Broccoli salad

Why it works

Chilling the dressed broccoli for about half an hour softens its raw edge, rendering the bacon from a cold pan makes it evenly crisp, and folding in the bacon and seeds just before serving keeps them crunchy.

Associated with

American (Midwestern) home cooking

Raw broccoli with bacon, dried fruit and sunflower seeds in a sweet mayonnaise-vinegar dressing is a Midwestern picnic and potluck salad. The earliest dated printing found is a Minnesota grocer's cookbook from 1985; no scholarly history was found.

Skill level

Easy

Simple knife work and two quick skillet jobs; the care point is adding the bacon and seeds at the end so they stay crisp.

You'll practice: Cut broccoli florets and peel the stem, Render bacon from a cold pan, Toast seeds in a skillet, Add crunchy toppings last

Allergens

Contains: egg, milk.

Check the mayonnaise (soybean oil), the sunflower kernels (roasting oil) and the cider vinegar (sulfites).

Diets

Vegetarian: Doesn't fit as written Vegan: Doesn't fit as written Pescatarian: Doesn't fit as written Dairy: See the allergen lines Egg: See the allergen lines Gluten: See the allergen lines

Occasions

• Lenten Fridays (Catholic) · Fits with a change

  Bacon is meat; leaving it out, with extra toasted seeds, makes the salad meatless for days of abstinence.

  Ash Wednesday (Western Easter minus 46 days), Good Friday and every Friday of Lent

  Next: February 10, 2027 (expected)

  Next: March 26, 2027 (expected)

• Summer picnics and potlucks · Seasonal fit

  Served as a side at picnics and potlucks; no dated holiday association was found.

  Northern Hemisphere summer

Course: side-dish · Technique: render, toast, chill · Time: 30-to-60-minutes, make-ahead

Food safety

• Pour the hot bacon fat into a heatproof container, not down the sink.
• Refrigerate the cooked bacon, covered, if it will sit out longer than 2 hours.
• Keep the salad cold and return it to the refrigerator within 2 hours of setting it out, or within 1 hour above 90 °F (32 °C).

We make no statement about cross-contact in your kitchen or in packaged ingredients. Check the mayonnaise, cheese and sunflower kernel labels.

Swap notes

• bacon · vegetarian

  Works with changes

  Use: more toasted sunflower seeds, with a little smoked paprika in the dressing

  What changes: Skip rendering the bacon and toast the extra seeds in the dry skillet.; Use a cheddar labeled vegetarian.; Less smoky and salty; taste again for salt.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• bacon

  Works with changes

  Use: more toasted sunflower seeds, with a little smoked paprika in the dressing

  What changes: Skip rendering the bacon; eggs and cheese stay, which days of abstinence allow.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• bacon · halal

  Works with changes

  Use: halal-certified turkey or beef bacon, or none

  What changes: Use certified or label-checked mayonnaise and cheese.; Less smoky and salty.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• bacon · kosher

  Works with changes

  What changes: Leave out the bacon; the salad becomes a dairy dish.; Kosher beef bacon works only if the cheddar is also left out, since meat and dairy are not mixed.; Use certified mayonnaise, vinegar and packaged items.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• bacon

  Works with changes

  Use: more toasted sunflower seeds

  What changes: Skip rendering the bacon.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• mayonnaise · vegan

  Works with changes

  Use: a vegan mayonnaise (read the label)

  What changes: Leave out the bacon and the cheese, and add more toasted seeds.; Use beet sugar or a cane sugar certified vegan.; Slightly thinner and less rich; taste for salt.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• mayonnaise

  Works with changes

  Use: a vegan mayonnaise (read the label)

  What changes: Leave out the bacon; households that avoid onion can leave it out too and add herbs for freshness.; Check the cheddar label for the rennet source.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• mayonnaise

  Works with changes

  Use: a vegan mayonnaise, on days when oil is allowed

  What changes: Leave out the bacon and the cheese, and add more toasted seeds.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• hulled sunflower seeds

  Works with changes

  Use: raw chopped walnuts or pecans

  What changes: This adds tree nuts, a major allergen.; Leave out the bacon, and use a Passover-certified mayonnaise made without kitniyot oil.; Richer crunch.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

• small red onion

  Works with changes

  Use: green tops of spring onions or chives

  What changes: Use only a small amount of dried cranberries and keep the cider vinegar modest.; Milder and greener, with less sweet chew.

  Not a swap: A researched proposal: this page's ingredient list, allergens and nutrition still describe the recipe as written.

These notes don't change the amounts, allergens or nutrition shown for this recipe.