Grandma’s Broccoli Salad
If you've never craved broccoli, this salad will change your mind. It's creamy, crunchy, sweet, and tangy-all the best flavors in one bowl. My grandma has made it for every holiday and family get-together for as long as I can remember, and it's been a favorite of mine for just as long. With fresh broccoli, sharp cheese, crispy bacon, and a signature sweet-tangy dressing, it's the side dish that disappears first at any gathering.
Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Salad
Our family has long deemed this the best broccoli salad recipe, gobbling it up ever since my grandma began serving it. Even the most broccoli-averse among us seems always to enjoy at least a small serving. It’s undeniably hard to resist!
- Contrasting Textures – The raw broccoli retains some crunch, the bacon is salty and crisp, and the cheese is smooth and creamy; it all combines to create an amazing mixture of textures.
- Quick Prep – The broccoli is used raw, so no cooking is necessary except for the bacon; this comes together quickly and easily, which is the perfect dish to bring along to a holiday, party, or potluck.
- Easily Customizable – Take out ingredients you don’t like, swap in your favorite cheese, add sunflower seeds, chopped nuts or dried fruit… the combinations are endless! You can also change up the dressing; see below for some ideas!
Ingredients Overview
The broccoli salad ingredients are simple and few, but they combine to make the most amazing salad!
- Broccoli - For this salad, you’ll use fresh broccoli, specifically the florets. I use 2 heads of broccoli for this recipe, which comes out to about 7 cups of florets.
- Bacon - Use your favorite brand and cut, then cook it using your favorite method (I have been an oven bacon convert for years!) and coarsely chop it. I love real bacon, but if you’re in a SERIOUS pinch, you could sprinkle on bacon bits.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese - The cheese is cut into small cubes, but you can also use shredded cheese. You can also use different types of cheese, such as mild cheddar, Colby or Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, Swiss, feta, etc.
- Onion - This is finely chopped, and you can use your favorite variety – white, yellow, or red.
The broccoli salad dressing only requires a few ingredients, as well.
- Mayonnaise - Real mayonnaise for the best texture and flavor!
- Sugar - Regular white granulated sugar.
- White Vinegar - You could also substitute apple cider vinegar.
If the dressing on the salad sounds like something you’ll love, you should also make my Seven Layer Salad, which uses the same dressing.
More Add-In Ideas
One great thing about this recipe is that it's super customizable! I've seen lots of versions with different additions and mix-ins, including:
- Dried cranberries
- Raisins
- Dates
- Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
- Seedless grapes
- Chopped apples
- Nuts, such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- Cherry tomatoes
- Bell peppers
If your family makes broccoli salad, I'd love to hear what your favorite add-ins are!
Dressing Substitutions
While I love my grandma's traditional dressing, the salad lends itself to some flavor modifications when it comes to the dressing if you'd like to try something different:
- Honey instead of sugar
- Lemon juice in place of white vinegar.
- Add a dollop of Dijon mustard for an extra punch of flavor.
- Honey mustard vinaigrette if you don't want a creamy dressing
- Sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or buttermilk-based dressing if you want it creamy but not mayo-y.
How to Make Broccoli Salad
The process is simple and takes very little time.
Step 1 – In a large bowl, toss together the broccoli florets, bacon, onion and cubed cheese.
Step 2 – In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar.
Step 3 – Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and gently stir to thoroughly combine, ensuring everything is coated with the dressing.
Step 4 – Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving for the best flavor!
What to Serve with Broccoli Salad
This is such a wonderfully versatile side dish! It’s great along with holiday spreads like ham, lamb, beef, and turkey, as well as the usual summer picnic foods like burgers, bbq, and sandwiches.
It also makes for a fantastic lunch!
Make-Ahead Tips
If you’re looking to save time, take advantage of any or all of these time-saving tips when making and assembling the broccoli salad:
- Prep Ahead: Chop the broccoli, bacon, and cheese up to 2 days in advance. Store them separately in airtight containers until ready to assemble.
- Use Pre-Cooked Bacon: Grab pre-cooked bacon or microwaveable bacon to skip stove time. Just crisp it up a bit before adding.
- Bagged Broccoli Florets: Save time by using pre-cut broccoli florets-just give them a quick chop to make bite-sized pieces.
- Mix the Dressing Early: The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Just give it a stir before using.
Recipe Tips for Best Results
Here are a few quick tips for making the absolute best broccoli salad!
- Let It Chill: This salad tastes even better after a few hours in the fridge. The flavors meld, and the broccoli softens slightly for a perfect texture.
- Customize the Sweetness: You can adjust the amount of sugar in the dressing to your taste-some like it tangier, some a little sweeter!
- Add Crunch: For extra crunch, toss in sunflower seeds or slivered almonds just before serving.
How to Store the Salad
This should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Broccoli salad doesn't freeze well. As a result, make it and enjoy it within a few days!
More Favorite Side Dish Salads
These are great for holidays, a potluck, summer BBQ, and really any get-together!
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Best Ever Potato Salad
- Easy Grape Salad
- Creamy Mexican Corn Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon & Pecans
Watch the Recipe Video
If you make this broccoli salad recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 heads broccoli, florets trimmed off and cut into bite-size pieces (discard stems)
- 8 ounces bacon, cooked and coarsely chopped
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese, cubed into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
For the Dressing
- 1 cup (227 g) mayonnaise
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, bacon, cheese and onion.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and stir together until everything is evenly coated.
- The broccoli salad can be served immediately, but tastes even better if you cover and refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- You should get about 7 cups of broccoli florets from the heads of broccoli, roughly 28 ounces.
- A great shortcut is using bagged, prepped florets. I still need to cut up some of the larger ones, but it’s a big time saver!
- You can use a white, yellow or red onion, whatever your preference.
- There are so many variations to broccoli salad, so feel free to add other ingredients based on your personal preferences: dried cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, etc.
- You can make the following modifications to the dressing: plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise and honey in place of sugar. You can also use a honey mustard vinaigrette if you don’t want a creamy dressing, or a sour cream or buttermilk-based dressing if you want it creamy but not mayo-y.
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Photography by Ari of Well Seasoned
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Very good! I also add halved grapes, and use shredded cheddar (instead of cubed) and purple onion!
I make this almost every time I take a dish some where. Everyone loves it! I add in dried cranberries , sliced black olives, and cherry tomatoes. Most of the time I add the onion unless someone asked me not to put onion in. (it’s good with or without) I have added pecans, but I usually forget to add those! :) Yummy! Yummy!
Oh my…one of my favorite salads; I could eat it all by myself! We usually toss in some cauliflower too. I remember being a newlywed and bringing it to a family get-together. The next get-together, my mother-in-law told me she was going to bring it…I remember thinking, oh no – she’s taken about the only thing I can cook, what will I do?!
I have a similar recipe from a local chef. She uses red wine vinegar in the dressing, shredded cheddar, and red onion. It’s delicious!
I LOVE this salad…I first tried it about 15 years ago when I lived in Dayton, OH and there was a specialty food store there that made a great version. They added raisins and used shredded cheese, but it was basically the same thing. I know our Eat n’ Park keeps it on their salad bar most days also. I prefer it pretty saucy (to kill the taste of the broccoli…ha) and I like the sweet raisins with the salty bacon. Great recipe!
I don’t understand why people put any sort of sweetening in these types of salads. Why does everything have to be sweet these days? I never add sugar to any basically savory salad. To me it ruins the actual flavors of the salad.
The sugar complements the saltiness of the bacon. Many people like that salty/sweet combo.
This is one of my favorites and most made recipes from you.
People you have to make this. Even those who aren’t into vege’s enjoy this salad!!
GREAT salad with red onion, shredded cheddar, golden raisins, sunflower seeds.
No bacon? Try fried pepperoni!
Golden raisins no cheese. Delicious!
Look delish, can’t wait to try this recipe!
http://www.cantiquejoice.com
I’ve been making this as a low-carb salad for years and everyone RAVES about it. (I use Splenda or Truvia for the sugar.)
I do have a few small variations:
1. I use shredded cheese instead of cubes (so it’s easier to get in one forkful with the other ingredients).
2. I use red onions (so they aren’t quite as potent)!
3. I add garlic salt.
I’ve made this salad many times now, and it’s very popular with everyone. You are right.It is even better the next day. It’s very quick to make. The dressing is amazing. It would be good for cole slaw or tossed salad as well.
Made this tonight for potluck tomorrow. Substituted 8oz shredded cheddar and 3 Tbls wine vinegar. Came out fab!
I make this broccoli salad and ONLY this broccoli salad now. First recipe I tried, and it’s a keeper! My picky boyfriend absolutely loves it, and so do I! Thank you for sharing! :)
Made this today for my mother! Absolutely loved it! She saved half of it for lunch the next day since it says its better served cold! :)
I know I posted a couple of years ago but I wanted to let you know that this salad has become a staple for my family. I recently made this for my in laws who live in Oslo and now, the recipe and demand for this salad is spreading through Norway. Thanks again for such an awesome recipe!
I’ve been making this salad for years. Sometimes I substitute bacon bits for the bacon, and use shredded swiss or shredded cheddar cheese for the cubed cheese. When sweet vidalia onions are in season, I like to use them – red onions can also add a different taste.
That’s what is so great about this recipe – you can play around with some of the ingredients, depending on what you have on hand – though I never change the dressing!
Someone else commented that this is ‘that dish’ that if you don’t make for every single family occasion you will have people complaining. It’s true. I have been making this dish – without the cheese and with the raisins – for twenty years. My son spent four months in Japan last summer and this was what he begged for as his first dish ‘at home’. I am not entirely convinced that the cheese will make it better, but honestly, the raisins are amazing in it.
I love broccoli! And I have it coming out of my ears in the garden right now. This will be a nice new recipe to try out on the family this week!
Sounds good! However, I don’t like mayo. I know I’ll never taste it when mixed in, but I’ll know it’s there. Childish I know. You think maybe I could substitute plain yogurt?
Hi Erika, This dressing actually doesn’t taste much like mayo because of the sugar and vinegar, but if you’re completely averse, you could give the yogurt a try. I’ve never used it, so I can’t vouch for it, but it tends to be a common substitute for mayonnaise. It will likely be a little tangier. If you try it let me know what you think!
This sounds awesome. I have an aversion to veggies too. Especially cooked ones…it’s the texture. I just put up a post on my little blog today on my favorite broccoli salad. It’s vegan (a diet I gave up months ago) so it doesn’t have bacon or cheese (Which make everything better) but I use it all the time as a side dish. I am excited to try yours this summer. Thank you for sharing!
This looks great. I have some broccoli sitting in the fridge that just may become this salad. Thanks for sharing!
nice picture you have been putting up but my outcome is never as nice as yours.
Papacheong
http://home-cook-dishes-for-family.blogspot.com/
you are exactly like my 11yo daughter. totally allergic to greens, and will only eat brox (that’s what she calls broccoli) if its drowning in mayo+vinegar+cheddar dressing or heavily smothered in a milk+cheese+tofu quiche. i get a good chuckle everytime you mention your aversion to greens. i always tell her, “one step at a time, you’ll soon love all greens”, and she’ll give me a “mom-are-you-nuts” look. do you too?
I made this for Easter, it was wonderful!!!
This was SO delicious. I made it today for Easter dinner. I was a BIG hit. Perfect balance of flavor. I will definately be making this again….I probably wont share either….lol! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
My mom makes this and adds sunflower seeds. Yum!
A word of warning: this is *that dish* in our family. You know *that dish*, the one that people grumble loudly and occasionally shoot you a dirty look if you don’t bring it to a potluck. So you’ve been warned: if you bring this to a get-together, you’re going to be making it for every potluck moving forward.
Like others here, my family adds raisins and red onions, omits the cheese. The sunflower seeds that someone mentioned sound good.
Yummy!Thank you so much for this great sounding recipe!!
I’m a HUGE fan of broccoli salad and so yours looked so good it went straight to the top of my list! I made it tonight and it was fabulous! Thank you =)