Broccoli Salad
This low-carb broccoli salad recipe uses garden ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion and shredded cheddar cheese.
And who can forget about crispy, crumbled, bacon? An ingredient used in this side salad that is appetizing when paired together is bacon and raisins. They just go together, the sweetness of each raisin alongside crisp salted bacon is a flavor combination that tastes delicious!
Broccoli salad is a dish that has great health benefits and adding pine nuts gives this entree a tasty crunch in each bite.
Additionally, this broccoli salad is a great way to get your daily servings of vegetables.
And if you’re health conscious like me, you might want to skip the mayo that most other recipes call for.
Instead, I use a small amount of lite Caesar dressing as opposed to lots of mayonnaise. When using a small amount of lite dressing the salad has fewer carbs, calories and fat.
Recipe Highlights
- Yields approximately 6-8 side servings
- Chopping your vegetables with a Fullstar Vegetable Chopper makes this a dish that is easy to prepare and put together in under 15 minutes.
- Broccoli salad is a great way to use those garden ripe tomatoes.
Tips for Making Broccoli Salad
Broccoli salad is typically made with a mayonnaise dressing. However, I find that this salad can be made with fewer carbs by replacing mayonnaise with low calorie Caesar dressing.
Low Carb Broccoli Salad Toppings: These ingredients are easy to find in most local grocery stores. If you like to eat salads or meals with fresh ingredients, you should have most of these ingredients on hand.
Most often this salad is made using sunflower seeds. I, however, prefer using pine nuts. Pine nuts are known to be a crunchy “salad topper” that’s rich in flavor.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Fresh Heads of Broccoli
- Thinly Sliced Red Onion
- Salt and Pepper
- Pine Nuts
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Garden Fresh Tomato
- Gourmet Style Croutons
- Low-Carb Caesar Dressing (I recommend wish bone brand dressing or Walden farms brand)
- Raisins
- Crumbled Bacon
Wish Bone: This Caesar dressing is one of my personal favorites. It is fewer calories than normal Caesar dressing and tastes good. I also very much enjoy this product because it is affordable and sold at most local grocery stores. This is a dressing that tastes close to a full- calorie dressing without all of the carbs.
Walden Farms: If you are looking to cut calories in half or make them none existent this brand is for you. This Walden farms brand of caesar dressing has no extra calories and is the leanest choice. If you use the zero calories caesar dressing you can have a dressing with no added fat, sugar, or carbs. Using this caesar dressing is the best choice to use when making this low-carb Broccoli salad.
Morning Star Farms Bacon: If you are a vegetarian or vegan. This brand of veggie bacon is for you. This vegetarian bacon is fewer calories and fat than regular pork bacon. Making this a great substitute when attempting to cut calories. I love adding this to broccoli salad when I’m fasting from meat. This brand tastes similar to a low-fat turkey bacon and comes out just as crispy as regular bacon when cooked on the stovetop.
Fullstar Vegetable Chopper: I love using this vegetable chopper for meal prepping. When using this product, it makes meal prepping mess free and easy to do. It also helps cut your prepping time in half and this cool gadget comes with seven interchangeable blades. You can chop, slice and dice all your fresh vegetables in no time at all and with its spiralizer blade you can even make vegetable noodles. Which would be great for making a low-carb pasta dish.
Steps to Make Broccoli Salad
- Cook your bacon or sub vegan bacon. Crumble, set aside.
- Chop your stems off broccoli heads. Chop broccoli into bite-size pieces.
- Thinly slice your red onion.
- Cut your garden ripe tomatoes into thick wedges.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Top with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, pine nuts, raisins and gourmet-style croutons.
- Drizzle your low-carb caesar dressing onto broccoli salad.
- Mix throughout, refrigerate until cooled.
Recommended products: Wish Bone Caesar Dressing, Walden Farms Low Calorie or Zero Calorie Caesar Dressing, Full star Vegetable Chopper, & Morning Star Farms Vegetarian Bacon
Low Carb Broccoli Salad
Easy broccoli salad recipe that is low in carbs. This broccoli salad is made by chopping fresh veggies. Then topping with shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, and gourmet-style croutons. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and add crisped pine nuts and sweetened raisins for an appetizing treat.
Ingredients
- 2 heads of fresh broccoli
- 4 slices of red onion
- 1 oz pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tomato, cut into thick, wedges
- 1 oz raisins
- 1/4 cup low calorie caesar dressing
- 1/4 cup gourmet style croutons
- 4 slices bacon, crumbled or vegetarian bacon
Instructions
- Cook bacon, set aside, and allow to cool. Once cooled, crumble and set aside.
- Cut stems off of broccoli, and chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
- Cut tomato into thick wedges.
- Slice red onion.
- Assemble salad into a mixing bowl with freshly chopped and sliced veggies.
- Add shredded cheese, gourmet-style croutons, raisins, pine nuts, crumbled bacon, and caesar dressing.
- Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss salad and immediately serve or allow the salad to cool in the refrigerator. Then serve.
Notes
- Make this dish vegan friendly by using vegan bacon and vegan cheese.
- Chop vegetables with a Fullstar Vegetable Chopper to make this dish a mess free zone.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 99Total Fat: 4.9gCholesterol: 5mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 2.8g