a healthy broccoli salad that contains dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and a yogurt-based dressing.
I have a goal in mind of sharing some more salad creations, and it’s finally coming to fruition with this super easy broccoli salad!
I do have this figgy pan-fried chicken and prosciutto salad concoction on my site, but considering the amount of salads I eat (aka daily, and usually twice a day), this does *not* accurately reflect my salad-eating habits! I do *obviously* share a lot more sweet treats and baked goods, but my diet doesn’t consist wholly of breakfast cake (although, wouldn’t that be nice). If you follow me on Instagram, you get a bit more of a peak into my salad-loving life, but I am going to do my best to transition a few of those salad creations into proper recipes, and thus share them on here!
My daily salad creation, while always delicious, varies based on whatever content are in my fridge at the moment. It’s mostly out of pure laziness– yes salads are my lazy food (don’t judge)– but salads are a super easy side and/or full-on meal especially if you’re living a grain free and refined sugar free lifestyle. You can pick and choose what veggies work for your digestive system, and add your protein to the side and boom, ready to go, easy peasyyyy. That’s pretty much my method. I often eat chicken with my salads, but every now and then I’ll have some steak or maybe a strictly-veggie based salad with some cheese (parmesan, halloumi, feta, etc), or else, hard boiled eggs as my protein.
This particular easy broccoli salad recipe can work either as a side dish if you’re planning a dinner with a few people, or you can prep it all veggie-wise and dressing-wise, and store it in the fridge for a few days while you work your way through it individually (or perhaps with your partner if they’re also a salad-eater). It’s actually a re-creation of one of my mom’s go-to brunch or family get-together salads, particularly in the summer– she would always make this broccoli salad that I loved, even though I wasn’t completely enamoured with raw broccoli, somehow I loved this salad. These days, I’ll just come right out and say– I am enamoured with raw broccoli, we have a connection (*love reality TV voice*). So when I got some fresh broccoli recently, which, for whatever reason, I hadn’t bought in forever, I felt inspired to recreate her salad, however I healthified it, and used ingredients I could eat– that means, no mayo and no refined sugar.
Instead, we opt for some 24-hour fermented yogurt (if you don’t make your own yogurt, you can totally use store-bought) and honey, of course. I also made sure the cranberries I added had no sugar added– that can be trickier to find, so if you can’t find them, you could always do raisins, but I do prefer cranberries for this salad.
Find the full recipe and instructions below. This is the perfect salad for an outdoor brunch, BBQ, or picnic, as the summer winds down, and it can certainly transition you into fall. If you do try making this easy broccoli salad, I’d love to know what you think! Drop me a comment or review below, and follow me on IG for more daily grain free inspo @grainfreee.
A few more recipes if you’re looking for some yummy dinner-related inspo:
- FIGGY PAN-FRIED CHCKEN, PROSCIUTTO WITH PARMESAN AND AVOCADO SALAD
- THE EASIEST & MOST DELICIOUS FALL-APART BLADE ROAST
- LAMB BURGERS WITH HOMEMADE TZATZIKI
- LEMON GARLIC BUTTER PAN-FRIED CHICKEN WITH GREEK SALAD
- THE BEST CHICKEN WINGS EVER
easy broccoli salad: ingredients
broccoli salad
- 3 very full (overfull) cups broccoli florets
- 3-4 tbsp chives or green onions, chopped
- 1/3 cup dried, unsweetened cranberries (make sure there is no sugar added!)
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (sub in pumpkin seeds)
broccoli salad dressing
- 2 garlic scapes, chopped, or 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/3 very full cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
easy broccoli salad: how to
- start by preparing your dressing, simply mix all the dressing ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. set aside.
- prepare your salad by chopping your broccoli into small florets, and placing in a large bowl.
- add in your dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and chives, combining these ingredients well with your broccoli.
- add your dressing, tossing everything until well covered.
- serve immediately or allow to sit in fridge for an hour before serving. great side dish for brunch, lunch or dinner. it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, just store in an airtight container.
easy broccoli salad
Ingredients
broccoli salad
- 3 very full (overfull) cups broccoli florets
- 3-4 tbsp chives or green onions, chopped
- 1/3 cup dried, unsweetened cranberries make sure there is no sugar added!
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds sub in pumpkin seeds
broccoli salad dressing
- 2 garlic scapes, chopped, or 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/3 very full cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- start by preparing your dressing, simply mix all the dressing ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. set aside.
- prepare your salad by chopping your broccoli into small florets, and placing in a large bowl.
- add in your dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and chives, combining these ingredients well with your broccoli.
- add your dressing, tossing everything until well covered.
- serve immediately or allow to sit in fridge for an hour before serving. great side dish for brunch, lunch or dinner. it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, just store in an airtight container.