This broccoli salad recipe is a delicious cookout side dish! It features fresh broccoli, dried cranberries, and toasted nuts and seeds in a creamy dressing.

Jeanine Donofrio

Phoebe Moore

Updated Apr 30, 2026

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This broccoli salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes. A creamy, tangy homemade dressing coats crisp broccoli florets, chewy dried cranberries, sharp red onion, and smoky roasted almonds and sunflower seeds. It’s my lighter spin on classic Midwest broccoli salad, and though you won’t find any cheese or bacon here, it’s every bit as delicious. Even salad skeptics love it.

This broccoli salad recipe is easy to make, and even better, make ahead. A few hours or a day in the fridge gives the broccoli a chance to soften and soak up the dressing’s punchy flavor. Pack it up for a potluck, a cookout, or a weekday lunch, or serve it as a holiday side dish. It’s guaranteed to be a hit!

A Broccoli Salad Recipe That’s Good for You

Broccoli salad is a standard cookout side dish, but the typical classic broccoli salad recipe is loaded up with sugar, ample mayo, bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese. My version is a fresher, healthier twist—I nix the sugar, meat, and cheese altogether. The result is a crisp, refreshing salad that’ll be the star of your cookouts all summer long!

How to Make Broccoli Salad

The first step in this recipe is chopping the broccoli. Make sure to cut the florets into bite-sized pieces and to finely dice the stems. The small pieces will soften more and soak up the dressing better than larger pieces will.

Next, you’ll mix up the homemade broccoli salad dressing. Instead of using the typical 1 cup mayo: 2 tablespoons vinegar ratio for my broccoli salad dressing, I replace some of the mayo with olive oil and up the proportion of vinegar. I also add a few teaspoons of Dijon mustard and a little honey to the mix, making for a light, super tangy dressing with a delectable sweet/salty flavor.

Add the broccoli, red onion, and dried cranberries to the creamy dressing, and stir to coat.

Now for the best part: the smoky toasted nuts and seeds! Tamari almonds and sunflower seeds or pepitas add wonderful crunch to the salad and bring richness and smoky flavor. They’re the perfect nutritious substitute for real bacon and cheese.

They’re easy to make—toss the almonds and seeds with tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika. Toast in a 350°F oven for 10 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. Top the salad with the nuts and seeds.

Season to taste, and enjoy!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Best Broccoli Salad Recipe Tips

Want to make the best broccoli salad around? Here are a few simple tips:

Cut your broccoli small. Because this salad features raw broccoli, you want to make sure the pieces are small enough to become fully coated and soften in the dressing. Also, when the broccoli pieces are a similar size to the other ingredients in the salad, you can get a little of everything in each bite.
Let it marinate. This salad is good right after it’s made, but it’s even better after a few hours (or even days) in the fridge. The broccoli softens and absorbs the flavors of the dressing—my family loved it on day three!
Save some nuts for the last minute. Sure, I like to make this salad ahead so that the flavors can develop, but the key to making it great is the crispy, smoky nuts and seeds on top. If you add them too early, they’ll lose their crunch, so save some to sprinkle on right before serving!

How to Store and Make Ahead

If you’re making this recipe ahead, wait to add the almonds and sunflower seeds or pepitas. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Store the rest of the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Add the nuts and seeds right before you eat.
If you have leftover salad, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

What to Serve with Broccoli Salad

This broccoli salad recipe is a perfect side dish for potlucks and cookouts! Serve it alongside classic cookout recipes like these:

Round out the meal with other summer favorites like grilled zucchini and grilled corn on the cob. Don’t forget the lemonade to drink!

Our readers love to serve this salad at holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter too.

More Salad Recipes You’ll Love

If you love this salad, try one of these easy salad recipes next:

Broccoli Salad

rate this recipe:

4.98 from 479 votes

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Serves 6

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This broccoli salad recipe is the perfect easy cookout side dish! Tangy, refreshing, and full of yummy sweet/salty flavor, it's a lighter version of the classic recipe, made with less mayo and no sugar, meat, or dairy.

Ingredients

1 pound broccoli crowns
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
⅓ cup diced red onion
⅓ cup dried cranberries

Smoky tamari almonds

½ cup almonds
½ cup sunflower seeds or pepitas
1 tablespoon tamari
½ teaspoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, more to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Chop the broccoli florets into ½-inch pieces and any remaining stems into a ¼-inch dice. Peel any woody or coarse parts from the stem first.
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, garlic, and salt. Add the broccoli, onions, and cranberries and toss to coat.
Place the almonds and sunflower seeds on the baking sheet, toss with the tamari, maple syrup, and smoked paprika and spread into a thin layer. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes (they’ll get crispier as they sit).
Toss the nuts and seeds into the salad, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Season to taste and serve.