Broccoli Bacon Salad (Whole30, Paleo)

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.

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Simple Recipes = The Best Recipes

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. And this healthy broccoli salad is awesome!

We love it as a holiday side dish or to bring along to cookouts!

Broccoli Bacon Salad - Finished Dish. A large glass bowl sits on a white marble board. The bowl is filled with bite sized pieces of broccoli, chopped bacon, sliced red onion, sunflower seeds, and diced dates. A large wooden spoon is ready to stir the whole thing up!

Healthy Broccoli Salad

This salad is tossed with a creamy homemade lemon garlic dressing that’s definitely ultra simple and super flavorful! It hits all the crave-worthy points I think every salad should have.

Every salad should have something sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. Don’t you think?

Best of all, this recipe is 100% Whole30, Paleo, Gluten Free, and can be easily made Keto and Low Carb, too!

Salad Ingredients

  • Broccoli (raw or blanched)
  • Sugar Free Bacon: My favorite Whole30 compliant bacon is Naked Bacon, because it’s really, really, unbelievably delicious. HIGHLY recommend. 
  • 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 Ingredients

  • Mayo
  • Mustard
  • Garlic
  • Lemon Juice
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Salt & Pepper
Broccoli Bacon Salad - Finished Dish. A large bowl sits on a white marble board. The bowl is filled with bite sized pieces of broccoli, chopped bacon, sliced red onion, sunflower seeds, and diced dates. A wooden spoon is in the mixture, mixing it up into creamy, crunchy salad goodness!

Making the Recipe

The steps to making this recipe are super, super simple. You’ll spend most of your time prepping the ingredients, but then all you need to do is toss it together and serve!

Simply cook the bacon, and chop the raw broccoli, onion, fruit, and cooked bacon. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients, and dress the salad just before serving.

Blanched Broccoli

Personally, I prefer teensy tiny pieces of raw broccoli in this salad for a ton of crunch, but many people prefer to blanch the broccoli if that’s better for you.

How to Blanche Broccoli:

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water
  2. Gently place the pieces of bite-sized broccoli into the boiling water
  3. Cook for about 1 minute, or just until bright green.
  4. Remove the broccoli and set in an ice bath until cooled
  5. Drain the water and pat the broccoli dry

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.

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If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out some of the other healthy and delicious salad recipes on my blog, like my:

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4.29 from 7 votes
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Broccoli & Bacon Salad (Whole30, with Keto & Vegetarian Options)

This is one of my favorite recipes for parties and cookouts. It's nice and crunchy, and it hits all the salty, sweet flavor points!

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Gluten Free Salad, Summer Recipes, Whole30 Side Dish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 324 kcal

Ingredients

Broccoli & Bacon Salad

  • 4-5 cups broccoli florets about two heads
  • 8 oz 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 tsp. mustard⠀
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar, preferably raw
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Lemon Garlic Dressing

  1. Grate or finely mince the garlic, then whisk together all the salad dressing ingredients in a small bowl. 

  2. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding a touch more lemon juice to thin to desired consistency, if needed.

Broccoli & Bacon Salad

  1. Remove the stems from the broccoli and chop into bite sized pieces.

  2. Thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop any larger pieces of dried fruit.

  3. Just before serving, mix all salad ingredients together and toss with dressing. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper

Recipe Notes

To blanche the broccoli:

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water
  2. Gently place the pieces of bite-sized broccoli into the boiling water
  3. Cook for about 1 minute, or just until bright green.
  4. Remove the broccoli and set in an ice bath until cooled
  5. Drain the water and pat the broccoli dry
Nutrition Facts
Broccoli & Bacon Salad (Whole30, with Keto & Vegetarian Options)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 324 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Fat 25g38%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 28mg9%
Sodium 417mg18%
Potassium 352mg10%
Carbohydrates 18g6%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 9g18%
Vitamin A 405IU8%
Vitamin C 55mg67%
Calcium 41mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.