This Broccoli Salad Recipe with creamy lemon dressing is one of the first and most loved recipes on my blog; an oldie but a goodie!
Broccoli Apple Salad is loaded with crunchy broccoli, crisp apples, chewy craisins, and toasted pecans. The creamy dressing brings everything together and it just works.
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Broccoli Salad Video
Watch Natasha make this easy Broccoli Salad. I hope you’re inspired to make and experience it for yourself! If you haven’t already, please subscribe to our and click on the bell icon so you’ll know every time we post a new video.
This Broccoli Apple Salad is my Mama-in-laws that has been a family favorite for years. All of the flavors work really well together. It also refrigerates really well overnight even after stirring in the dressing.
Ingredients for Broccoli Salad
This salad has a shortlist of ingredients but each is important for that It’s sweet, tart, and crisp flavor profile.
- Broccoli – we used 2 medium heads or about 1 lb of fresh broccoli.
- Carrot – should be peeled and grated or sliced on a julienne slicer
- Apple – any crisp, sweet apple will work
- Onion – use 1/4 cup finely chopped. Yellow, sweet onion or red onion will work
- Walnuts – toast on a skillet until fragrant and golden. You can substitute with pecans
- Dried Cranberries – craisins add a sweet tangy bite to the salad. You can substitute it with raisins.
The Best Creamy Dressing
This creamy lemon salad dressing combines real mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh squeezed lemon juice, sugar salt, and pepper. The sour cream lightens up this creamy dressing and the lemon adds a vibrant fresh flavor.
How to Make Broccoli Salad
- Toast walnuts on a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing frequently for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a plate to cool.
- Combine salad ingredients – place all of your sliced, shredded and chopped salad ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Make Dressing – stir together the salad dressing ingredients, adding lemon juice and sugar to taste.
- Toss and Serve – Add dressing to the salad to taste and stir until well coated in dressing.
Common Questions
It isn’t necessary at all to cook the broccoli in this salad and broccoli eaten raw is more nutritious. We also love the crunchiness and vibrant color it adds to the salad. When the florets are cut small, they are easy to chew and so satisfying!
Some readers have shared good results with blanch the broccoli to soften it a bit. If you blanch the broccoli, just be sure it is chilled and patted dry before adding to the salad.
Broccoli stems can be used in salad and we often do include them. Use a potato peeler to peel away the tough fibrous outer layer of the stem before using.
To make this a paleo broccoli salad, you can substitute the sugar with honey, adding it to taste.
Make-Ahead
This broccoli salad refrigerates well so if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, it will still be delicious the next day. Be sure to cover tightly and refrigerate. The lemon dressing preserves the apples and slows down the browning process.
More Broccoli Recipes to Explore
Broccoli Apple salad is perfect for potlucks, BBQs, picnics, you name it. This salad has been well-loved by our family and readers for years and I hope it becomes a favorite for you as well.
Broccoli Salad Recipe with Creamy Lemon Dressing (VIDEO)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Broccoli Salad Recipe:
- 2 medium broccoli heads , (about 1 lb)
- 1 large carrot, grated or julienned
- 1 apple, cored and chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, (1/4 cup thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup craisins or raisins
Ingredients for Creamy Lemon Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, (freshly squeezed)
- ½ Tbsp sugar, or add to taste
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Toast walnuts or pecans over medium/ high heat, tossing them occasionally so they don't burn. Heat about 4-5 minutes then transfer to a cutting board and coarsley chop.
- Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces, grate carrot, chop the apple and thinly slice onion, and transfer into a salad bowl. Add toasted pecans and dried raisins or cranberries.
- To make the creamy dressing, combine: mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar (to taste), salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add dressing to taste or use the full amount like we do and toss to combine.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This broccoli salad recipe was originally published in 2010 and here is the original photo. Thank you for making this salad famous with all of your fantastic reviews, and for sharing this recipe with the people you love!
I am always able to adapt your wonderful recipes to our family’s needs. Left out the sugar and dairy, just used the homemade mayo and lemon juice, it was bright and crunchy and excellent for this hot day.
I’m glad to hear that Linda! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Made it – delicious! I went heavier on the onion, so more oniony than sweet. Tastes like it’d be good either way. Also, did kale instead of broccoli. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Missy! Thank YOU for sharing your great review with other readers!
Made this yesterday for my family..the flavor is amazing and the dressing puts this salad over the top! Thank you 😊
That is the best when the family love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Sub yoghurt for sour cream and mayo? How?
I recall several readers subbed sour cream for plain Greek yogurt or just regular plain yogurt and one said she used Greek yogurt instead of both sour cream and mayo and still enjoyed the recipe. I have personally not experimented with subbing both.
I simply substituted equal parts of plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead. If you’ve ever had plain nonfat Greek yogurt, you’d think it was sour cream…nearly identical in consistency and flavor.
Thank you for this salad!! I made it today. It’s so easy but so delicious and healthy!!! It would be my favorite salad! Thank you:))
I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for the amazing review 🙂
Looks good. What are the nutrition facts of this recipe?
It is easy and delicious! Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you Kim!
What a refreshing side dish! I had no sour cream on hand and substituted Greek yogurt. I absolutely love the lemon! I made this for a company cookout I was so very disappointed when there were NO leftovers for me to take home. This is a keeper, thanks for sharing it (again!).
You’re welcome! I’m so happy to hear how much everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
La amé. Super fácil y deliciosa
¡Me alegra que disfrutes de la receta! ¡Gracias por compartir!
If you blanch your brocelli abt 60 seconds plung in ice bath. You will find it a lot better to chew. Promise just try it
Hi Linda, do you lose the nice crunch when you blanch though? I do love the crunch of fresh broccoli.
The salad looks great !! I will be trying it !!
It is so easy and popular! Please let me know what you think!
Made your Salad last week, and the Family’s asking for it again this week. 117 degree temp predicted for tomorrow, so this should help without turning the stove on!
Oh man that’s hot! I’m glad to hear everyone enjoys the recipe Jackie! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Super ! Salade vedette cette semaine. Le brocoli blanchi 1-2 minutes est parfait, moins dur à croquer. Merci.
Can you reduce this receipe down for one?
Hi Betty, I think it’s do-able but probably difficult since you would have most of the ingredients left over after making 1 portion. It would probably be much easier to reduce it down by half.
Do you use a tart or sweet apple?
Hi Pamela, I use a sweeter crisp apple to add some sweetness to the salad 🙂
This was an amazing salad and is now our family’s regular. I did leave off the nuts since we have nut allergies in the family and it is outstanding without the nuts. I love it chopped fine vs large pieces.
I’m happy to hear your family enjoys the recipe as much as mine does! Thanks for sharing Lilya 😀
Creamy Broccoli Apple Salad was a hit.
Thank you
Kandy
You’re welcome Kandy! Thanks for sharing your great review!
So delicious salad! It can be eaten as by itself, without a main course. Carrots and an apple are a good combination for vision, and pecans-for increased energy level. Thank you 😍
Thank you for another wonderful review Natalya 😬
Hi Natasha! I was a little unsure of this salad combination but I decided to try it. Delicious!! Even my husband, who is not a fan of mayo-based dressing, loved it!! He finished the leftovers when he was working from home.
YES! I’m so happy to hear you both enjoy the salad Eva! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made this salad recently and it is a keeper! Made a couple tweaks to it, added the lemon zest and no sugar to the dressing thinking the apple, cranberries, and carrot will give their natural sweetness and they did.
Great recipe!👍
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing your review Raymond! 🙂
I’m not sure of the amount of broccoli to use. Can you give me an estimate of how many cups of pieces to use?
Hi Cindy, I would guess it is about 7 cups of broccoli.
This looks delicious! Do you think it would be a good idea to blanch the broccoli?
Hi Linda, I would not recommend blanching since you will lose that crisp texture that we love so much and the flavor profile wouldn’t be quite the same if it is blanched.
I blanched for no more than 1 min and it was still crunchy
Can I make this the night before?
Hi Kathy, yes that will work fine 🙂
How about a little lemon zest in the dressing
Hi Raymond, one of my readers mentioned adding zest to the salad with great results. I haven’t tried it myself but it does sound nice!