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    Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

    Published: May 12, 2018 / 45 Comments

    59.8K shares
    • Facebook892
    Recipe Print

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Cranberries, Carrots, Red Onions, and easy homemade dressing.  It's a perfect side dish for parties, picnics, and potlucks.

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

    This salad is a great way to enjoy some raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and red onions)!  It's easy to make and quick to assemble.  This colorful salad is packed with healthy ingredients, and it's gluten-free.   Broccoli and cauliflower are chopped into really small bites, which adds a delicious crunch. If you love broccoli salads, you might also enjoy a broccoli cashew salad.

    This salad makes a perfect side dish for grilled chicken and other grilled meats, such as steak or pork.  It's also a great accompaniment to chicken bakes, barbecue meals, and grilled fish.

    Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

    Substitutions

    • You can use any type of dried fruit instead of dried cranberries.  Try raisins, dried figs, cherries, or blueberries
    • Substitute Cheddar cheese with Swiss cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese, or Gouda.
    • Don't like red onions?  Try chopped green onions in this salad.
    • If you want to try something other than regular bacon, try prosciutto.
    • When making the salad dressing, you can use either sour cream or Greek yogurt or kefir.

    Cooked or raw veggies

    Because crunchiness is what makes this salad especially delicious, it's best to use fresh veggies. Cooked veggies will create a more mushy texture, while fresh veggies preserve crunchiness. The broccoli and cauliflower are chopped into such small pieces, that the crunch is not overwhelming.

    Fresh broccoli and cauliflower combined with crispy bacon and dried cranberries create a well-balanced flavor.

    Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

    How to store salad

    Store the salad in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. For best results, keep the salad dressing in a separate airtight container and add chopped cooked bacon right before serving.

    Homemade salad dressing

    You only need 5 basic ingredients to create the best homemade creamy salad dressing for the broccoli cauliflower salad: mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, softened honey, and salt.

    Whisk the salad dressing ingredients until well combined and smooth. Add salt if needed.

    Tip: Make sure the honey is soft and has a runny consistency. Warm it up briefly in a microwave oven, if needed. The honey should blend with the rest of the ingredients.

    Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

    Meals to serve with broccoli cauliflower salad

    This salad works well as a stand-alone dish for lunch or light dinner.  You can also bring it to a picnic or a potluck. Serve this salad with grilled meats (chicken, steak, pork) or barbecue dishes.

    If you enjoy one-pan chicken bakes, below are the recipes that will work well with the Broccoli Cauliflower Salad.  You might like these main dishes even better than the salad!

    • Broccoli Bacon Cheddar Chicken
    • Bacon Pineapple BBQ Chicken Bake
    • Bacon, Cream Cheese, Cheddar Chicken

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

    Other Broccoli Salads

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad makes a great holiday salad, as well as a perfect party salad!  Make this salad and bring it to your next family party or office celebration.  It's a great side dish for picnics, potlucks, and family dinners!

    If you like salads with broccoli, you might like these recipes:

    • Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Raisins, and Cheddar Cheese
    • Broccoli Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
    • Broccoli Cashew Apple and Pear Salad
    • Creamy Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bacon, Corn Salad

    Recipe Notes

    • Chop up the broccoli and cauliflower into really small bites - this way the salad dressing will coat every little bite, and the salad will be even creamier!
    • Make sure the carrots are finely sliced and red onion is finely diced. This will add crunch and texture to the salad.
    • If making this salad ahead, add chopped cooked bacon right before serving.
    • Soak dried cranberries in a hot water in a medium bowl for about 5 minutes before adding to the salad. This will make cranberries juicier.
    • Make the salad dressing lighter by using Greek yogurt or kefir COMBINED WITH sour cream or mayonnaise.
    Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
    4.92 from 61 votes

    Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

    Enjoy raw veggies in this amazing, easy, healthy, gluten-free salad.  Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad is easy to make and quick to assemble.  Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Cranberries, Carrots, and Red Onions add so much flavor.  It's a colorful salad packed with healthy ingredients, and it's gluten-free.   
    This crunchy and creamy salad makes a perfect side dish for grilled chicken and other grilled meats, such as steak or pork.  It's also a great accompaniment to chicken bakes and barbecue meals.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 people
    Calories per serving 405 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad Ingredients:

    • 3 cups broccoli florets finely chopped into small pieces
    • 3 cups cauliflower florets finely chopped into small pieces
    • 1 cup carrots finely sliced
    • ½ cup red onion diced
    • 10 slices bacon cooked, drained of fat, and chopped
    • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
    • 1 cup dried cranberries

    Salad Dressing:

    • ½ cup mayonnaise
    • ½ cup sour cream or kefir or Greek yogurt
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • ¼ cup honey softened or warmed up
    • ¼ teaspoon salt

    Instructions 

    Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad:

    • In a large bowl, combine together all salad ingredients.

    Salad Dressing:

    • In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, honey, and salt. Note that honey should be soft and runny, warm it up if needed so that it mixes easily. Whisk the ingredients until well combined and smooth. Add salt if needed.
    • Gradually add the salad dressing to the large bowl with the salad ingredients, and stir everything together.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    405
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    29
    g
    45
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    9
    g
    56
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    46
    mg
    15
    %
    Sodium
     
    477
    mg
    21
    %
    Potassium
     
    385
    mg
    11
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    29
    g
    10
    %
    Fiber
     
    3
    g
    13
    %
    Sugar
     
    21
    g
    23
    %
    Protein
     
    9
    g
    18
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    3135
    IU
    63
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    51.8
    mg
    63
    %
    Calcium
     
    152
    mg
    15
    %
    Iron
     
    0.8
    mg
    4
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Keyword broccoli cauliflower salad, cauliflower broccoli salad
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bethe

      January 12, 2023 at 9:55 pm

      I can't eat mayonnaise due to an egg allergy. All of your salads look so wonderful - is there something that I can substitute for the mayo?

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 4:27 pm

        Bethe, you can use sour cream instead of mayo. You can also add a small amount of mustard to make sour cream more flavorful.

        Reply
    2. Michelle

      October 03, 2022 at 11:16 pm

      Absolutely genius. Yummy salad

      Reply
      • Julia

        October 05, 2022 at 3:41 pm

        Michelle, thank you for such a positive comment! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Lorraine Luzietti

      July 25, 2022 at 3:19 pm

      This Salad was delicious! The honey was the perfect sweetener in the dressing. There weren’t any leftovers!!!! Big Hit at the party!

      Reply
      • Julia

        August 22, 2022 at 4:34 pm

        Lorraine, your comment made my day! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!

        Reply
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