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The Best Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe – loaded with rich delicious bacon flavor, fresh vegetables, and cooling creamy dressing!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe – my goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Creamy Bacon Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
This creamy broccoli and cauliflower salad is rich and indulgent – a great way to get everyone excited for fresh vegetables, and incredibly quick to throw together – making it a perfect party side!
In summer there is nothing better than a hearty, fresh, comforting and creamy salad alongside ribs, smoked brisket, delicious crispy pulled pork, air fried salmon, or ribeye roast – but this salad is great on it’s own for a fresh lunch meal prep idea, or a part of a light summer meal.
This salad can be made keto (please see notes below on keto approved vegetables to swap out peas for), and is a great low carb side dish for cookouts, picnics, and BBQs.
If you love this delicious salad, be sure to see some of my favorite salad recipes like my chopped chinese chicken salad, easy chicken taco salad, and even chicken salad stuffed avocados and taco stuffed avocados!
How to Make Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
We worked to find the BEST tangy, savory, and creamy broccoli and cauliflower salad dressing – and absolutely love this fresh and delicious easy dressing. It’s delicious on salads, and even over wraps and sandwiches – or as a veggie dip! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days if making a large batch.
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cracks fresh black pepper
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Broccoli Salad
English shelling peas. If available, fresh English shelling peas taste the best in this recipe – they are crisp, slightly sweet, and have a fresh clean flavor I can’t get enough of! If you can’t find fresh shelling peas, or it’s out of season, you can use frozen peas in this recipe. To use frozen peas, you can add them directly too dish frozen (peas defrost very quickly in room temperature air) to help keep your salad cool – or you can thaw them before adding to dish.
How to store creamy broccoli salad. Since this salad is so easy to prep ahead of time, we usually make a big batch and store in the fridge until it’s time to serve. I find it is best to make the salad and the dressing individually, and store them separately in a refrigerator in airtight containers until serving. If you dress the salad, be sure to keep refrigerated until serving, since mayonnaise can go off or separate and become oily in warm temperatures.
Make it for meal prep. This salad is excellent for work – I add dressing to a bottom of a large mason jar, and then add in the vegetables on top. When it’s time for lunch, tip the jar over to dress the vegetables and give it a good shake to toss all ingredients in dressing!
Make it Keto. Since we’re adding crisp, delicious fresh peas to this dish, it is technically not keto-approved – but it is an easy swap for keto vegetables so you can enjoy this dish on a very low carb diet. With a few substitutes for the peas, you can make this dish keto:
- 1/2 cup diced bell peppers
- 1/2 cup diced radishes for a spicy twist
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced asparagus (try grilled for a smoky flavor)
- 1/2 cup diced green beans
Recipe FAQs
This salad lasts up to four days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
As this dish contains mayonnaise, it needs to be kept chilled for proper food safety.
We recommend serving in a bowl on ice at a picnic, and storing in a cooler until ready to serve. Do not let broccoli salad sit in the sun or get hot, discard any leftovers that have not been kept chilled.
Other Delicious Salads You’ll Love
If you love this creamy, hearty summer salad, please check out some of our other favorite salads!
You can find our entire salad recipe archives here.
The Best Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe
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The Best Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
- 3 cups bite-sized broccoli pieces
- 2 cups bite-sized cauliflower pieces
- ½ cup fresh shelling peas or frozen peas
- 3 tablespoons small diced red onion
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced, garnish
- For the dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cracks fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Place the cooked and crumbled bacon, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and red onion in a bowl, set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and mix to combine.
- Serve immediately with the garnish of scallions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
