Broccoli Cauliflower Salad | Rachel Cooks®

Crunchy, cool, and creamy broccoli cauliflower salad is a refreshing side dish that always satisfies! Make it with tender crisp broccoli and cauliflower florets tossed with cheese and crumbled bacon in a rich, tangy dressing.

 

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Creamy Dressing

Broccoli (and cauliflower) naysayers, try this broccoli cauliflower salad! Crunchy broccoli and tender cauliflower have never tasted this good. It definitely has something to do with the salty bacon, cheese, and creamy, tangy mayo dressing! Throw in a few extra “embellishments” like toasted sunflower seeds and sweet dried cranberries, and you have an easy side dish packed with irresistible flavor and texture.

Why You’ll Love This Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe

• Cool and creamy. Broccoli cauliflower salad is perfect for the summer months, with its chilled ingredients and tangy dressing. The flavors are cool and refreshing!
• Combination of textures. This salad balances creaminess, crunchiness, and flavor thanks to fresh veggies, soft cheese cubes, toasted sunflower seeds, sweet cranberries, and smoky bacon.
• Easy to make. With just a bit of prep, everything comes together quickly. Plus, you can easily change out ingredients and adapt this salad to suit your tastes.

Ingredients You’ll Need

I’ll get you started with some notes on what you’ll need to make this cauliflower and broccoli salad. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list. 

• Broccoli and Cauliflower – You’ll need one head of each, chopped up into bite-sized florets.
• Onion – I use red onion, but yellow onion also works.
• Dried Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds – For extra crunch and texture. Toasting the sunflower seeds brings out the flavor even more (see below). You can substitute cranberries with raisins or currants, and sunflower seeds with pepitas if you’d like.
• Bacon – Cooked using your preferred method, such as the oven or air fryer bacon, and then chopped or crumbled.
• Cheese – Cheddar cheese, cut into cubes. You can also make this recipe with another kind of cheese, like Colby or Pepper Jack cheese. Swiss is another good option.

Dressing 

• Mayonnaise – You can substitute up to half of the mayo in the dressing with plain Greek yogurt if you prefer.
• Sugar – Use granulated sugar or brown sugar.
• Vinegar – White vinegar works fine, or you can opt for another type, like white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
• Salt and Pepper

How to Make Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

There’s a bit of chopping involved, but this salad is very simple to make! Here’s a quick step-by-step to show you how to make it. Refer to the recipe card below the post for printable instructions.

Prep the ingredients. Before you start, wash and dry your broccoli and cauliflower, and chop them up into small florets. Chop up the other ingredients so that everything is ready to go.

Combine. Next, add your broccoli and cauliflower to a bowl with red onion, cranberries, sunflower seeds, bacon, and cubed cheddar. Stir everything together.

Add the dressing. Whisk together the dressing ingredients separately. Season the dressing to taste and then drizzle it over the salad. Toss the salad ingredients gently to coat.

Chill. Cover the salad and place it into the fridge to chill for an hour before serving.

Tips for Success

Here are my pro tips for the best broccoli cauliflower salad:

• Wash the broccoli and cauliflower well. And make sure to dry it thoroughly with a spinner or paper towel. Otherwise, the excess water will make the salad watery.
• Rinse the red onion. Rinsing the chopped red onion under cold water helps to take away some of the sharp flavor. Spread it out to dry on paper towels afterward.  
• Shred the cheese instead. In place of cubed cheese, go ahead and use shredded cheese if you prefer.

Make This Salad Recipe Your Own

There are plenty of ways that you can customize this broccoli and cauliflower salad. I’ve included some easy variations below, and I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments! 

• Add nuts. Replace toasted sunflower seeds with toasted walnuts, pine nuts, or pecans.
• Lighten it up. For a more calorie-conscious salad, feel free to reduce the number of bacon slices and adapt the amount of cheese and sugar to your preference. It’ll still be delicious!
• Fresh herbs. Chopped fresh basil, thyme leaves, or cilantro would taste great in this salad.
• Looking for a variation without cauliflower? Make this classic broccoli salad, minus the cauliflower.

What to Serve With Cauliflower Broccoli Salad

This cool and creamy broccoli cauliflower salad is an easy side dish for BBQs and potlucks. We love to serve it with our favorite summer grilling recipes, like grilled pork kebobs, or these juicy air fryer BBQ chicken wings with a side of corn ribs. It’s even great as a holiday side at Thanksgiving!

Turn this salad into a main meal by topping it with marinaded chicken or broiled salmon.

Can I Make This Salad in Advance?

Once the dressing is added, this salad is best served on the day it’s made. However, if you’d like to prep this broccoli cauliflower salad ahead of time, I recommend mixing the dry salad ingredients and storing them airtight in the fridge. Prepare the dressing and store it separately. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle over the dressing and toss everything to coat.

Storing Leftovers

Store any leftover broccoli cauliflower salad airtight in the fridge for up to 2 days. I don’t recommend freezing leftovers as the texture changes once the ingredients and dressing are thawed.