Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Published June 29, 2016. Updated May 13, 2019

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad will quickly become a staple recipe! It’s always a crowd favorite, who knew people could love broccoli so much? It’s easy to make and perfectly refreshing on a warm summer day.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad in a bowl with salad servers at the side

Easy Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

How do you get your kids to eat broccoli without a million and one complaints? The question on every parent’s mind. Try serving this cold broccoli salad, you’d be surprised how much kids love this salad.

Broccoli never tasted so good! Raw broccoli can be totally boring, but when you toss it into a salad with cheese and bacon incredible things just happen!

I’m a huge fan of coleslaw dressing type salads so I’ve always loved a good, classic broccoli and cauliflower salad…but I’ve never liked the fact that most recipes out there call for 1 cup of full-fat mayonnaise!

I mean, I didn’t create this version to be low calorie but I just never feel like 1 cup of mayonnaise is necessary on anything. I swapped out a lot of that mayo for fat-free Greek yogurt and went with light mayonnaise instead.

Serve this easy broccoli salad along with pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches for a meal the everyone will love! This is one of the ultimate cookout or potluck side dish recipes. Any time of year, people will be requesting this salad!

Want to see how easy this broccoli salad recipe is? Watch the video!

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad Ingredients

For the broccoli and cauliflower salad, you’ll need:

  • Broccoli florets
  • Cauliflower florets
  • Bacon
  • Colby Jack cheese
  • Red onion

And for the broccoli salad dressing, you’ll need:

  • Plain Greek yogurt
  • Light mayonnaise
  • Honey
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Granulated sugar
  • Salt

Dressing in a bowl for making a Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

How to Make Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together the broccoli salad dressing ingredients (if you like to multi-task, do it while the bacon is cooking).
  • Then sauté the bacon in a skillet until browned and crisp. Don’t forget to toss it occasionally.

Bacon pieces frying in a pan for making a Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

  • Add the remaining salad ingredients (broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, cheddar) and cooled bacon to a salad bowl.

Ingredients for a Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad in a white bowl

  • Pour that creamy dressing over the top and toss to evenly coat. Easy as that!

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad ingredients in a white bowl with the dressing getting poured over the top

Can I Make This Salad in Advance?

This broccoli and cauliflower salad is best the day it’s made, but if you wanted to prep this salad to eat later in the week you could mix together the dry salad ingredients and drizzle the dressing on just before you’re going to eat it.

Can I Use Another Type of Cheese?

Yes, you can use another cheese in this recipe. Cheddar cheese would work nicely here, as would Swiss.

Tips for the Best Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

  • If you are looking to cut more calories, you can cut back to four slices of bacon and reduce the amount of cheese a little and omit the sugar. You’ll still have a delicious salad!
  • Rinse the diced red onion under cold tap water to remove some of its harsh bite.
  • I like the texture the cubed cheese adds to this cold broccoli salad recipe, but you can also use shredded if that’s all you have on hand.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad in a white bowl

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A close up of a broccoli and cauliflower salad in a bowl
4.55 from 11 votes

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Broccoli never tasted so good! Raw broccoli can be totally boring but when you toss it into a salad with cheese and bacon and cover it with a creamy dressing incredible things just happen!
Servings: 7 servings
Prep15 minutes
Ready in: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

Salad

  • 4 cups small diced broccoli florets
  • 4 cups small diced cauliflower florets
  • 8 oz bacon (about 8 slices), diced and sauteed until crisp and drained
  • 1 1/4 cups small cubed Colby Jack cheese (6 oz)
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion , rinsed under water and drained (if it's a mild one you can add a little more)

Instructions

  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to use.
  • Add all salad ingredients to a salad bowl (I like to set aside about 1/4 of the bacon and red onion to sprinkle over the top at the end for more color, that's totally optional).
  • Pour dressing over top then toss to evenly coat. Serve within and hour of adding dressing for best results.

Notes

  • If you are looking to cut more calories, you can cut back to four slices of bacon and reduce the amount of cheese a little and omit the sugar. You'll still have a delicious salad!
  • Recipe source: Cooking Classy
Nutrition Facts
Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 360 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 47mg16%
Sodium 603mg26%
Potassium 494mg14%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 580IU12%
Vitamin C 76.7mg93%
Calcium 227mg23%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.