I didn’t grow up having broccoli salad. In fact, one of my first memorable tastes of the dish was at a tasting for our son and daughter’s wedding. It’s one of those sides that can go with all sorts of other dishes. We’ve come to enjoy it so much that nowadays, you’re likely to find it at most any Barbeque event Stache and I put together. In fact, we paired it with my Smoked Can-Can Chicken this weekend for our early Independence Day celebration!

We’ve found the key to great Broccoli Salad is fresh, crisp broccoli, with a generous broccoli-to-bacon ratio. (Stache suggested that last line, can you tell? I’ll let you decide what he thinks that ratio should be!) Oh, and the perfectly sharp, cheddar cheese is key! Trust me, too mild a cheese and it will simply get lost in the salad.

Of course, a great dressing recipe helps. And a variety of interesting fruits, nuts, and seeds. It’s one of those salads that has nearly endless possibilities. I like to highlight a seasonal fruit when I can, though today’s addition of dried cranberries had more to do with what I had on hand than the current season.

I encourage you to try some equivalent options to the grapes,- like crisp apples, fresh firm blueberries, or pitted fresh cherries. Equivalent to the dried cranberries might be dried currants, dried Bing Cherries, dried apricots, or peaches. Feel free to add interest to your broccoli by adding some crisp cauliflower or freshly grated carrot. Get creative! Simply stay within the approximate range of about 10cups of veggies, to about a pound of fresh fruit, a good fistful of chopped dried fruit, and another fistful of toasted almonds, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds.

Talking about nuts and seeds. I LOVE nuts! Toasted slivered almonds go fantastically in this salad and are my usual choice when serving just my family. However because of concerns with allergies, when I have guests or taking the salad to a group of people I might not know, I go for one of the seed options instead.

Have fun with it! The perfectly balanced dressing here will pull your salad together like a pro, and you’ll have a lovely side dish of your own creation.

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Grammie's Best Broccoli Salad

Fresh broccoli paired with bacon, cheddar, grapes, dried cranberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds, -tossed with a perfectly balanced and seasoned creamy dressing, All this comes together creating a delightful side dish of Grammie's Best Broccoli Salad,

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 10 cups raw Broccoli Florets trimmed to bite size
• 12 ounces Thick Cut Apple Wood Bacon fried crispy chewy and chopped to bite sized pieces
• 6 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated
• 1/4 medium Red Onion finely slice and chopped.
• 3/4 cup Dried Cranberries lightly chopped
• 1 pound Red or Black Seedless Grapes rinsed and sliced in half
• 3/4 cup Roasted and Salted Pumpkin Seeds

Dressing

• 1 1/4 cup Hellman's or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup Apple Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Honey or Real Maple Syrup
• 2 pinches Cayenne Pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Gather ingredients
   
2. Add trimmed Broccoli, finely chopped red onion, chopped dried cranberries, grated sharp cheddar cheese and halved red grapes to a large bowl and set aside.
3. Mix together mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture. Toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour. Don't be concerned with dressing seeming scant. After chilling and re-tossing, it will be perfectly dressed.
   
4. While salad chills, fry bacon to crispy. Set aside on paper towel to drain any excess fat. Chop into small bite-sized bits and pieces.
   
5. Add pumpkin seeds and bacon. Toss well together and serve. Enjoy!