Truly the Best Broccoli Salad Recipe with Craisins – Really! Everyone Devours It

Looking for a yummy and easy side dish to make for your next barbecue, potluck, or weeknight dinner? Look no further than this delicious broccoli salad recipe with craisins! It’s a hit with both kids and adults making it easy to get everyone to eat their veggies.

This broccoli salad with craisins is one of our all-time favorite side dishes. I love that it’s super easy to make, and even easier to eat! The kids can’t get enough of the sweet craisins and creamy dressing, while the adults appreciate the addition of the bacon bits. This dish really does have something for everyone.

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This is a healthy, perfect side dish is packed with fresh broccoli, celery, red onion, bacon, and dried cranberries, all tossed in a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it or just mix together all of the ingredients and you’re good to go! So why wait? Give this broccoli salad with bacon recipe a try today!

Classic Broccoli Salad, Cranberries, and Bacon

This raw vegetable salad is a family favorite and makes a delicious side dish for BBQ chicken, hamburgers, pork chops, or just about any grilled or baked entree. My kids even love it as a healthy option for school lunches! 

This is a great recipe for broccoli salad with crunchy raw broccoli, tart cranberries, salty bacon, and tangy dressing. It’s a real crowd pleaser and can easily be doubled and tripled as needed. It’s perfect summer salad for potlucks, cookouts, and summer picnics.

How to Make Raw Broccoli Cranberry Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 heads of raw broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
• 1 apple, deseeded and chopped into large pieces
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 6 slices of thick-cut bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Creamy homemade broccoli salad dressing ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup (more/less to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together small pieces of chopped broccoli, Craisins, apple, diced red onion, diced celery, and crumbled bacon.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

3. Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and mix everything together until it’s evenly coated.

4. Just before serving, stir in sunflower seeds. 

5. Enjoy!

Note: Serve this right away at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve this broccoli salad cold. 

Broccoli Craisin Salad Substitutions/Additions

Cheddar Cheese – Some recipes include cheddar cheese and it’s a tasty combination. But we limit dairy because one of our children is lactose intolerant. So, we leave it out and this salad is still amazing! If you want to add shredded cheese, add 1/2 cup to this recipe before tossing everything together.

Chopped nuts – If you’re looking for a little more crunch in your salad, you could always add some chopped nuts. I like the sunflower seeds more because they have a slightly sweet flavor, but chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds would all be delicious in this salad too!

Pumpkin seeds – You can substitute pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds.. I recommend that you toast them a little bit for the best flavor. Just spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes and add them just before adding serving the salad

Bacon – This is seriously the best broccoli bacon salad recipe! But I think I can say that about any recipe that includes bacon, am I right? I love the flavor that it adds. But if you’re looking for a healthier option, you could always omit the bacon or use turkey bacon instead. If you want to make this salad vegetarian or vegan, simply leave the bacon out or swap it for a plant-based option.

Other dried fruit – I love the sweetness that dried cranberries add to this salad, but raisins or dried cherries would also be good. You could even use chopped fresh fruit like grapes, apples, or pears.

Greek yogurt – For a lighter dressing, you could substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. You’ll use equal amounts.

Green onions – If you have green onions on hand, they would be a great addition to this salad. Just chop up a few and mix them in with the other salad ingredients.

Miracle Whip – You can substitute this for mayo in equal amounts. 

White wine vinegar – You can substitute this or equal parts lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar

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Can You Use Frozen Broccoli?

I don’t recommend using frozen broccoli in this salad. The texture just isn’t the same and it can be a little mushy. But, if you’re in a pinch and that’s all you have on hand, go ahead and use it. Just be sure to thaw it first and drain any excess water before adding it to the salad.

To save time, I often buy a big bag of pre-cut, fresh broccoli florets at Sam’s Club. I find them in the produce section near the fresh herbs. This cuts down on my prep time and makes it easier to put this salad together quickly.

Can This Broccoli Salad be Made Ahead of Time?

Yes! This broccoli salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, making it a great make-ahead option for busy weeknights or meal prep. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out. I like to use these glass storage containers with lids.

If you’re taking this salad to a potluck or picnic, I recommend making it the day before. The flavors have a chance to meld together and the salad only gets better with time.

So there you have an easy broccoli salad recipe with dried cranberries and crispy bacon. Your family and friends will come back again and again for this tasty recipe! Try it for yourself and see how much you love it.

For more delicious side salads and healthy side dishes, try one of these:

• Hawaiian macaroni salad
• Coleslaw
• Potato salad with egg
• How to Make Black Bean and Corn Salsa (recipe)
• Southwestern Black Bean and Black Eyed Peas Salad Recipe
• Russian Salad

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