Broccoli Salad with Feta and Cranberries is the perfect side dish for grill season, loaded with crispy bacon, sunflower seeds, craisins, feta cheese and a No Mayo dressing! It's great to feed a crowd or meal prep for healthy lunches. With a creamy yogurt and tangy vinegar dressing, this crunchy broccoli salad will have everyone asking for the recipe!
Why we Love this Summertime Favorite!
- It's Absolutely Delicious! - You will love this creamy crunchy broccoli salad for so many reasons! It's colorful and full of fresh flavor! Super healthy but full of rich taste from that crispy bacon and feta cheese! A bit of sweetness from the honey and cranberries balance the sharp red onions and bright vinegar!
- It's So Easy to Throw Together, and great to make ahead or meal prep! - Perfect for the backyard grill season, Broccoli Feta Cranberry Salad is the best side dish with burgers, brats or grilled chicken! You can make it up ahead of the time and keep it in the fridge, bring it to a cabin weekend or use as a healthy meal prep lunch. The prep is very minimal with the bacon being the only cooking involved.
- Broccoli Salad - No Mayo Dressing! - The best part, this is Broccoli Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing! No mayo here, this simple dressing is made with plain yogurt, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and honey. I've seen broccoli salad recipes adding gobs of mayo, and it's just not necessary! This salad is creamy, crunchy, and so full of flavor, you will not miss the mayo at all!
Ingredients
- Fresh Broccoli - Fresh raw broccoli gives you that fresh classic crunch! A really healthy side dish, I use about 1 bunch cut into small florets.
- Red Onion - Red onion gives you a nice sharpness, but if you aren't an onion person, leave it out! You could also sub chives or sliced scallions for a milder flavor.
- Sunflower Seeds - The sunflower seeds add great protein and crunch, I like to use roasted and salted. You could also use pumpkin seeds or chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Craisins - Dried cranberries give a touch of sweetness and a pop of color, but other dried fruit would also work, or substitute chopped apples or halved grapes.
- Feta Cheese - I love broccoli salad with crumbled feta cheese. It feels a little fancier, but subbing shredded or diced cheddar is fine too.
- Bacon - You could leave it vegetarian, but the crispy bacon really is delicious! This recipe only needs a few strips of bacon, but I like to cook the whole package. Chop up the unused bacon and freeze it. It is so handy to throw in a pasta, add to a salad, or toss in eggs. And, if you have frozen chopped bacon in your freezer, you can use it in this recipe. It's fine to add frozen, or even throw in the microwave for a few seconds to get it back to a sizzle.
- Salt & Pepper - Seasons all ingredients in the salad.
- Plain Yogurt - Plain yogurt replaces the need for mayo in the salad dressing. If you aren't a plain yogurt user, give it a try as a substitute for sour cream. Swap out your flavored yogurt and flavor your parfait yourself with honey, berries and Homemade Granola. I use plain yogurt all the time in Pancakes, Hummus or Veggie Dip, Stovetop Mac & Cheese for the kids, and to top Chili, Tacos, or Loaded Baked Potatoes. It's a must have ingredient in my kitchen!
- Red Wine Vinegar - That tangy sharp element to balance the creamy yogurt.
- Dijon Mustard
- Honey
Instructions
Step 1 - Cook the bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at 400° for about 20 minutes, flip it and check on it until it is perfectly crispy but not burnt. Remove to a plate with a paper towel and chop.
Step 2 - Chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces. The stalk can be used as well, just remove the bottom end of it, and peel the tough outside of it with a knife. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together the dressing in a small bowl. Toss the salad well with the dressing and serve or keep in the fridge.
Tips and Variations
- Storage - This Broccoli Salad with Yogurt Dressing can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Leftovers should be eaten within 2 days.
- Paleo Broccoli Salad - To make this recipe paleo, substitute mayo for the yogurt and omit the feta cheese.
- Broccoli Salad Gluten Free - This Broccoli Salad is a gluten free option without needing to change a thing!
- Garden Fresh Broccoli - I love making this recipe when broccoli is fresh from the garden. I'm always amazed how much I love it when I haven't had it for awhile! It's such a handy recipe to bring to an outdoor grill out. One out of my two kids loved it, that's a pretty good kid-friendly rating for a healthy salad that's heavy on the veggies! You'll want to make this one again and again!
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Broccoli Salad with Feta and Cranberries
Broccoli Salad with Feta and Cranberries is the perfect side dish for grill season, loaded with crispy bacon, sunflower seeds, craisins, feta cheese and a No Mayo dressing! It's great to feed a crowd or meal prep for healthy lunches. With a creamy yogurt and tangy vinegar dressing, this crunchy broccoli salad will have everyone asking for the recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 cups broccoli, about 1 bunch cut into small florets
- ¼ cup red onion chopped
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup craisins
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
- 3-4 slices bacon cooked and crispy, chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons plain yogurt (or sub mayo or sour cream)
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Cook bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at 400° for about 20 minutes, flip it and check on it until it is perfectly crispy but not burnt. Remove to a plate with a paper towel and chop.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Add dressing to the salad and toss well.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
- Storage - This broccoli salad can be made up to a day in advance and leftovers can be eaten within the next 2 days.
- The stalk of the broccoli can be used. Just cut off the very bottom, peel away the tough skin with a knife and chop the stalk for the salad.
- You can cook the whole package of bacon and chop up the extra to freeze. Throw it in pasta, add to a salad, or toss in eggs.
Jacki Jaeger says
You had me at feta and craisins! I’ve had variations of this salad, but this is by FAR a favorite. Once again you nailed the measurements. We love this one! Adding it to my Thanksgiving dinner list now. Yum!
Jacki Jaeger says
This recipe screamed my name when I saw it. All these ingredients together really do it for me. So so good! Can’t wait to make this one over and over again.