Skip the traditional broccoli salad that's packed with sugar! Bacon Cheddar Cold Broccoli Salad with crispy bacon, cheese, topped with a keto friendly dressing and sunflower seeds, will be the go-to side dish recipe for all your family events! Only 4 net carbs but it is hard to believe because this cold broccoli salad with bacon is so delicious!
Love the traditional cold broccoli salad but not all of the sugar that comes with it? Now I'm happy to share with you this traditional side dish, with a keto friendly twist! Bacon Cheddar Cold Broccoli Salad uses blanched broccoli so it's not raw crunchy broccoli, but it still has that bright green beautiful color. Topped with crispy bacon and crunchy sunflower seeds for so much added flavor.
Your family and friends will have no idea that this flavorful cold broccoli salad is low carb friendly too!
It's so easy!
Let's get started!
HOW TO MAKE BACON CHEDDAR COLD BROCCOLI SALAD
Okay, first things first. Let's get started on your broccoli. We need to blanche the broccoli so it isn't just raw, but holds it's beautiful green color.
Fill a large pot half full with salted water and bring to a boil.
Have a large bowl half full of cold water standing by.
Cook the broccoli in the boiling water for 1 minute.
Then, immediately remove from water with a slotted spoon and put in the cold water to stop the cooking.
Now you can remove the broccoli from the cold water to drain on a paper towel.
In a large bowl, combine the blanched broccoli, bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar.
Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Perfect make ahead salad for this season!
HOW TO LIGHTEN UP THIS BROCCOLI SALAD WITH BACON
Instead of mayonnaise, you could use greek yogurt. This will change the flavor a little but it will still be delicious!
Like this keto friendly side dish? Check out my recipes for Keto Broccoli Casserole, Keto Coleslaw-4 Ingredients or Smoked Keto Deviled Eggs!
⭐ Did you make this Bacon Cheddar Broccoli Salad Recipe? Tag me on Instagram so I can see! @lowcarbwithjennifer
Bacon Cheddar Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- ½ pound Bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 5 cups small broccoli florets
- ½ Red onion, sliced thin
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup Sunflower seed hearts
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Blanche the Broccoli
- Fill a large pot half full with salted water and bring to boil. You want the water to taste salty.
- Have a large bowl half full of cold water standing by.
- Cook the broccoli in the boiling water for 1 minute.
- Then, immediately remove the broccoli from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and put in the cold water to stop the cooking.
- Now remove the broccoli from the cold water to drain on paper towels.
Assemble the Cold Broccoli Salad
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the blanched broccoli, bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar.
- Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve
Jennifer's tips
- I cook my bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at 375F until crisp and then cutting it into bite size pieces. You could also cut the bacon into pieces and cook in a skillet until crisp.
- If you want to lighten this up, you could try using greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
Peaches says
Super Delicious! I love this just as much as the one that has sugar. I ;love that you didn't add any other sweetener, because its simply perfection! Only question is what is the serving size?