Summer and fresh salads go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. My favorite summer meal is a grilled steak and yummy salad. I love the simplicity of cooking in the summer. All of the awesome ingredients, dining outside and grilling are just a few of my favorite things {aside from cookies…of course}. It is especially fun when I can take an iconic recipe and update it with new and exciting flavors. I decided to take a generic Broccoli Salad recipe and elevate it both in flavor and texture, I love what I have came up with.
I took a few of the “normal” ingredients and changed them up. Instead of raisins {or craisins}, I added fresh red grapes that I cut in half. I love that they still give the sweetness you want but with an added fresh element. I replaced the sunflower seeds with roasted/salted almonds that I chopped. Honestly, I could add them to about anything and be perfectly happy. Lastly, I changed the dressing up a little bit and made a poppy seed dressing. For color, I added some shredded carrot. Tasty and pretty!
Here are some other great side dish options…Mexican Street Corn Skillet, Roasted Melting Potatoes, and Caprese Tart.
The dressing is as simple as adding the ingredients to a bowl and whisking. The poppy seeds are such a pretty addition!
I started by adding only about 3/4 of the dressing because I didn’t want it to be over dressed. I did end up going back and adding the rest but you can decide for yourself and add as much {or as little} as you like.
The result is seriously delicious and absolutely what I was after. The only thing that could make it better would be to serve it with a steak covered in Everything Spice Rub. It really is summer in a bowl!
Broccoli Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli {cut into small florets}
- 1/4 cup roasted & salted almonds {chopped}
- 5 slices bacon {cooked & sliced or 1/4 cup Real Bacon Bits}
- 40 small grapes {cut in half}
- 1 small carrot {shredded}
- 1 green onion {thinly sliced}
Poppy Seed Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Combine broccoli florets, chopped almonds, sliced bacon {or bacon bits}, grape halves, shredded carrot and green onion in a medium bowl. In a small bowl combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour 3/4 of the dressing over salad and stir to cover. If the salad needs additional dressing, add remaining dressing and stir again.Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
- To save time you can buy the bags of pre-cut broccoli {although I still like to break it down into smaller florets} and pre-shredded carrots.
