Spring has finally arrived in the Midwest, and that means a broccoli cauliflower salad is in order.
Ok, ok. Warmer weather doesn’t usually translate to a broccoli cauliflower salad. After all, I doubt you were dreaming of broccoli the moment it hit 70 degrees. But maybe you were left dreaming of the big picture, like cookouts, pool parties, and picnics. Do you know what all these things have in common…FOOD! Not one of these events would be complete without some food and a few solid side dishes. Plus, it doesn’t hurt if the vegetables upstage the main event.
The hubs and I are grilling out for the first time since spring hit. Honestly, he just got back from a long work trip so I haven’t had much time to eat with him in general. Anyhow, I spent the day prepping the garden, cleaning up our landscape, and setting up the deck furniture. There’s nothing like a little manual labor outdoors to make you ready to hit the grill.
The hubby was asking to do brats but I always struggle with what to pair it with. I need something to complement such a heavy dish. And in all honesty, I know swimsuit season is upon us. Since brats are pretty indulgent on their own, I like to do something a bit lighter as a side. Usually I go for a tossed salad or something of the sort, which leaves the hubs less than impressed. One salad I do know he likes…broccoli cauliflower salad.
At first, I was a little turned off by the idea. Now even though I like mayo, I don’t like when my foods are dripping in it. Most salads, whether it be broccoli salad, potato salad, egg salad, etc, are always drowning in the mayo dressing. It’s like the mayo is the main event and the actual food is just a condiment. Not exactly how I like my food.
Before you get bummed at the lack of mayo, hear me out. Yes, there is still mayo. However, instead of massive amounts of mayo, I replaced half of the dressing with some plain Greek yogurt. For my Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad, there is just enough dressing to lightly coat all the goods, broccoli, cauliflower, bacon and all. If you prefer making yourself a super saucy salad, you may want to make a batch and a half of the dressing.
And I get it. The dressing is usually what gets us excited about a salad. If you’re not quite sure how much dressing is enough for you. I recommend following the recipe as is. If it looks like it needs a touch more for your liking, you can always whip up a bit more dressing. But come on, I made sure to include bacon and cheddar cheese so there are other on point flavors.
That’s enough of the mayo talk. When you decide where you’re at with the dressing situation, toss the dressing with all the veggies, bacon and cheese. While you CAN serve it up immediately, I recommend whipping it together the night before. This will give the flavors a chance to melt together, making it extra delicious!
Are you ready to kill the crowd with your healthy side dish? Be ready to share the recipe at your next cookout! If you serve up our Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad, don’t forget to tag a snapshot with #stephanieleenutrition on Instagram. I’d love to share what you whip up! Happy eating xo!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 8 slices cooked turkey bacon, diced
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded optional
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I recommend Primal Kitchen Mayo, linked below)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt of choice (almond, coconut, or dairy)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients
For Salad
For Dressing
|
|
- In a large mixing bowl, add broccoli, cauliflower, onion, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Set bowl aside.
- In a small, separate bowl, whisk together mayo, yogurt, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper until smooth to create the dressing. Pour mixture over the broccoli salad.
- Toss broccoli salad and dressing to evenly coat. Top with almonds to garnish if desired. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.
Primal Kitchen Mayo - Save 10% with code SLNUTRITION
Approximate nutrition stats per serving:
160 calories, 13g carbohydrate, 8g protein, 10g fat
(using plain, fat-free Greek yogurt, olive oil mayo, and almonds)
This salad looks great. I am going to have to save it and give it a shot. Looks like something that would be good for a pot luck too. Thanks for sharing.
This salad looks amazing! It looks super easy to swap out ingredients to make it vegan as well!
Absolutely! All you need are a few quick subs!
This is a perfect side dish for a cookout meal! My mama always make some kind of “salad” .. putting this on the recommended wish list for this summer!
You’ll have to let me know how you like it!
Definitely going to give this a try. Sounds much better than others I’ve tried. Have you tried the new avocado oil based mayo? Wondering if that would work here. I haven’t tried it yet because I use mayo so rarely these days.
You absolutely could use the avocado mayo, I like that as well!
This looks great! I am going to try this, but without the bacon because I am vegetarian.
This sounds delicious! I love new veggie salad options for summer time. This will be perfect!
So do I! I love a good salad with a bit of crunch 😊
This recipe look ahhh-mazing! I am vegan but I can see how this could easily be adapted. I’m excited to try it.
~NaTasha https://31eden.com
Absolutely, you could easily sub for vegan mayonnaise and skip the bacon and add some nutritional yeast!
This is definitely going to be a must-try! I know the honey probably brings such a nice sweetness to the dish but do you think I could get away with not using it?
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