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    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples, Pears, and Cranberries

    Published: Oct 22, 2017 / 235 Comments

    840.5K shares
    • Facebook6.8K
    Recipe Print

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples, Pears, and Cranberries is tossed with the most delicious homemade creamy salad dressing. This is an easy and healthy recipe packed with fruits and veggies.

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears in a white bowl

    The salad has an amazing texture thanks to the crunchy cashews, fresh vegetables, and fruits! The easy creamy salad dressing is made with mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), honey, and lemon juice! If you love broccoli salad, be sure to check out these 2 delicious salads: broccoli bacon salad and creamy broccoli and cauliflower salad.

    This broccoli cashew salad is a healthy recipe that you can make any time of the year, but especially during the winter season to get a boost of antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber!  It's easy-to-make, and it keeps well refrigerated. A great choice for family weeknight dinners, barbecues, potlucks, and parties!

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears in a white bowl

    Salad dressing

    Whenever I make a broccoli salad, I love combining mayo and sour cream together for a creamy salad dressing and it's a lovely flavor combination! If you don't like sour cream (or don't have it), feel free to use kefir or Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for an equally good flavor! I also add lemon juice, honey, and salt. Make sure to soften the honey (by heating it up gently) before adding it to other salad dressing ingredients, to make sure it blends in smoothly.

    Ingredients for Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears on a black plate

    How to make broccoli cashew salad

    Broccoli salad is all about chopping up the fresh veggies and fruits and then combining them in a large bowl with a salad dressing.  That's it!

    1. Cut broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces.
    2. Chop up a cored apple, cored pear, red onion.
    3. In a large bowl, combine chopped up broccoli, apples, pear, red onions, cranberries, and cashews.
    4. In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, honey, and salt.  Tip: honey should be soft and runny.  Warm it up if needed, so that it mixes easily.
    5. Add in the dressing and stir everything together.

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears in a white bowl

    Variations and substitutions

    • Cauliflower. If you want to mix things up, use an equal amount of cauliflower to replace the half amount of broccoli.
    • Nuts. Many types of nuts will work here. Use pecans, peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts, or pistachios instead of cashews.
    • Dried fruit. Dried cranberries work great in this recipe, and so do dried cherries, raisins, or dried blueberries.
    • Fresh Fruit.  The mix of fresh apples and pears works beautifully here, but you can go just with apples or just with pears.
    • Salad dressing.  For the salad dressing, combine together mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, honey, and salt.   You can lighten up the dressing by replacing some of the mayo or sour cream with kefir or Greek yogurt.

    Other Broccoli Salad Recipes to Try

    • Broccoli Bacon Salad
    • Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
    • Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Corn and Bacon
    • Broccoli Bacon Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Raisins
    • Broccoli Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
    broccoli cashew apple pear salad
    4.76 from 549 votes

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears

    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apple, Pear, and Cranberries. The homemade dressing is made with mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), honey, and lemon juice! Easy and delicious broccoli salad - perfect for home dinners, potlucks, barbecues, and parties!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 servings
    Calories per serving 338 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    Salad:

    • 5 cups broccoli florets chopped into small bites
    • 1 apple cored and diced
    • 1 pear (firm, not soft), cored and diced
    • ¼ cup red onion diced
    • 1 cup cashews toasted or roasted
    • 1 cup dried cranberries

    Creamy 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
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions 

    • In a large bowl, combine together chopped broccoli, diced apple, diced pear, diced red onion, cashews (toasted or roasted) and dried cranberries.
    • 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.
    • Add the dressing to the broccoli salad and stir everything together.

    Notes

    • Pears. Choose pears that are firmer in texture and to the touch. Otherwise, they might get mushy in this salad. I used firm pears without any soft spots or visible bruising on the skin. The same applies to apples. 

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    338
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    21
    g
    32
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    5
    g
    31
    %
    Trans Fat
     
    1
    g
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    8
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    7
    g
    Cholesterol
     
    13
    mg
    4
    %
    Sodium
     
    195
    mg
    8
    %
    Potassium
     
    382
    mg
    11
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    38
    g
    13
    %
    Fiber
     
    4
    g
    17
    %
    Sugar
     
    26
    g
    29
    %
    Protein
     
    5
    g
    10
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    471
    IU
    9
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    55
    mg
    67
    %
    Calcium
     
    57
    mg
    6
    %
    Iron
     
    2
    mg
    11
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition Disclaimer:

    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 cashew salad, broccoli salad
    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
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    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathy Hazen

      September 27, 2023 at 9:19 pm

      Made this salad for the first time and it is amazing! Shared with my mom and she says it the best salad she has ever eaten. Definitely will make again.

      Reply
    2. Sandra Jusak

      September 19, 2023 at 11:26 pm

      This tasted wonderful! The only thing I did differently, was to add cut up cooked chicken breasts. You don't need to add the chicken because the recipe was great, just the way it was, I just wanted a little more protein. So good!

      Reply
    3. D. Roe

      August 17, 2023 at 5:36 pm

      I love your recipe! Being food sensitive, this salad worked great! I made my own mayo, used walnut, broccoli was raw….yummm! Hubby had two helpings. That says a lot. We will be make it again and again. Thank you!!!

      Reply
    4. Zuzka

      April 15, 2023 at 11:17 am

      Hello,does broccoli has to been cooked prior or just raw? Thank you

      Reply
      • Julia

        June 07, 2023 at 10:17 pm

        I used raw broccoli here.

        Reply
        • Jen

          July 26, 2023 at 3:28 pm

          I blanch my broccoli for about 3 minutes. Makes it a vibrant green and still has crunch but softens the texture just a tad.

          Reply
    5. Pat Hickman

      April 06, 2023 at 12:37 pm

      Absolutely delicious! My new favorite, especially for side dishes at get togethers as well as dinner or lunch!!
      I used cherry infused cranberries and light soul cream. Does not disappoint!

      Reply
      • Julia

        June 07, 2023 at 10:54 pm

        Pat, your comment really made my day! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Penny

      February 09, 2023 at 3:08 pm

      Julia, I hit the review button by mistake. I haven't made this yet but will

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 13, 2023 at 6:40 pm

        I hope you love it!

        Reply
      • Kathy

        April 09, 2023 at 12:43 pm

        Have made this a few times now, loved by all. Works well as a make-ahead.

        Reply
        • Julia

          June 07, 2023 at 10:35 pm

          Kathy, I am so glad you love this recipe. Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂

          Reply
    7. Esther

      January 04, 2023 at 7:58 pm

      This salad was great and my whole family loved it. My daughter is allergic to dairy so I dubbed the sour cream with white balsamic vinegar. It was delicious and we will have it often!

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 07, 2023 at 8:18 pm

        Esther, I am so glad you were able to adjust the recipe to suit your dietary needs. Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂

        Reply
      • Bev Digout

        February 09, 2023 at 8:06 pm

        white balsamic is great, I use it for marinating as well

        Reply
    8. Peg

      December 30, 2022 at 12:50 am

      Love this salad. I’ve been making a version of this for many years. Never put onion or cranberry in mine so I tried it & LOVE IT! the kick of onion & texture of the dried cranberries really elevated my versions.
      Here’s a tip on the dressing …. Heat your bowl by running hot tap water into it, dry it, add the honey, it’s gently warmed.

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 07, 2023 at 9:23 pm

        Peg, I love your tip about using a hot bowl for making the salad dressing! Thank you for stopping by and sharing such a positive comment and 5-star review - I truly appreciate it! 🙂 🙂 🙂

        Reply
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