This Broccoli Salad with Bacon is a delicious and easy side dish that will complement any meal! It is made with mouthwatering fresh broccoli, crispy bacon, and a tangy dressing that is bursting with flavor. This salad is perfect for family dinners and potlucks, as you can also make it ahead of time!
Take your broccoli salad up a notch by adding crispy bacon! It's also made with cheddar cheese, sliced almonds, red onion, and a delicious tangy dressing that is sure to please any crowd.
You can enjoy broccoli salad with bacon as a side dish or on its own.
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli Florets - You’ll want to use fresh broccoli. This would equal about 2 large crowns of broccoli.
- Bacon - Be sure to cook, and chop the bacon into bite-size pieces.
- Sliced Almonds - They add an additional layer of flavor to this recipe, and a nice crunch as well.
- Shredded Cheddar - The cheddar adds great flavor to the salad. Feel free to try this with different cheeses.
- Red Onion - The onion adds a nice zest to this recipe, along with some nice vibrant color!
- Mayonnaise - This will be the base for the salad dressing.
- Sweetener - If you’re not worried about the carbs, feel free to use regular sugar.
- White Vinegar - This gives the salad dressing a nice tangy flavor.
- Salt and Pepper - We’re keeping the seasonings simple here, as the salad is already bursting with flavor!
How to make Broccoli Salad with bacon
Start by adding the broccoli, chopped bacon, almonds, cheddar, and red onion to a large mixing bowl.
Next, make the dressing. In a separate small bowl mix the mayonnaise, sweetener, and vinegar to make the salad dressing. Season it with a little salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the salad dressing over the salad.
Toss the broccoli salad with the dressing, until everything is evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for one hour prior to serving.
FAQs:
- How do you cut broccoli for a salad? You simply cut the stems from the crown of the broccoli. Then, cut the broccoli florets into bite-size pieces.
- Can you use frozen broccoli? No, you shouldn't use frozen broccoli to make broccoli salad. This will result in soggy broccoli once the broccoli is thawed. For best results, use fresh broccoli.
- Do you have to blanch the broccoli? No, there is no need to blanch the broccoli for this recipe! In fact, you want to be sure to use fresh crisp broccoli. The salad dressing will moisten the broccoli just a little bit while still leaving it crunchy.
How to store
Broccoli salad lasts for up to 4 days when stored in the fridge. Simply store it in an airtight container. If you are making the salad in advance, I recommend adding the bacon right before it's time to serve the salad. This way, the bacon will still be crispy when it's time to serve the salad.
What to serve with Broccoli salad
Broccoli salad can be served on its own or as a side dish. It would pair well with grilled chicken, Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Wings, or these delicious Air Fryer Brats. A lot of times, I just eat it on its own because it's that good and full of protein!
More delicious salad recipes:
Broccoli Salad with Bacon
A delicious broccoli salad made with crispy bacon.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 5 cups fresh broccoli florets, (about 2 crowns)
- 1 cup bacon, cooked and chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
For the dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweetener or white sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the broccoli, bacon, almonds, cheddar, and red onion to a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sweetener, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Add the mayonnaise salad dressing mixture to the broccoli salad and toss to combine. Be sure that the entire salad is evenly coated.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour, and then serve.
Notes
- You may add the bacon to the salad after it's done refrigerating in order to avoid the bacon getting soggy.
- For low carb broccoli salad, use a sweetener like Swerve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 415Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 786mgCarbohydrates: 11gNet Carbohydrates: 6gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 17g
Kay is passionate about living a healthy low carb lifestyle. She loves low carb comfort foods that are also family-friendly!
New 2 keto
I love this, I do use light mayo and stevia. I could eat this all day long, which is the bad part.
I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
patty bishop
making this now
I hope that you enjoyed it!
Baba
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead ? I don't have white vinegar .
I'm sure that would be fine.
Jennifer Parker
We loved it! I used red wine vinegar instead of white vinegar. I pinned this recipe. It was great!!! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I love to hear this! It is my pleasure, thank you!
Luanne
Use dill pickle juice! in the mayo stead of the sweetener and vinegar. It makes a tangy dressing!!
Patricia
Can I use sunflower seeds? I don’t have almonds
Yes, sure that would be fine.
Brad
Great dish! Whole family loved it. Planning on making it again for Father's Day cookout. Thanks for sharing!!
Awesome! I hope that you all enjoy it!
Kaitlyn
Can I use regular sugar or would it affect the taste? I dont have any other type of sweetener 😵
Swerve tastes and measures exactly like regular sugar. You can certainly use regular sugar. It will still taste delicious!
Barb
Made this yesterday and it was a huge hit! So yummy! I see it makes 8 servings and the nutrient info is for 1 serving. How much is 1 serving?
Anthony
I hate Mayo. Is there anything else you can substitute It with?
You could try plain greek yogurt instead. Keep in mind that the consistency of the dressing will different.
Cindy Kaye
Is there an actual recipe? I see the ingredients but not amounts of each ingredient. Thanks! I am trying to make this for our Anniversary dinner.
Hi, yes the recipe card is at the bottom of the post. Happy Anniversary!
Karen
I first tasted this broccoli salad while visiting family in Utah and I asked for this recipe. Now I can share it with others and Everyone loves it. Great with anything from the grill in summer.
Thank you! It's definitely one of my favorite recipes!
Nancy
This is soooo good! One of the best broccoli salads I’ve tried!
Thank you! I'm happy that you enjoyed it!
Alexandria
Just made this! Easy and delicious! I used apple cider vinegar and a squirt of liquid stevia with the swerve to offset the “cooling effect.”
Thank you! I'm happy that you found it to be both easy and delicious!
Natalie
This. Is. Delicious!!!!!! I used Splenda because that’s what I had and I also added some sunflower seeds. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
Thank you, that sounds delicious!
Bella
I’m using walnuts instead of almonds since they’re ant-inflammatory and have extra health benefits — and keto approved. Yum
MonaLisa
I just put this together for dinner tonight. It is very good (I used Allulose sweetener)! Hubby not a fan of cauliflower so I struggle with what sides to make. Hopefully, he'll like this as much as I do! Thank you!