This quick, easy, and delicious Broccoli Crunch Salad is a great picnic salad or side dish for any backyard BBQ or family gatherings. Crunchy broccoli, apples, currants, walnuts, and red onion are tossed in a creamy homemade dressing resulting in a sweet, savory, and tangy salad! 

This recipe was originally posted on October 11th, 2011 and was updated as of August 8th, 2024

What Makes This Recipe Great

Do you ever get in a rut with a particular food?  I am ever so grateful that everyone in my house likes broccoli, which is one of the most nutritious foods out there, but I get a little bored with broccoli with garlic and oil, broccoli with lemon and parmesan cheese, or sesame-ginger broccoli.  I have even pureed it in a food processor with butter and salt — oh, we should make that together sometime! — but I have a new fun recipe for you.  I am really digging this Broccoli Crunch Salad. It’s based on a salad I saw in the prepared food case at Whole Foods, but I think it’s even better.

Broccoli is in season all year here in California, and I have made this salad to accompany lots of different dishes. In the summer it goes really well with anything spicy or slathered with barbeque sauce. I also love it as a quick do-ahead salad to go with Saturday sandwiches in the fall when we’re all rushing around. The other night we had a bunch of people over to break the fast (what fast?).  Even though I made a few casseroles, Swiss chard frittata in a sheet pan, tuna salad, and a green salad, my husband still likes the traditional bagel and deli platter.  Yom Kippur comes once a year and the poor guy doesn’t eat for 24 hours.  I’ll give him a bagel.  But you know how I feel about coleslaw, and I just can’t bring myself to go there so I made this broccoli salad instead.  Crunchy, tangy with a little sweet. Everyone loved it, or maybe they were just starving.

How to Make This Easy Broccoli Salad Recipe

I have seen lots of broccoli salad recipes that call for completely raw broccoli and although it’s way easier to skip the steaming step, I’m just not a fan. First of all, raw broccoli is a tad hard to digest for many people and I actually prefer the sweeter taste of it lightly steamed.  But this is called Broccoli Crunch Salad for a reason, so you need to follow the recipe and only steam it for 60 seconds.

The crunch in the broccoli, plus the crunch in the apples and walnuts is entirely addictive.  I will admit, Mr. Picky has yet to try anything with dressing, so I saved some broccoli, apples, walnuts, and dried fruit for him on the side and he gobbled it up. I’m so flexible, aren’t I?  You can be flexible, too, with this salad.  Use sunflower seeds or cashews for the walnuts, or any kind of dried fruit, and I surmise you can even use shredded cabbage for the broccoli, but it wouldn’t be a Broccoli Crunch Salad, now would it? Just don’t call it coleslaw.

Ingredient Notes

Salad Ingredients

• broccoli crowns: Cut into small bite-size pieces. Broccoli florets and stems diced.
• crisp apple
• unsulphured currants, dried blueberries, or dried cranberries
• raw walnuts
• red onion

Creamy Dressing

• unsweetened plain yogurt: Whole milk yogurt or full-fat Greek yogurt will work. 
• tahini: This is sesame paste. I would imagine raw almond butter would work, too.
• pure maple syrup
• apple cider vinegar
• coarsely ground black pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

In a saucepan with a steamer insert, bring a few inches of water to a boil. Place the broccoli on the steamer basket and cover with the lid. Steam for 1 minute. Transfer broccoli to a large plate in a single layer and allow to cool.

Step 2

In a large bowl toss together the small pieces of broccoli, apples, currants, nuts, and red onion.

Step 3

In a small bowl whisk together dressing ingredients. Taste and add more maple syrup if you like the dressing sweeter. Pour over the broccoli mixture in the large mixing bowl and toss until the broccoli is well coated.

Step 4

Let sit for 30 minutes so that broccoli can absorb some of the dressing.

Recipe Tips

• If prepping the apples in advance, let the apples sit in a bowl of water with a good squeeze of lemon juice.
• This can be made with raw broccoli, too.
• This recipe is predominantly made with plant-based ingredients, except for the yogurt. To make a vegan broccoli salad, use dairy-free plain yogurt in the dressing.
• Feel free to make customizations as desired. Other optional ingredients for extra crunch or flavor include crispy bacon, green onion, golden raisins, red peppers, etc.  

Storage Tips

Store leftover broccoli salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Give it a good stir before serving. 

More Salad Recipes

• Montauk Lobster Cobb Salad
• Grilled Halloumi Salad with Sumac Dressing
• The BEST Wedge Salad
• Pear Carpaccio Recipe

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