This Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad is an easy recipe that is BIG on flavor. Broccoli is coated in a sweet and creamy dressing and jazzed up with smokey coconut bacon, toasty seeds, and sweet raisins.
Hellloooooo friends!
Was anyone else obsessed with the ultra creamy, slightly sweet, broccoli salad that hung out behind the deli case at the grocery store? My hand is raised tall and proud, because this salad was my JAM! It is some strange marriage of sweet broccoli and smokey bacon that hit the sweet/savory nail on the head before anyone even knew that sweet and savory foods were about to be a HUGE thing. The OG.
Today, this Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad is that salad... only ten hundred thousand times healthier. And we get to keep all the creamy, sweet, and even bacon-y flavors that we love.
Let's break this Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad down for a minute. There are a few things that just belong in any Broccoli Salad, healthy or not.
We need broccoli + a sweet and creamy dressing + a crunchy nut + a dried fruit + smokey bacon.
Broccoli was easy, it fit our food philosophy just fine. Check check check and into the bowl.
The sweet and creamy dressing was more of a head scratcher. The original is a combo of mayo, vinegar, and sugar, but we could do better. Instead of these ingredients, we reach for some cashews for a creamy consistancy, dates for sweetness, and some apple cider vinegar for that tang. Mmmmmmmm hmmmmmm, you are going to LOVE this dressing.
Our crunchy nut is actually a seed. My memories of this salad always included a crunch sunflower seed, but I think this is a matter of preference. There are plenty of recipes that use pumpkin seeds or toasted almonds, so add whatever nut suits your tastes. Or add all three for even more crunch and flavor.
Then the dried fruit. Pretty straightforward. I went for golden raisins, but regular raisins, dried cranberries, or even chopped dried apricots would all be tasty as heck.
The the bacon. It ads smokiness, savoriness, and all around goodness. The only problem, we have been eating plant based on this blog for years. Could we do the bacon? Yes, we can do the bacon. We are getting our feet wet and jumping on that coconut bacon train today! Next stop, Tasty Town.
My true love for this salad is that it goes with everything. Backyard barbequing, bring out the salad. Family picnic, pass me the serving spoon. A day at the lake, don't worry, the Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad is packed. An I-don't-want-to-cook-night-so-I-am-just-going-to-eat-leftovers-straight-outta-the-container, this salad has your back, girl.
And since we have no mayo in our dressing, and no bacon in our salad, this Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad has some super staying power. No need to worry about it sitting too long at the picnic or that ray of backyard barbeque sunshine warming up the salad. It wants you to sit back and relax, pour yourself a glass of rosé, chat with your friends, this vegan salad won't spoil on you.
Creamy, crunchy, sweet, and salty.
Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free, paleo, raw, vegan
Description
This Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad is an easy recipe that is BIG on flavor. Broccoli is coated in a sweet and creamy dressing and jazzed up with smokey coconut bacon, toasty seeds, and sweet raisins.
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- 4 scallions (sliced)
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup coconut bacon (recipe below)
For the dressing:
- ¾ cup raw cashew pieces (soaked overnight and drained)
- 4 medjool dates (pitted)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons honey OR maple syrup
Instructions
- Add all the dressing ingredients into a high speed blender. Add in ¼ cup of water and blend until super smooth, adding more water if needed. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine all the salad ingredients, except the coconut bacon. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut bacon on top of the salad to prevent it from getting soggy.
Coconut Bacon
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Healthy Vegan Broccoli Salad is an easy recipe that is BIG on flavor. Broccoli is coated in a sweet and creamy dressing and jazzed up with smokey coconut bacon, toasty seeds, and sweet raisins.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 6 cups broccoli florets
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- 4 scallions, sliced
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup coconut bacon
For the dressing:
- ¾ cup raw cashew pieces, soaked overnight and drained
- 4 medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons honey OR maple syrup
For the coconut bacon:
- 2 cups thick cut dried coconut flakes
- ¼ cup liquid aminos OR 3 tablespoons tamari
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Make the coconut bacon:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together all the coconut bacon ingredients except the coconut flakes.
- Add the coconut flakes to a bowl and pour over the liquid mixture. Toss well to coat.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick coconut oil spray and evenly distribute the coconut flakes onto the tray. Pour over any of the remaining flavoring mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes. Once the coconut bacon is caramelized, remove it from the oven and let cool completely, to get crispy, before serving. Store the extra cup of coconut bacon in a lidded container for up to 1 week.
Make the dressing:
- Add all the dressing ingredients into a high speed blender. Add in ¼ cup of water and blend until super smooth, adding more water if needed. Set aside.
Assemble the salad:
- In a bowl, combine all the salad ingredients, except the coconut bacon. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut bacon on top of the salad to prevent it from getting soggy.
Keywords: gluten-free, grain-free, oil-free, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, raisin, creamy, cashew, sunflower seed,
Leave a Reply