Broccoli Crunch Salad

I’m loving this summer weather we’re having in Boston. Sunday was sunny but not hot, with just the right amount of a great cooling breeze. Perfect for a day for broccoli crunch salad. And also drinking–good thing we ran the Harpoon 5-miler and got to enjoy their beer tent afterward!

While Sunday was a great day to be outside, Saturday was a little overcast, but perfect for staying in and making a bunch of recipes for this ol’ blog. It felt great to be back in the kitchen after a couple of weekends away working on the house. I’m looking forward to this continuing, especially in the new kitchen in the house! We’ll share pictures once the space looks a bit more filled out.

This recipe was inspired by a surprising place – the deli counter at the grocery store near my work. When I’ve forgotten my lunch or snacks, I’ll hit up the grocery store rather than pay $3 for a cookie at Panera or Starbucks for my late afternoon snack. On one of these grocery store trips, I happened to check out the deli counter and prepared food section, and saw an enticing, green, crunchy ‘salad’. I’m forgetting now what they called it, but I asked for a small container to give it a taste, and it’s now my new favorite salad. It’s similar to a cole slaw – without the super heavy mayo – and filled with interesting things, like sunflower seeds and raisins.

Here’s my attempt to recreate it at home. I think I made a pretty good version, and L. Smith agrees! He ate the whole bowl (of vegetables! That rarely happens.) This is a great recipe to make on a weekend/Sunday night to have ready for the week. Make a big batch and then portion it out into your lunch containers for the week! Enjoy!

This broccoli crunch salad was inspired by the deli counter near my work. Similar to cole slaw but without the heavy mayo and way more flavorful.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Salad:
2 cups bagged cole slaw mix (or 1/2 cup julienned carrots, 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage, 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage, 1/2 cup julienned cauliflower)
2 cups finely chopped broccoli (~1 small head of broccoli)
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1/4 cup pecans

Instructions

Make the dressing first: Measure out all the ingredients into a mason or other jar. Shake well to combine and place in refrigerator to chill.
In a large bowl, measure out the salad ingredients. Finely chop the head of broccoli, including the stems. Add to bowl.
Pour the salad dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Top with more pecans, sunflower seeds, cranberries, and/or raisins as desired.
Enjoy!