The best Healthy Broccoli Salad Recipe! Made with no mayo, this easy side dish is super healthy and quick to make. Perfect for a picnic!
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No picnic is complete without the side dishes and broccoli salad is the perfect recipe to go alongside any meal!
Made with no mayo, this easy side dish is low fat, low carb and DELICIOUS!
This truly is the best broccoli salad. It’s made with only 10 ingredients, it’s so simple to make, and it tastes amazing!
Serve it alongside Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Garlic Lime Flank Steak, Healthy Tuna Salad WITHOUT Mayo or any of these Healthy Grilling Recipes for a delicious meal.
Why this is the Best Broccoli Salad Recipe
This broccoli salad recipe is better than any other broccoli salad for so many reasons. Many broccoli salad recipes are loaded with fat and sugar, but this recipe isn’t!
- Veggie Loaded – There are 6 cups of broccoli in this healthy broccoli salad, making it the perfect healthy side dish.
- Low Fat – This healthy broccoli salad is made with no mayo. Instead we use non fat greek yogurt to make this salad creamy and flavorful while keeping it low fat.
- Low Sugar – Some broccoli salads have up to a cup of sugar in them. This recipe uses a little bit of honey for sweetness but it has zero refined sugar.
- Easy to make – This is a super easy recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to put together.
Healthy Broccoli Salad Recipe Ingredients
To make healthy broccoli salad here is what you’ll need:
- broccoli florets
- red onion
- cooked bacon
- cheddar cheese
- sunflower seeds
- greek yogurt
- salt, garlic powder, pepper
- whole grain mustard
- honey
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
How To Prepare Broccoli Salad
This recipe is super easy to make. Here’s how to make it:
- Chop your broccoli and onion finely
- In a large bowl mix together your broccoli salad dressing.
- Add your broccoli, onion, bacon, cheese, and sunflower
- Stir until combined & enjoy!
This recipe is super creamy and delicious while having absolutely no mayo! You won’t even miss the mayo!
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR HEALTHY BROCCOLI SALAD
Broccoli: We don’t recommend substituting broccoli in this recipe.
Red Onion: We have only tested this recipe with red onion. White onion might work, but we can’t be sure without testing it. It might be a little too strong. You can omit the red onion and add in 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder instead of red onion.
Bacon: You can use regular bacon or turkey bacon. You can omit bacon to make this recipe vegetarian.
Cheese: Cheese is optional. Colby Jack or pepper jack would be good in this recipe, or you can omit cheese. We recommend buying a block of cheese and grating it yourself.
Sunflower Seeds: Sunflower seeds can be subbed with shaved almonds, chopped pecans, or pine nuts.
Non Fat Greek Yogurt: We have only tested this recipe with nonfat greek yogurt, but I think it would work with dairy free yogurt or regular yogurt.
Mustard: Any mustard will work in this recipe. We used whole grain mustard, but a dijon will also work or even yellow mustard.
Honey: We haven’t tried subbing honey with maple syrup but I think it would work.
Spices: Feel free to add more or less salt/pepper/garlic powder. You can add in parsley or basil (fresh or dried)
Other Add Ins: Craisins, Raisins, Chickpeas or Nuts would all be great additions to this recipe!
Should I Blanch Broccoli For Broccoli Salad?
You don’t have to blanch broccoli for broccoli salad.
I prefer making broccoli salad with raw broccoli. It comes out much crispier. When you blanch the broccoli I find that it gets soggy quicker.
If you do blanch the broccoli – don’t blanch it for more than 1-2 minutes.
Broccoli Salad No Mayo Tips
- Cut the broccoli finely- Make sure to really chop your broccoli. No one wants a big piece of raw broccoli in their salad
- Eat fresh & chilled – This salad is best eaten fresh and nice and cold. Don’t let it sit out for a while!
Broccoli Salad Healthy Serving Suggestions
This salad is so yummy – it goes with virtually everything. Here are some recipes we’d recommend serving it with:
- Healthy Pulled Pork
- Balsamic Grilled Chicken
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Garlic Lime Flank Steak
- Grilled Vegetables in Foil
- Easy Farro Salad
- Traditional Greek Salad
How to Store Low Calorie Broccoli Salad
Broccoli Salad is best eaten fresh right after you make it.
How long can you keep broccoli salad in the fridge?
Refrigerator: Broccoli salad can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days. After that it will start to get a bit soggy and the broccoli will not be as crisp.
Freezing: Do not freeze broccoli salad. It will not be good
Broccoli Salad FAQ
No, broccoli salad will not freeze well. Broccoli salad is best when eaten fresh, but will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Broccoli is loaded with nutrients. It’s high in fiber, iron, calcium and potassium. This salad is low carb, low fat and healthy compared to other broccoli salad recipes.
This Broccoli Salad has less than 150 calories per cup! It’s low in fat and high in protein.
Other healthy side dish recipes:
Check out these other healthy side dish recipes!
Healthy Recipe for Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb broccoli chopped finely (6 cups)
- ¼ cup red onion diced finely
- ½ cup bacon cooked crisp and chopped
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds raw or roasted
Dressing:
- 3/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- ½ tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Chop your broccoli and onion finely. Set aside
- In a large bowl mix together your dressing.
- Add your broccoli, onion, bacon, cheese, and sunflower seeds.
- Stir until everything is evenly coated & enjoy!
Lily says
LOVE this recipe!!! I’m trying to eat less meat so I omitted the bacon and did a little dash of smoked chili powder again and it still had that tasty smokiness that bacon adds! Will definitely be making again this summer 🙂
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked it, Lily! Thank you so much!
Mariah says
Just served this at a race day get together and it was a smash hit! Loved being able to serve something to my family that was yummy and good for them. Thanks so much for this recipe.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Mariah! Thank you!
Vicky O. says
Pretty good, thanks for sharing!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Vicky!
Diana Dobsa says
This was so easy and great tasting
Elizabeth Merian says
I thought this was quite good. I omitted the bacon because I had family members who don’t eat bacon. I subbed some marinated air fried tempeh that had a bacon-like flavor. I also added some fresh red grapes and everyone thought this was a tasty salad.
Patricia Violi says
A little too tart for my taste. I added a bit more honey and about a fourth cup of Hellmans Mayo. Calories will be higher but marginally