Ready to bring the best side dish to the cookout or summer BBQ? This recipe for Broccoli Salad will be a hit all around! Made with tons of nutrient-rich veggies and tossed in a lemony-Caesar dressing, I promise you'll be taking home an empty container by the end of the night.
For the first installment of my Summer Salad series - the Best Ever Broccoli Salad is a heavy-hitter! We toss broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, crispy bacon, cooked quinoa, and roasted shallots with Caesar dressing, grated parmesan, and crushed croutons. Without a doubt, every bite is filled with flavor!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.94
- Total Cost (6 servings): $5.64
- Those Other Guys: $8.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Broccoli Florets - Instead of leafy greens, this salad uses chopped broccoli florets as its fiber-rich base.
- Chopped Bacon - Grab your favorite type of bacon to add a salty and crunchy element. Although beef bacon is a favorite in our household, turkey or pork will work just as well.
- Roasted Shallots - Don't throw away the liquid gold, aka bacon grease, just yet! This recipe roasts thinly-sliced shallots in the same pan for extra flavor.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes - Sun-dried tomatoes are marinated in a delicious, herby oil that lends perfectly to the flavors of broccoli salad.
- Cooked Quinoa - For a boost of protein (and a serving of whole grains), we toss in some cooked quinoa into this salad.
- Crushed Croutons - I'm a fan of croutons in any salad recipe. You can make these yourself really quickly, or grab a bag from the grocery store.
- Caesar Dressing - I have a delicious, 5-minute Caesar dressing recipe on the blog. You can always use your favorite store-bought kind if you want.
Coined Cuisine's Summer Salad Series
Every year, I try to do a miniseries that's geared towards the current season to give inspiration and ideas on fun kitchen projects. To catch up on those you've missed, try my Popsicle series or Puff Pastry series from prior years.
This summer, and right on time for the 1st day of summer 2024, it's all about Summer Salads! This series has tons of delicious, summery side dishes that you can bring to the cookout or enjoy at your own backyard BBQ. I'll continue to update this post with the recipe links as they drop, so it's easy to navigate throughout them all.
- The Best Broccoli Salad (see below!)
- Italian Orzo Pasta Salad
- Southern-Style Potato Salad
- Classic Coleslaw with Mayo
- BLT Pasta Salad
How to Make The Best Broccoli Salad
With a little finesse in the order of ingredients, I've made this recipe extra efficient so you spend less time in the kitchen.
Step 1: Start by cooking your bacon. I recommend the cold oven + aluminum foil method of baking. It results in perfectly crispy bacon every time!
Step 2: While the bacon is cooking, slice your shallots into thin rounds.
Step 3: Remove the bacon, pat dry with a paper towel, and chop into small pieces.
Step 4: Then, add the sliced shallots to the sheet pan with the bacon grease, and roast for 20 minutes. The bacon "liquid gold" gives our shallots a burst of extra flavor!
Step 5: While the shallots are roasting, chop up your broccoli and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
Step 6: After that, assemble the remaining ingredients - grating the parmesan, setting out the quinoa, whisking up some Caesar dressing, crushing up your croutons.
Step 7: Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, quinoa, roasted shallots, grated parm, and crushed croutons to a large salad bowl.
Step 8: Finally, pour the Caesar dressing on top and toss well. That's it!
Recipe Pro Tip
- Using turkey bacon? Add a swirl of oil to the shallots before roasting. Since turkey bacon doesn't give off as much grease as the pork/beef versions, we need a little extra oomph to get your shallots nice and tender.
Recipe FAQs
Unlike using leafy greens as a base, this is one of those hearty salads that marinate and taste even better after a night in the refrigerator.
You can keep this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You actually don't have to serve it with anything if you don't want to; it's fulfilling enough to have a big bowl on its own for a meatless meal!
If you want extra protein, try adding grilled chicken or shrimp, crispy tofu, or even roasted chickpeas.
Actually, you can do both!
For warm broccoli salad, roast your broccoli and serve the quinoa hot. This will add a nice depth of flavor; however, your dressing will most likely thin out/melt.
To make cold broccoli salad, simply follow the recipe below. Although we roast the bacon and shallots, the ingredients cool down to room temperature by the time we assemble.
Other Fresh and Light Recipes You'll Crave!
If you tried this Best Ever Broccoli Salad Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Broccoli Salad
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
- Aluminum Foil
- Chef's Knife
- Salad Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 strips applewood smoked bacon (or your favorite bacon!)
- 2 count shallots
- 18 ounces broccoli florets
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ⅓ cup croutons crushed
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- caesar dressing
Instructions
- Add the bacon strips to a foil-lined sheet pan and place in a cold oven.4 strips applewood smoked bacon
- Set the oven to 390℉ and bake for 12-15 minutes, until crispy.
- While the bacon is cooking, thinly slice your shallots.2 count shallots
- Remove the bacon and pat them with a paper towel to remove excess grease. Chop into crumbles.
- Add the sliced shallots to the bacon-greased pan. Roast at 390℉ for 10 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
- If you're making your Caesar dressing homemade, whisk together all of the ingredients and then set aside.caesar dressing
- While your shallots are roasting, chop the broccoli florets into small pieces.18 ounces broccoli florets
- Add the chopped broccoli to a large salad bowl and season with the salt and pepper.¾ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Pour in the crumbled bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and cooked quinoa.½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 cup cooked quinoa
- Add your roasted shallots, crushed croutons, and grated parmesan.⅓ cup croutons, ¼ cup grated parmesan
- Finally, dress your salad with the Caesar dressing and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, or store in the fridge until you're ready to eat. Enjoy!
Dottie M. says
So good!! I made this with a quinoa and brown rice mix. I thought it wouldn't be popular at the family reunion but everyone loved it!
Shani W. says
Thank you for leaving a review Dottie! I love the idea of adding some brown rice in the bowl 🙂