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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
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
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.
Just made this. Awesome - love the dressing! I didn't have bacon but it's still delicious. I will cook some bacon and add tomorrow as we'll be eating it all week (if it lasts). Thanks!
I made it today and doubled the recipe for a large group and it's from all! A lot of chopping, but worth it.
It's me, Cindy, the thumbs up didn't show, but it was thumbs up!! Also I used bacon from a bag and chunk cheese, which I cut in half. I soaked the cranberries in warm water for about 10 minutes, drained. Very good.
Cindy, I am very happy you liked this recipe! Thank you for the feedback! 🙂 I also like to soak the cranberries in warm water to plump them up!
Cindy, I am glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! 🙂
Could you use bacon bits from a jar instead of cooked bacon?
Yes, you can!
I don’t like mayo - can I make this without the mayo?
Skip the mayo. Just use sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or plain kefir.
This sounds wonderful and I’m going to make this, but please don’t put honey in the microwave. You are supposed to put the jar in warm water for a few minutes instead
That's a great tip, too! Thank you!
Great recipe! I used Greek yogurt and eliminated bacon since we don’t eat it. The dressing is just wonderful! Thanks for the tip on soaking the cranberries.
Thank you, Judy, for your comment - so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Simply one of finest salads, I ever ate delicious. You are a wonderful chef. Thank you Joanie