Southern Broccoli Salad Recipe (2024)

We make a version of this at the hotel I’ve been working for,however we soak the cranberries in Earl Grey black tea for about 10 minutes before draining well and adding…personally I don’t like EG but this gives it a lovely fresh taste!

This recipe is pretty much exactly how broccoli salad gets made in my region of the Carolinas, except I personally prefer pepita (pumpkin) seeds to the sunflowers, and also think the salad's texture is better served with cheddar that's cut in tiny cubes rather than shredded.

Yum. For anyone wondering about the amount of Mayo, I only used 2 heaping tablespoons and found it to be more than enough. Delicious.

My family doesn’t care for raisins, therefore I sun in dried cranberries!! It’s a New England thing!! Give it a try

A staple at all of our family picnics (albeit in New England, not the South). No sunflower seeds, although I like the idea, but quite a bit more sugar in the dressing - which is why it’s known as “candied broccoli.”

I enjoyed this salad! I steamed the broccoli in my instant pot for about a minute, then plunged the florets in ice water. I also cooked a whole package of bacon (about 10 ounces), & crumbled it all in. I used raw sunflower seeds & I liked the crunch. I didn’t add any sugar to the dressing as I avoid sugar, and it was sweet enough for me with the golden raisins. I let the salad sit for about 4 hours in the frig and I do think that helped the flavors. A nice salad for a holiday!

For a veg version, I omitted the bacon and used chopped smoked almonds instead of sunflower seeds!

Definitely cranberries and 4 T. of sugar and 4 T. of red wine vinegar and raw broccoli. The dressing breaks down the broccoli. We don't add any cheese. This salad improves with age.

No real need to blanch the broccoli, but doing so makes it turn bright green and it keeps that color better while the salad chills and sits on a buffet table, especially if it’s very warm outside.

As suggested in prior notes, I did not blanch the broccoli, used dried cranberries instead of raisins, used less mayonnaise than suggested, and cubed the cheddar cheese. I preferred the sunflower seeds over pumpkin seeds. In addition, I pickled the chopped red onions since I don’t care for raw onions and added an extra tablespoon of cider vinegar since after adding the sugar, the dressing tasted too sweet to me. The resulting salad was killer good.

The blanching is fine but an unnecessary step, really, as the vinegar will lightly cook the broccoli, and this will taste just as good without it and save a step (and a pot to wash!)

Grew up on this stuff so figured I'd try making it myself for the 4th. I ended up using only about half the cheese and a bit less mayo than it called for. Biggest mistake was blanching the broccoli and not letting it dry enough, which created a fairly watery salad situation. Next time, will skip blanching altogether, as I'm pretty sure my mom never did when she made it, and it was always just fine, especially if you let it sit for several hours.

Raisins are great in broccoli salad. It's the only way I eat it. YUM!

This was delicious and tasted much more fresh than the broccoli salad I buy at the deli. I made this intending to stretch it out for several meals as a side so left out the bacon, cheese, and sunflower seeds until just before serving our dinner portion. Family loved it!

I was not a fan of this. I like my broccoli salad crunchy/raw and the dressing didn't work for me.

4oz cheese

Between 1/2 and 3/4 the amount of dressing is plenty I think. Also, remember that the beautiful picture is of the salad with no dressing at all.

My goodness did we like this! I poured boiling water over broccoli in a colander and let it drain. Used toasted pecans instead of pepitas. Glad to see the NYT including regional classic home cooking.

We make this without sugar and cheese, both of which obscure the fresh taste of barely cooked veg. We also add Dijon mustard and a bit of boiled apple cider to the dressing. Dried Montmorency cherries make a good sweet and sour substitution for raisins or cranberries.

I made mostly as directed, with about half the amount of bacon. I steamed the broccoli and did the ice bath plunge for color. I used my salad spinner to get the water off, which worked really well. I made the day before serving it, it held up beautifully and was a major hit.

Another hit! I didn’t blanch broccoli and used two heaping tablespoons of Mayo. Next time I will try more Mayo

Discovered broccoli salad on a trip to Arizona in spring 2022. When I returned home, I realized a local grocery store made and carried it. Never thought about making it until I saw this recipe!!! I've made this version several times pretty much as written except to cut back on mayo (based on # of cups of broccoli) and only add 1 tsp. of sugar (personal taste). It is terrific and definitely improves if it sits for a day or two!

I followed the suggestion of replacing the bacon and seeds with smoked almonds too keep things vegetarian. I love clever flavor-adjacent ideas! I’ll use this trick for other recipes too :)

We do this salad up in the PNW - no cheese; red seedless grapes cut in half instead of raisins.

One of my favorite recipes from my late ex mother-in-law! To change it up a bit try adding pepitas to the golden raisins, and one or 2 teaspoons of vadouvan curry powder to the dressing. I prefer grated sharp white cheddar. Bacon optional.

Delicious! I added shredded celeriac root for extra body.

For a veg version, I omitted the bacon and used chopped smoked almonds instead of sunflower seeds!

I use mandarin oranges instead of raisins, no cheese, shredded carrot, and I bring the mayo, vinegar, sugar to a boil and pour it over the broccoli, it's hot enough to soften it and turn it bright green. Then chill. No pot of boiling water, reduces heat in the kitchen, doesn't waste water. Turns out delicious!

As suggested in prior notes, I did not blanch the broccoli, used dried cranberries instead of raisins, used less mayonnaise than suggested, and cubed the cheddar cheese. I preferred the sunflower seeds over pumpkin seeds. In addition, I pickled the chopped red onions since I don’t care for raw onions and added an extra tablespoon of cider vinegar since after adding the sugar, the dressing tasted too sweet to me. The resulting salad was killer good.