Easy broccoli salad tossed with fresh grapes, carrots and pecans and bathed in a creamy dressing. Perfect for potlucks and covered dish parties!
This recipe was planned to be up on the blog before heading off to our Fourth of July vacation. Because it is such an easy summer salad recipe for an outdoor BBQ or celebration. In fact, I made another version of this while on vacation without the grapes and added olives, tomatoes and any leftover vegetables that were hanging out with us. Sorry friends, I feel like I failed you here since I kept this broccoli recipe all to myself! Shame on me! Good thing life is full of so many celebrations (like being alive every day!) so I give you the thumbs-up if you want to make this like, All. The. Time.
Even though it took far too long to share, at least now I have three versions that are absolutely delicious! Because I just can’t quit making this easy salad. It changes it up from the typical leafy green salad recipes that I normally turn to.
Broccoli salads can be made with anything, even using purple cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts. After all, it is all about the dressing here! In fact I (my whole family too) love this dressing on this bowtie pasta salad too! It is made with an Italian dressing, but is just as tasty with this creamy broccoli salad dressing. Or use the dressing with shredded broccoli for a delicious broccoli slaw. I dunno… just throwing more ideas out there for you to bloom your creative juices in the kitchen!
This incredible salad is another recipe that came from my mamma. She used to make us broccoli salad in the summer. It brings special memories of our family dinner parties and outdoor picnics. Summer nights where we could not wait to get up from the dinner table. Not because the food wasn’t delicious, but because there were beautiful bugs to catch and store in jars. Our eyes would just light up in joy as my siblings and I would compete in “who can catch the most lightning bugs!”
Food is a powerful thing. It not only fuels the body, but it feeds the mind and soul with happy memories just from the smell, visual and taste.
The AMAZING dressing for this broccoli salad is made of 7 SIMPLE ingredients! Mayonnaise, milk, lemon, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.
It is pretty much homemade coleslaw. But again, is so good with almost any raw salad recipe.
Random thought- ya know how when you cook broccoli, it smells pretty….gross? Broccoli has an incredibly strong and POWERFUL odor. That’s because it is in the cabbage family. Broccoli’s flowering head also follows in the line with Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. So yay for this raw salad, no stinky smells!!!
Broccoli’s flavor pairs so well with sweet juicy grapes. And a broccoli grape salad can always use a bit more crunch, don’t you think? That is where the nuts come in! In any salad nuts are always a good healthy choice to add. They are packed with healthy fats and protein, not to mention vital vitamins and minerals.
Enjoy your broccoli salad as the main dish or a side dish!
- Salad:
- 4 cups of chopped broccoli heads
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
- ½ cup of pecans
- ¼ cup carrot shreds
- Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 tsp. lemon
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- In a large bowl mix together the broccoli, grapes, pecans and carrots. Set aside.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, milk, lemon, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Serve cold.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 281 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 20 g | 31 % |
| Saturated Fat 2 g | 12 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 6 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 15 mg | 5 % |
| Sodium 493 mg | 21 % |
| Potassium 153 mg | 4 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 23 g | 8 % |
| Dietary Fiber 3 g | 14 % |
| Sugars 15 g | |
| Protein 3 g | 6 % |
| Vitamin A | 81 % |
| Vitamin C | 46 % |
| Calcium | 4 % |
| Iron | 8 % |
This is a great recipe. I love the dressing. I did add some dried sour cherries I had on hand. Thank you for a keeper recipe!
Does anyone know how many calories per serving?
Hi Liza! Great question. I have been slowly starting to add in nutritional information to older posts. I just add the nutritional information which is through MyFitnessPal. This broccoli salad has 281 calories per serving and 20 grams of fat mainly from pecans.