You voted and I am here to deliver! This Healthy Broccoli Salad received the most excitement when I teased it on Instagram, and hey, who am I to keep the people from what they want?
Thank YOU for being so excited about my recipes and sharing your recreations with me! It's always the highlight of my day to see you loving the results of my creativity in the kitchen.
This Healthy Broccoli Salad will not disappoint. It's full of fun and new textures and fresh veggies and protein, a great balance of sweet and earthy, smoky flavor, and tossed in a creamyLICIOUS dressing.
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Why you should make this Healthy Broccoli Salad
Salads are a delicious part of any meal, but we should change them up every now and then so they don't feel too boring! This Healthy Broccoli Salad swaps leafy greens for raw broccoli florets, which not only provide a different flavor, but a different texture as well.
Raw broccoli has a bitter, earthy taste than greens like romaine or spinach, and when chopped into even smaller pieces, pack a harder crunch.
Paired with other smoky and spicy flavors like crunchy bacon bits and diced red onion, this salad introduces some EXPLOSIVE flavor profiles! Sweeter ingredients in the dressing like balsamic vinegar and cane sugar balance those earthy flavors out, resulting in a deliciously crunchy salad.
PLUS, it's packed with veggies and protein, making a well-rounded addition to your next meal!
Save your garden or Caesar salad for next time and give this Healthy Broccoli Salad a try!
Healthy Broccoli Salad Ingredients
Broccoli: Raw broccoli has such a great crunchy texture and earthy flavor! Using it as the base of a salad is a way to shake things up and bring some more variety into your diet.
Bacon: Who doesn't love bacon??? I like mine super crispy and love the smoky, edgy flavor it brings.
Shredded Cheese: Cheese levels up any salad!
Red Onion: For even more crunch and spice!
Plain Greek Yogurt: This is a great, healthy base for creamy salad dressings. Yogurt is a great source of protein and mixes well with other flavors to make all sorts of dressings.
Cane Sugar: To sweeten up our salad. You can also use stevia or liquid stevia!
Balsamic Vinegar: Adds some color to our dressing and is also a great flavor balancer. This will help combine the sweet and earthy flavors in this Healthy Broccoli Salad.
Equipment needed for Healthy Broccoli Salad
To make this Healthy Broccoli Salad, you will need a skillet or sheet pan, 2 small mixing bowls, cutting board, a whisk, and a knife.
How to make Healthy Broccoli Salad
1. Cook and chop bacon to your liking. I love baking it at 400F for 15-18 minutes OR dicing it up finely and cooking over medium high heat on the stove.
TIP: Save a teaspoon or so of bacon grease to add to your dressing!
2. Wash and chop your produce. Dice the red onion finely. Shred cheddar cheese if not already pre-shredded.
3. Put all chopped ingredients into a mixing bowl.
4. In another small mixing bowl, whisk together plain greek yogurt, cane sugar, and balsamic vinegar until sugar is dissolved. Toss with chopped ingredients.
5. Store in the fridge and serve chilled!
Delicious extras
One of the best things about salads is that they are so buildable. You can add whatever you want to help meet your nutrition goals and/or cravings!
To take this Healthy Broccoli Salad up a notch, try adding some of these delicious extras:
- Add your favorite protein. Grilled or crispy chicken strips or slices of steak would make this salad more filling!
- Throw in some nuts or dried fruit! Walnuts, cashews, or dried cranberries would be amazing flavors and textures to add.
- Use a different dressing. I'd recommend sticking with a creamy one like Caesar or Thousand Island.
- Chop up some more veggies. Bell peppers and tomatoes would taste great in this Healthy Broccoli Salad. Cucumbers, too!
Looking for more salad?
Healthy Broccoli Salad
Equipment
- Skillet or sheet pan
- 2 small mixing bowls
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 cups broccoli, chopped
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- ⅓ cup bacon, chopped
For the dressing
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Cook and chop bacon to your liking. I love baking it at 400F for 15-18 minutes OR dicing it up finely and cooking over medium high heat on the stove.
- Wash and chop your produce. Dice the red onion finely. Shred cheddar cheese if not already pre-shredded.
- Put all chopped ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- In another small mixing bowl, whisk together plain greek yogurt, cane sugar, and balsamic vinegar until sugar is dissolved. Toss with chopped ingredients.
- Store in the fridge and serve chilled!
Notes
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved, something that you think it might need, or just say hi!
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find Healthy Broccoli Salad
1 serving: 13 grams Carbs | 8 grams Fat | 9 grams Protein
**Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I was recently really craving this and this recipe knocks it out of the park. I used sharp cheddar which goes a long way for flavor. Also don’t skimp on the bacon grease step - it really elevates the dressing. Will definitely make again.
The easiest recipe EVER. And may I mention delicious. I suggest chopping the broccoli small so all of the pieces can get coated in the creamy greek yogurt dressing. -- also greek yogurt dressing is genius! It brings extra protein to this recipe and doesn't even allow you to miss the typical creamy mayo based dressings.
I made this for Memorial Day and Father’s Day for my family who, for the most part, does not eat healthy. They loved it! Never even knew I was sneaking in some protein through the Greek yogurt. 10/10 recommend!
I made this salad one night for a new side dish and now I can’t get enough of it. I love the smoky flavor of the bacon and the yogurt gives it a nice tang with the onion. I forget I’m eating broccoli
hahaha 'I forget I'm eating broccoli' best review yet 🙂
So good and so easy!! Will be making for thanksgiving!