A new and improved take on the classic broccoli salad! Crunchy and savory sweet, it stars broccoli, raisins, and a flavor-popping dressing.
Love broccoli salad? Us too. There’s something about that classic American broccoli salad: you know, the one with raisins and a mayo-based dressing? It’s a retro summer salad, where the florets are marinaded in the sauce until they’re soft and savory sweet. It’s oddly satisfying and gives us all those nostalgic vibes. Here’s a new and improved version of to make it fresh and healthy: but it keeps all the character and deliciousness of the original. In fact: we think it’s even better.
Broccoli salad: new and improved!
Mayo dressing and raisins reeks of the 1950’s and 60’s, right? While we couldn’t find a definitive history of broccoli salad, it’s got all the markers of those decades. Usually this salad is topped with bacon and sometimes cheese: taking it from a fresh and healthy salad to a decadent treat. So here at A Couple Cooks, we set about to modernize this classic (just like we did with this green bean casserole). Here’s why you should make this broccoli salad recipe:
- Dressing with just enough mayo. Mayo brings big flavor and texture, but it doesn’t need to be swimming in the stuff. This dressing is just the right blend of creamy and savory sweet. Vegan mayo is becoming easy to find: use that for a plant-based broccoli salad.
- Skip the cheese and bacon. Salad doesn’t need cheese and bacon to taste good! Removing those, it’s fresh and plant based.
- Same great flavor…or better! This salad is just as satisfying as the standard…in fact, we think it’s even tastier!
This broccoli salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use vegan mayo.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds broccoli on the stalk, enough for 8 cups florets
- 1 cup sliced red onion
- 1 carrot, julienned or grated
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup mayonnaise (vegan mayo as needed)
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the topping
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Chop the broccoli into very small florets. Slice the red onion. Stir together with the raisins.
- Whisk together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard and salt. Add to the vegetables and mix to combine. Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld and the broccoli to become soft (you can eat right away but the broccoli is crisp and has less of the traditional texture).
- Meanwhile, place the sunflower seeds, soy sauce, sugar, smoked paprika, and 2 pinches kosher salt in a skillet. Heat over medium low heat and sauté for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are sticky and most of the liquid is evaporated, taking care that they do not burn and scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. When they are sticky and darkened in color (and may have clumped together), remove from the heat and spread them onto parchment paper in a single layer and allow them to dry until serving, about 10 minutes.
- When ready to serve, top the salad with the sunflower seeds.