Broccoli Salad Recipe with Blueberries, Red Onion, Dried Cranberries and Honey-Toasted Walnuts is a beautiful side dish for any of your gatherings.
You know those dreams you had when you were a kid about showing up to grade school in your underwear?
And no matter how hard you tried to pull your shirt down to cover your forgetfulness, the damage had already been done…because you already showed up…in your underwear?
This is kind of like that.
Only it’s not you, it’s me. And this is not a dream, it’s real. But everyone’s fully clothed, and the underwear’s the broccoli salad recipe. What?
Let’s put the car in R and back up.
Now that I have your attention…
This is not your momma’s broccoli salad recipe. I don’t even know what that means, I just wanted to say it.
Fact is, everyone who has been to a family reunion, picnic, or has spent time with large groups of people (read: everyone) has had broccoli salad. But this one is a little different.
Firsties: blueberries.
Seconds: honey-toasted walnuts.
Could this get any better?
Oh yes, dried cranberries.
Unless you’re planning on letting your hair down and turning the walnuts into Rosemary Candied Walnuts, the answer is no.
But you should still make Rosemary Candied Walnuts at some point in your life.
Third and lastly: Remember the discussion we had on Monday about mayonnaise?
The down-with-mayo convo? Same applies here. I used plain yogurt instead of mayo, and added fresh lemon juice and zest to dress this chockablock-full-o-goodies salad.
Am I still talking about broccoli salad?
Recipe Adaptations:
- Replace the fresh blueberries with dried blueberries and omit the dried cranberries.
- Use raisins instead of dried cranberries.
- Swap the walnuts for pecans or almonds.
- Play with the portions of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt depending on your preference.
- Use pure maple syrup instead of honey.
- Add 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Just add cooked bacon!
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If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Here’s the recipe:
Broccoli Salad with Honey-Toasted Walnuts
Ingredients
- 2 large crowns broccoli chopped into florets
- ¼ red onion thinly sliced
- 4.5 ounces fresh blueberries
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
To Prepare the Honey Toasted Walnuts:
- Add all ingredients for the walnuts to a small skillet and heat over medium. Cook 5 to 8 minutes until mixture is very bubbly and walnuts have caramelized and turned golden-brown. Set aside and allow to cool. Chop the walnuts when cool enough to handle.
To Prepare the Broccoli Salad:
- Soak the broccoli in a large water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and pat dry.
- Chop the broccoli crowns into small florets, and chop the broccoli stems. Add stems and florets to a large serving bowl.
- In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, honey, and salt.
- Pour this mixture over the broccoli and stir well to coat all of the broccoli with dressing.
- Add the red onion, blueberries, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. Toss everything together and serve with your favorite entree.
Nutrition
- Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes from Sarcastic Cooking
- Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Lemon Drizzle from Greens & Chocolate
- Strawberry Cinnamon Twist Knots from A Kitchen Addiction
- Lemon Shortbread with Salted Chocolate Drizzle from The Lemon Bowl
- Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream from A Zesty Bite
- Blackberry and Mango Curd Pie from Joanne Eats Well With Others
- Super Simple Sugar Cookies from Espresso and Cream
- Raspberry Acai Frozen Margarita from Nutmeg Nanny
- Berry Coconut Frozen Yogurt from Well Plated
- Pretty in Pink Buttercream Cups from Keep it Sweet Desserts
- Neapolitan Baked Doughnuts from The Curious Plate
- No-Bake Rhubarb Cheesecake Parfait Cups from Hungry Girl Por Vida
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from A Cedar Spoon
- Freckled Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade from Take a Megabite
- Vanilla Anise Cupcakes from A Classic Twist
- Mini Blackberry Hazelnut Meringue Cakes from Stephie Cooks
I’ve never seen a recipe call for soaking broccoli in a water bath before. What’s the purpose? Just to clean it?
I soak the broccoli to remove anything from it. If you’d like, you can just give it a good rinse, but soaking it is more effective for removing anything unwanted (pesticides, dirt, critters, etc)
This looks beautiful, and stuffed full of goodness! Thanks for posting!
I must tell you… I will use this recipe, forever!
Yaaaaay! So glad to hear it, Debra!! I absolutely love the salad too 🙂 So simple and healthy, yet packed with flavor.
Hands down the best broccoli salad I’ve seen. I love all the flavors going on in here. pinning.
This looks so good!! I cannot wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
This salad is fabulous. So glad you brought it to the party to keep us balanced 🙂 PS: Very happy to meet you!! I love your blog and have spent a few many minutes drooling over your amazing recipes (and photos!!!)
Thanks, my dear! I adore your blog too!
Oh, I am SO pinning this! 🙂 A friend shared her mom’s broccoli salad recipe with me years ago and I adore it, but the idea of adding fresh fruit and walnuts is just too much to resist. Fabulous!
Thanks, Meg! Let me know if you try it! I’m a huge fan of broccoli salads and there are so many ways to make it fun, healthy and tasty 😀
Aw man, I want a T-rex hug. I can see the literal version of that coming to life in my dreams. Hopefully a bowl of this awaits at the end. Love the creativeness of mixing blues with broccoli!
Haha! Luckily, I give T-Rex hugs away liberally, so I reckon I have an extra to spare 😉 Glad you like the salad, m’lady!
Loving this salad, broccoli is one of my most favorite veggies and this combination is killer.
Thanks, Cheri! Broccoli’s always a winner and I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the salad came together. Let me know if you try it! 🙂