Healthy Broccoli Salad with Bacon

dairy free broccoli salad surrounded by raisins, sunflower seeds, a spoon and bacon

5 from 7 votes

Broccoli, sunflower seeds, raisins, red onion and bacon are coated in a creamy, sweet, tangy dressing. It's light, easy and delicious and perfect for your summer parties!

Note: the cooking time includes if you blanch the broccoli.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

cooling time10

Total Time21

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 278kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

1 lb. whole broccoli or broccoli florets
4 slices bacon
½ cup avocado oil mayonnaise
1½ teaspoons maple syrup or apple juice (for Whole30)
1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
¼ cup toasted sunflower seeds
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup diced red onion

Instructions

Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. If using whole broccoli heads, cut off the florets. Slice off the bottom of the stalk. Slice lengthwise down one side of the stalk to remove the outer layer. Rotate the stalk onto the flat cut side and repeat until you've sliced off all of the outer layer. Cut the stalk crosswise into 1/4" pieces.
To blanch the broccoli (optional but recommended): Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop in the broccoli. After 30-60 seconds (depending on how small you cut the broccoli; do not go longer than 60 seconds), drain the broccoli and plunge into a bowl of ice water. Let cool completely. Drain and dry on a towel or paper towels.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon until just crisp. Drain and dice.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, maple syrup or apple juice, and vinegar.
Add the broccoli to a large mixing bowl. Add the sunflower seeds, raisins, diced red onion and bacon.
Pour over the dressing and toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve at room temperature or chill in the fridge for at least an hour to serve cold. Stir occasionally to redistribute the dressing.

Notes

To make sure this is Whole30, use the apple juice option for the dressing and make sure all your ingredients are compliant.

Substitutions and variations:

You can use other nuts or seeds for the sunflower seeds. Chopped almonds, pistachios, cashews, pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts would all be great. Pumpkin seeds would also work.
Don't like raisins? Try dried cranberries (make sure they're fruit-sweetened for Whole30) or chopped dates.
Don't like red onion? Trust me, I get it. It can be too harsh. But it provides just enough zip here without being overwhelming. If you want to be sure, you can cover the diced red onion with cold water for 30 minutes and then pat dry. This will mellow their flavor.
Instead of maple syrup or apple juice you can use honey.
If you don't like or want bacon, you could try turkey bacon. Or leave the bacon out altogether.

Make ahead

You can make this salad up to 3 days in advance. Give it a good toss before serving to make sure everything gets evenly coated.

Nutrition