This easy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe with a homemade creamy dressing is the perfect side dish for family gatherings or a potluck dinner. A delicious side salad that goes well with almost any main dish!
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My broccoli cauliflower salad has no bacon. I love bacon, but it's nice to have a vegetarian side salad as well as a meatless lunch with the leftovers the next day.
I like to keep this classic salad as simple as possible. Sometimes, less is better, right?!
Easy broccoli salad is a great recipe to serve at summer cookouts. This easy salad pairs well with just about anything.
I like to serve it as a side dish with grilled chicken, onion burgers or smash burgers or grilled pork chops.
Cauliflower Broccoli Salad Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this cauliflower broccoli salad recipe. You can get them at your grocery stores if you don't already have them in your fridge or pantry:
- Head of broccoli -- about 5 cups raw broccoli florets
- Head of cauliflower -- about 5 cups raw cauliflower florets
- Colby jack cheese -- cubed
- Red onion -- for flavor and crunch
- Mayonnaise -- or Miracle Whip or light mayo
- Sour cream -- I use regular sour cream, but light is fine
- Red wine vinegar
- White sugar -- a little sugar is necessary unless you want a very tangy dressing.
- Dried parsley flakes
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
How to Make Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
First, cut up the broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized florets. Then, chop up the onion and cheese.
Place broccoli, onion, cheese cubes and cauliflower in a large bowl while you make the dressing in a separate bowl.
Just stir the mayo, sour cream and vinegar together in a small mixing bowl. Give it a taste to see if it needs sugar.
I only use 2 teaspoons of sugar here, so it's not a super sweet broccoli cauliflower salad. You can add more sugar if you want or leave it out completely.
Then, season the dressing with a pinch of sea salt, pepper and dried parsley for added flavor. Pour this delicious homemade dressing over the salad and stir until the salad is nice and creamy.
How to Store Broccoli Salad
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
For best results, make this creamy salad an hour or two before serving to let the flavors blend.
Store any leftover broccoli salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it'll keep for 3 to 4 days.
Recipe Tips
Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into small pieces with as much stem removed as possible.
Prepare the salad a couple of hours before serving so that the flavors have time to blend.
You can buy pre-cut fresh veggies to cut down on prep time!
If you want to cut down on the sugar, taste the dressing before adding any, as it is very tangy. You can add more sugar or another sweetener, to taste, before mixing in veggies.
Variations
There are a few ways to customize this delicious salad to your liking.
Instead of a combination of mayo and sour cream, make the dressing with sour cream and Greek yogurt. Or, for a super healthy broccoli cauliflower salad, use only Greek yogurt as dressing.
Add fresh veggies and fruits for different flavors of broccoli-cauliflower salad. Use dried cranberries for a tasty broccoli cranberry salad, or your favorite type of apples for a broccoli apple salad.
Crunchy sunflower seeds, crisp green onions, and crispy bacon pieces add their own tasty texture to broccoli salad!
Instead of Colby jack, use a different cheese. Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or pepper jack cheese are a perfect addition.
Bring out delicious flavors with different dressings. Use white wine vinegar or apple cider instead of red wine vinegar, or add a splash of Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce for an extra kick!
Recipe
Easy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli chopped into bite sized florets
- 1 head cauliflower chopped into bite sized florets
- 1 cup colby jack cheese cubed
- ½ small red onion chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add broccoli, cauliflower, cheese and onion to a large mixing bowl
- In a small mixing bowl, mix the mayo, sour cream and vinegar until smooth. Add sugar. You can add more if you think it needs it
- Add salt, pepper and parsley and stir until well blended
- Pour dressing over salad, and stir until well combined. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour before serving
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
This low carb broccoli cauliflower salad is a huge hit in my house, and is absolutely one of our new favorites for a quick, cold salad. I hope you enjoy this cauliflower and broccoli salad with creamy dressing too!
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or comment!
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Recipe published in 2022 and updated in 2023.
Emily says
Had this for dinner last night since it is so hot here! Great and very easy to make!
Beverly says
This is great! Made it for the church potluck and it was a huge hit! Great for spring too!
Wendy johnston says
Top with candied pecans, added cayenne to ours, totally addictive
Debbie says
I really liked this salad! I made mine with cheese cubes and bacon, and it was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making this more often now that it’s summer time!