherries for cranberries and used maple syrup instead of honey. It’s marinating but I’ve already taste-tested and it’s so delicious. Thank you so much Kate for this go-to recipe!
Great to hear, Maureen! I appreciate your review.
I have made this twice over the Memorial Day weekend! It was delicious!!! I am making extra dressing for coleslaw.
Great to hear, Kim! Thank you for your review.
Love this broccolis salad! I make it without the cheese and it’s fabulous. I also add toasted pumpkin seeds.
Hi Kate, I so enjoyed your fresh version of the traditional broccoli salad. The flavors are so addictive. And love that it’s still good it the frig a day or two later. Planning to use this in my pack for work rotation.
I had my doubts about this salad bc I’m not a big fan of raw broccoli. But it was actually really good! Marinating the broccoli in the dressing overnight and chopping it small helped. Plus the flavors it combines are excellent. I will definitely make this again.
This is absolutely delicious! I added the optional cheese because my husband loves cheese, but I think it would be just as delicious without.Thank you for my new favorite broccoli salad recipe!
You’re welcome, Nancy!
My garden produced an abundance of purple broccoli — all at once, of course!–so I ‘ve been searching for new recipes. And not having to turn on the stove is a big plus.
Made as written, without the cheese, and enjoyed as a side with dinner. Already looking forward to lunch tomorrow.
I love that you made this with your own broccoli!
I love this recipe! The first time was such a success, now I make it because my family ask for it.
Thank you so much for such tasty and healthy option
You’re welcome, Gaby! I appreciate your review.