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Sunshine Broccoli Salad!



We have been making this broccoli salad in our family for years.  Every time I make it to take to a potluck or something, it never fails that I am asked by several people for the recipe.  Now it seems that a lot of the delis and diners in our area are serving a similar broccoli salad and it is always one their most popular menu items.  

 Here is what you need for this salad:

Ingredients:

1 large head of broccoli (about 4 cups when chopped into bite size pieces)
1 cup chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I like to use the dried cranberries during the holidays especially)
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds (can substitute other nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonaisse
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. white vinegar
dash of salt and black pepper
6-7 slices of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled


Wash the broccoli and cut off the stems, chop the heads into bite size pieces.  You can chop some of the tender part of the stems to use also.  Discard the rest. Place the chopped broccoli and mixing bowl.  Add the chopped onion, raisins or dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. I add other nuts as well sometimes. as I did in this one.  Walnuts, pecans, almonds or even cashews are good.


Add the shredded cheese.  Mix the mayonaisse, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.  Add a dash of salt and black pepper and stir.   Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and fold it all together until the ingredients are coated. 

You can then crumble the bacon over the top and serve.  You can make this several hours ahead of time earlier in the day and refrigerate, but don't add the bacon until time to serve so that it stays nice and crisp.



Delicious served with just about any main course!






9 comments:

  1. Living in Australia it is not always possible to convert a recipe if there are specific ingredients that aren't available to me over here. Having come from South Carolina, I do so miss my "Southern" food. This recipe is great because all the ingredients are available here and I can't wait to take it to my next BBQ party. Cheers.

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    1. That's great! I think you will really love it. Even those who aren't crazy about broccoli like this! Thank you for your comment! :)

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  2. I LOVE it also and make it for alot of gatherings...yummmy yummy

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  3. I've been making this for years. It's the way I got my kids to eat broccoli! Anyway, the only thing different is I don't add cheese.

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  4. I also have been asked for this recipe many times...I sometimes add carrots and pecans..slivered almonds are also good...I use tarragon vinegar (1 tb ),,,You can add just about anything you like....

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  5. My mother always makes a broccoli casserole for Thanksgiving. This looks so good but wondering about maybe to much broccoli. How do you think this recipe would be substituting cauliflower for the broccoli?

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  6. Diana, I think you could definitely use cauliflower. I have also used half cauliflower and half broccoli and it was good.

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  7. This is one of my all time favorites and I often get asked to bring it to church functions, etc. It has been awhile so I will have to add the cheese the next time I make it.

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  8. I finally got around to making this tonight (I've had it bookmarked for months), and it's amazing! I ended up using peanuts because someone ate the walnuts, and used cider vinegar instead of white. I make something similar, but this is a nice variation I'll definitely be adding to the rotation.

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