Easy and delicious salad that everyone will love! This timeless favorite, Broccoli Bacon Salad, is a crunchy blend of fresh broccoli florets, crispy bacon, dried fruits, and a delectable sweet-tangy dressing. Perfect for a summer picnic, potluck, or any occasion!

The first time I have ever had this wonderful American salad was in our church potluck. I wasn’t much of a salad eater when I first came to the US. We only had one type of salad in the Philippines and that was always made with iceberg lettuce and always with a thousand island dressing.

For us, vegetables were always cooked with meat so eating it raw (which is better really!) wasn’t typical at all. It’s only recently I believe that we’ve had more exposure to different types of salad, well at least for me.

I was fascinated when I first came here to the US in 2004 to learn that you can actually eat cauliflower and broccoli raw. That is unheard of in the Philippines as these two wonderful veggies are often cooked usually as part of Chopsuey or in a stir-fry.

However, I have learned to actually love eating vegetables raw especially broccoli when I had this salad. Oh, it was a truly eye-opening and palate-pleasing experience for me.

The creamy, sweet-tangy dressing plus the crunch from the broccoli (and of course the plump cranberries or raisins and flavorful bacon) truly made this one of my favorite salads. Because of this I truly always look forward to our church pot luck as I know, I will always see this salad served on the table.

Make the salad as written then feel free to tweak it by changing the dried fruit or adding some nuts! Enjoy this yummy salad!

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Ingredients for Broccoli Salad

8 pieces of cooked bacon
8 cups diced broccoli florets
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ red onion
½ cup sugar
¾ cup mayo
2 – 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Instructions for Broccoli Salad

You can cook the bacon however you want to. Here’s the instruction if you wish to do it in the oven. Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. Add bacon to a foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes (or until crisp). Once cooked, place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess grease then cut into tiny pieces.

Meanwhile, cup broccoli florets into smaller bite-size pieces and dice the red onion. To a large bowl add broccoli, red onion, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and bacon.

To make the dressing, in a smaller bowl, add the sugar, mayo, and 2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar. Whisk to combine. The sugar will dissolve and the dressing should be smooth and creamy. Taste the dressing. For a stronger flavor, add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of vinegar.

Add the dressing to the large bowl and mix to combine. Enjoy!

Additional Notes: The salad tastes better the longer it sits. Making it right before serving will still be really good but making it a few hours in advance will create an awesome flavor!