Quick, Yummy Summer Side Dish

This broccoli salad recipe is one of my favorite side dishes because it’s so simple and so delicious! It really goes well with any cuisine, and it’s a nice touch of color on the dinner table. Another great thing about this broccoli salad recipe is that it’s super customizable. While the main component broccoli can’t change or else it wouldn’t be a broccoli salad, almost everything else in this salad can! You can use almond slivers instead of sunflower seeds, you can add cranberries or raisins, you can use meatless “bacon” or no bacon at all, you can use apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar, and you can swap the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt. The options are endless.

Follow along as I show you how to make this delicious, refreshing summer broccoli salad!

Making Summer Broccoli Salad

Begin by cooking your bacon, since this will take the longest. I cooked my bacon in my air fryer for 13 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, flipping halfway. You can cook your bacon using whichever method you prefer, and you can even buy pre-cooked bacon to simplify the recipe. Just make sure your bacon is crispy because it’ll be easier to crumble. I would avoid using artificially flavored “bacon bits” because it won’t taste the same. Once your bacon is cooked, crumble it into small pieces.

Next, chop the broccoli crowns into smaller pieces. There’s not a specific way to do this, but I cut the florets off of the main stem first. Then I rip those big florets into smaller pieces. I don’t use the big stem for this salad, but you can save it and make a veggie stock with it or compost it. Place the small broccoli pieces into a large bowl.

Then, finely dice the red onion. Each component of this salad should be relatively the same size, which is small and bite size, so it’s more pleasant to eat. Place the finely diced red onion into the bowl with the broccoli.

Put the crumbled bacon, sunflower seeds, and cheese into the bowl with the broccoli and red onions. This recipe is pretty customizable so you can add cranberries at this step. You can also use almond slivers instead of sunflower seeds.

Making the Dressing

In a smaller bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, sugar, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk all of these ingredients until smooth and creamy. It shouldn’t be as thick as Caesar dressing, but it shouldn’t be as thin as Italian dressing. If it’s too thick, add more vinegar; if it’s too thin, add more mayo or sour cream.

Once the dressing is mixed, pour it onto the broccoli salad ingredients. Toss everything well using wooden salad spoons or tongs. After everything is well combined, serve it! Or you can set it in the refrigerator so the flavors can marinate. I like leaving it in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors have time to combine, and it tastes better!