Easy Fresh Broccoli Salad
I love to serve a fresh, crunchy salad with meals. My go-to is always something green and this Easy Fresh Broccoli Salad is one of my favorites. Broccoli, red onion, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, and bacon combine with a creamy homemade dressing to give a satisfying crunch to your meal. Recently I paired it with Easy Oven Baked Ribs and Easy One Pot Macaroni & Cheese. Are you seeing a theme here?! Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious.
Easy Fresh Broccoli Salad is easy to customize, too. Use broccoli and cauliflower. Any kind of onion will work well here, even pickled onions if you like. Cheddar not your favorite? Try pepper jack cheese, Colby cheese, or even feta cheese. If sunflower seeds are not your thing, try toasted, sliced almonds. Heck, I have even added chopped Roma tomatoes to this salad with great results. Most people love bacon. But you can swap it with finely diced ham instead.
I use a mayonnaise based dressing for this Easy Fresh Broccoli Salad, but you can do an oil and vinegar dressing just as easily and equally delicious. Give this recipe a try and see what you like. Let me know what you think by commenting below. Enjoy!
Easy Fresh Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups fresh broccoli florets (12 oz. pre-washed bag)
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed small pieces
- 2 tablespoons roasted, salted, shelled sunflower seeds
- 5 slices bacon, cooked crisp
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonaisse
- 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon honey (or sugar)
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients.
- Trim broccoli into bite-sized florets. If using a 12 ounce bag of florets, you will get about 5 cups.
- Add broccoli, onion, cubed cheese, and sunflower seeds to a large glass serving bowl.
- In small bowl, prepare dressing.
- Combine mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, onion powder, and honey. Whisk to combine. Pour over broccoli and other ingredients. Toss to to thoroughly.
- Top with chopped bacon. Chill before serving and toss to incorporate bacon. Serve and enjoy!
