Broccoli Bacon Salad – Whole30, Paleo

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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:

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 transfer to an ice bath (a large bowl of ice and water) until fully cool.
5. 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.

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!