This is the best ever healthy Paleo and Whole30 Broccoli and Bacon Salad recipe! Tiny bite-sized pieces of broccoli are tossed with dates, sunflower seeds, red onion, and creamy homemade lemon garlic dressing.
The more I cook, or maybe it’s just the older I get, the more I appreciate ingredients and flavors that are uncomplicated. It’s usually the simplest recipes that are the most impressive to me, so simple, healthy salads have been kind of my jam lately.
Now don’t get me wrong, broccoli is fabulous when it’s roasted, air fried, or simply steamed, but there’s something about this crunchy raw (or blanched) broccoli salad that hits ALL the crave worthy points. We love it as a holiday side dish or to bring along to cookouts!
The broccoli is cut into tiny pieces, tossed with sharp red onions, sweet dates, crispy bacon, and crunchy sunflower seeds, then mixed with a creamy homemade lemon garlic dressing. It’s definitely ultra simple but still super flavorful!
Best of all, this recipe is 100% Whole30, Paleo, Gluten Free, and can be easily made Keto and Low Carb, too!
🥦 Recipe Ingredients
Every salad should have something sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. Don’t you think? Here’s what’s in this salad:
- Broccoli (raw or blanched)
- Sugar Free Bacon
- Dates and/or Dried Cranberries
- Sunflower Seeds
- Red Onion
Keto / Low Carb Recipe Variation: Omit the dates and cranberries. You can substitute fresh or dried blueberries if you’d like or just leave them off the salad completely.
Vegetarian Variation: Simply omit the bacon and substitute vegetarian mayo. You can include mushroom or coconut bacon, if you’d like, or just leave it out completely. Either way will be totally delish!
🍋 Lemon Garlic Dressing
This lemon garlic dressing is absolutely delicious! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Mayo. Use sugar free mayo to keep this salad Whole30 compatible.
- Mustard. I prefer to use regular dijon mustard, but any type you enjoy or have on hand will work.
- Garlic
- Lemon Juice
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper
Blanched Broccoli vs. Raw Broccoli
You can decide whether you like blanched broccoli or raw broccoli in this salad. It’s totally just a preference thing, so whatever you like will work great!
Personally, I prefer teensy tiny pieces of raw broccoli for a ton of crunch, but many people prefer to blanch the broccoli. Blanching refers to quickly submerging the vegetable in boiling water, which allows for just a small amount of cooking.
How to Blanche Broccoli:
- Boil a large pot of salted water.
- Gently place the pieces of bite-sized broccoli into the boiling water.
- Cook for about 1 minute, or just until bright green.
- Remove the broccoli and transfer to an ice bath (a large bowl of ice and water) until fully cool.
- Drain the water and pat the broccoli dry.
👩🍳 Making the Salad
The steps to making this recipe are super, super simple. It can’t be overstated enough! You’ll spend most of your time prepping the ingredients, but then all you need to do is toss it together and serve.
First, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the bacon is crispy, set it aside on a paper towel lined plate to cool.
Next, grab your cutting board! Chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces, dice the onion, cut the dates into quarters, and roughly chop the cooked, cooled bacon.
Last, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients, and assemble the salad by adding all the ingredients to a large bowl, and tossing with the dressing.
👉 To make it in advance: I’m always into make-ahead meals, and this salad is no exception. You can definitely prepare this healthy broccoli salad in advance, but I’d recommend waiting until just before serving to toss it with the dressing.
More healthy and delicious salad recipes:
And that’s it! All that’s left to do is get cooking!
Do you like this recipe? Please drop a star rating below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom!
Broccoli and Bacon Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing (Whole30)
Ingredients
Broccoli & Bacon Salad
- 4-5 cups broccoli florets about two heads
- 8 ounces bacon, cooked
- ½ cup any mixture of dried cranberries and dates, or if you can't find them, you can substitute or include dried apricots (they're usually sugar-free)⠀
- ½ cup roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds⠀
- 1/2 red onion
Lemon Garlic Dressing
- 1/2 cup compliant mayo⠀
- 2/3 teaspoons mustard⠀
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, preferably raw
- ½ lemon, juiced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Lemon Garlic Dressing
- Grate or finely mince the garlic, then whisk together all the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding a touch more lemon juice to thin to desired consistency, if needed.
Broccoli & Bacon Salad
- Remove the stems from the broccoli and chop into bite sized pieces.
- Thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop any larger pieces of dried fruit.
- Just before serving, mix all salad ingredients together and toss with dressing. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper
Notes
- Boil a large pot of salted water
- Gently place the pieces of bite-sized broccoli into the boiling water
- Cook for about 1 minute, or just until bright green.
- Remove the broccoli and set in an ice bath until cooled
- Drain the water and pat the broccoli dry
Nutrition
