Broccoli Salad With Bacon and Raisins

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My broccoli salad with bacon recipe is a taste and texture explosion! It’s simultaneously creamy, crunchy, sweet, and savory. Just try and resist going back for seconds.

Spoonful of broccoli and bacon salad.

This broccoli salad with bacon is a favorite of mine. It’s so simple to make but tastes so unbelievably good. It’s filled with crunchy raw broccoli, crispy and crumbly bacon, raisins, sunflower seeds, and red onion. These sensational ingredients are coated in a dressing made from mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar. Yep, it’s a flavor and textural explosion that no one will be able to resist.

One of the best parts is that it’s so quick and easy to make, so it’s the perfect salad to make ahead and store in the fridge when you have friends or family over or if you’re heading to a potluck. You just have to cook the bacon, chop the broccoli, and mix the dressing ingredients. Combine and your bacon broccoli salad recipe is ready to roll!

If you’re looking for more great salad recipes, check out cornbread saladtomato, onion, and cucumber salad, and the BEST German potato salad.

Labeled ingredients for broccoli salad with bacon.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Fresh broccoli
  • Onion
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Mayonnaise
  • Vinegar
  • Raisins
  • Sugar
  • Bacon 

Helpful Kitchen Tools

Separate broccoli heads from stalks.

Wash and separate the broccoli heads from the stalks.

Chop up florets and stalks.

Start chopping!  I use the Hamilton Beach food processor for the stalks and chop the broccoli florets by hand.

Add broccoli to mixing bowl.

Now, place all that broccoli in a large bowl.

Add chopped onions to mixing bowl.

Add the finely chopped onion.

Add raising to mixing bowl.

Then the raisins.

Add sunflower seeds to mixing bowl.

And the kernels of sunflower seeds.

Add bacon to mixing bowl.

Finely, add the cooked and crumbled bacon bits to the mixing bowl.

Mix up dressing in separate bowl.

Now it’s time to mix the dressing. Place the mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar in a separate bowl and stir well until all ingredients are combined.

Pour dressing over salad in mixing bowl.

Pour the dressing over the salad.

Mix ingredients and dressing together.

Mix all together and then you’re done.

Bowl of broccoli salad with bacon.

You’re lucky you saw this dish all completed… I had to restrain myself from diggin’ in!

Bowl of broccoli salad with bacon.

Refrigerate your broccoli bacon salad until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Storage

This broccoli salad with bacon will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. But it’s best to store the salad and dressing separately.

Recipe Notes

  • Feel free to substitute the vinegar for apple cider vinegar.
  • Think it’s not a salad without cheese? Feel free to add a cup of shredded cheddar cheese or a 1/4 cup of goat cheese to this broccoli salad with bacon. I won’t tell!
  • Here are some fun substitutions:
    • Swap the sunflower seeds for sliced almonds, pine nuts, chopped pecans, or chopped walnuts.
    • Substitute the raisins for dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or dried cherries (or a combination).
    • If you’re wanting to go meat-free, substitute the bacon for sundried tomatoes or olives. 
    • To go dairy-free, you’ll just need to use vegan mayonnaise.
  • Insider’s tip: if you prefer your salad had a milder onion flavor, soak the chopped onions in ice water for 10 minutes. It removes the onion’s “bite” so to speak.
  • Serve your broccoli bacon salad by itself or alongside a simple main dish like butter roasted chicken, hamburger steaks, or grilled chicken tenderloins.

You may also like these recipes with broccoli:

Broccoli Beer Cheese Soup

Homestyle Broccoli Cheese Cornbread

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

Low Carb Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Beef and Broccoli

Broccoli salad with bacon

Broccoli Salad with Bacon

My broccoli salad with bacon and raisins recipe is a taste and texture explosion! It's simultaneously creamy, crunchy, sweet, and savory.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bacon, broccoli, salad

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups chopped broccoli
  • 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 cup raisins I half this
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1 chopped red onion
  • 1 cup sunflower kernels

Instructions

  • Chop the broccoli, stalks and all, and place in a large bowl.
    4-5 cups chopped broccoli
  • Add the raisins, cooked and crispy bacon bits, onion, and sunflower kernels.
    1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled, 1 cup raisins, 1 chopped red onion, 1 cup sunflower kernels
  • Mix the mayo, sugar, and vinegar together in a separate bowl to make the salad dressing.
    1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar
  • Pour dressing over the broccoli mixture. Stir to coat well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

~ Maya Angelou

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58 Comments

  1. I wish that all your salad dressings were on a post with one handy link. I know you have loads of time on your hands to do it for me (did you hear the sarcasm in there, I hope so cause I know how busy you are) I can remember the salads but always have to look up the dressings. I guess I could copy and paste them to a word document but then I wouldn’t get the pleasure of revisiting your posts.

  2. I made it the other day with dried cranberry. Today I made it but without the bacon. It is for a bereaved family which one member is a vegetarian.

  3. Hi Christy, just love this Kickin Broccoli Salad. I’ve eaten this Broccoli Salad before,a lady at work made this for our cookout,which i thought was great, but your Broccoli Salad,took it to another level. By the way,just luv your cute rhymes. Thanks Christy,Have a Wonderful Easter!

  4. Hey Christy, I make this salad anytime there is a gathering of my family. The only difference is I use 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 cauliflower. I hate chopping the broccoli and bought a food processor just for this purpose, but it turned my broccoli into a sawdust-like texture. So I bought another one with the same results. So I bought a third one – no better. I gave up and chop it by hand, STILL. Is there something I need to know about food processors? I’d like one that says “chunk” as an option. P.S. Enjoyed the poetry, by the way!

  5. Making this tonight….again!!! I love this stuff!! Since I’m the only person in the house that will eat it, that simply means more for me!!!

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