Broccoli Salad With Sunflower Seeds

5 from 1 vote

A healthy Broccoli Salad recipe with sunflower seeds, crisp veggies, and tangy dressing is ideal for a quick lunch, side dish, or potluck. The easy recipe has so much flavor!

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 201kcal

Author: Julie Pollitt

Ingredients

4 heads of fresh broccoli
½ cup diced cooked bacon
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup shredded cheese or cheese cubes
1/3 cup dried cranberries
¼ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Remove the florets from the broccoli stems and cut them into bite-sized pieces, about ½-inch to 1-inch in size. Aim for 6-8 cups of chopped broccoli.
Combine the chopped broccoli, cooked bacon, diced red onion, shredded cheese, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Give it a gentle stir to mix everything together.
Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl until the dressing is smooth and creamy.
Pour the dressing ingredients over the broccoli mixture and stir gently until everything is evenly coated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. This allows the flavors to meld and the dressing to soak into the broccoli.
Serve chilled, and enjoy the classic broccoli salad.

Notes

For best results, be sure to follow these tips.

Refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes before serving, and this helps the flavors meld. Give a gentle stir right before serving.
Broccoli Salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered container for up to five days.
Leftover broccoli stems can be peeled and cut into small ¼-inch pieces and used in the salad along with the cut florets.
It’s important to thoroughly rinse fresh broccoli before using it to remove any debris that may be in the crowns.
When preparing the bacon for this salad, it is important for it to be cooked crispy. This helps it hold up in the salad, and bacon that still appears to be raw will not look good in the salad. A half cup of real bacon crumbles could also be used in this recipe as an alternative.
Red onion is known to have an intense, sometimes harsh, onion flavor. To remove some of the harshness, place diced onions in a small bowl and fill with white vinegar until they are covered. Allow onions to sit in vinegar for 5 to 10 minutes, drain well, and onions are ready to use.
A firm cheese works best in this recipe. Sharp cheddar was used in this recipe, but mild cheddar, sharp white cheddar, or colby cheese would work. A soft cheese would become too soft from the wet dressing and kind of “melt” into the salad.
If shredding the cheese, be sure to have a thicker shred and not fine. This helps the cheese hold up to being stirred and not get too soft from the dressing.
Golden raisins can be used in place of the dried cranberries.
White distilled vinegar can be substituted for the white wine vinegar in the dressing.
Chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds could be used in place of the sunflower seeds.
A cup of your favorite store-bought slaw dressing could be used instead if desired.
Store any leftover broccoli salad in the refrigerator.

Nutrition