This Broccoli Bacon Salad is dedicated to all you keto lovers out there. Featuring hits like, “Tender is the broccoli,” “The smoke(y) bacon gets in your eyes,” and “Don’t go breakin’ my hemp hearts.” Creamy and crunchy – with the perfect touch of tangy – this fiber-forward salad is a sweet accompaniment to any meal.
I don’t know about you, but we’ve hit peak cold here. The kind of cold where not only is it too cold for little boys to go outside without their jackets, it’s too cold for them to go out bundled up. The kind of cold where being cooped up for even just one day makes the whole house resonate with the whiniest of whines, “Mooooo-oooooooom. I’m boooooooo-ooooooored.”
Hot Tip: plan an indoor picnic. Hotter Tip: this works for both small children and grown-ass men. Hottest Tip: menu plan however you have to to eat summery (but compliant) foods at this picnic to cure both general and culinary boredom. (For instance, I paired this crunchy salad with an all-beef hot dog on a stick. No joke.)
I also don’t know about you, but it’s the end of January which means you can see the light at the end of whatever 30-day challenge tunnel you’re in (*ahem* keto, here), but you’ve still got a wee bit of time. And if you’re a bit bored, mildly hangry, and maybe not all your cravings have subsided because SOME PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSE DID NOT DECIDE TO CHALLENGE THEMSELVES WITH YOU, then you still need new and interesting bites to keep your mouth and stomach from turning on you in the final stretch.
If you’re strong enough to keep the diet vibes going past January, I cannot recommend more highly that once a week you make yourself a big ol’ brassica salad of some sort to keep on hand, just for you. Hand to god, it’s the switch-up your salad – and snackin’ – routine needs to get you over the hump.
When it comes to broccoli salad, time is your BFF
Marinate at least 2 hours. I promise this is the make or break of this salad. The acidity of the creamy dressing will break down the plant fibers, and both tenderizes the raw broccoli and removes the bite from the red onion.
Add healthy fats
Lots of recipes call for cheese, but there are plenty of other ways to add healthy fats without it. Here we reach for sunflower seeds and hemp hearts. Bonus? Lots of crunch.
That creamy dressing, tho’…
Goodbye standard mayo dressing – hello creamy poppy dressing. Bottled versions are usually loaded with carbs, so I made my own with a sugar-substitute and not only is it guilt-free and friggin’ delicious, it did not have that weird, viscous, corn-syrupy mouthfeel that sweeter dressings usually come with.
Is this keto broccoli salad healthy?
While “healthy” is subjective – especially when following a keto diet (the only one I know of that has a “dirty” version) – I’m always going to err on the side of shoveling broccoli into my mouth, garnished with bacon or not. Either way, it is chock full of both protein and fiber so super macro-friendly.
Healthy brassica salads you’ll love
- Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Sunbutter Sauce
- Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Turmeric and Tahini
- Healthy Chicken Salad with Almond Butter Dressing
- Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Hazelnut Vinaigrette
- Cauliflower Tabbouleh
Did you make this broccoli bacon salad? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Broccoli Bacon Salad (Keto, Low Carb)
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin RecipeRecommended Equipment
- Skillet
- whisk
Ingredients
- 2 medium heads broccoli, divided into bite sized florets (about 8 cups florets)
- ½ small red onion (about 1/2 cup), diced
- 8 slices bacon, chopped
- ⅓ c sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp hemp hearts
Creamy Poppy Dressing
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2-3 tbsp swerve, more or less to taste
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp full fat greek yogurt
- ½ c olive oil
Instructions
- Make the poppy seed dressing. Combine the poppy seeds, 2 tbsp swerve, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, and greek yogurt in 1 cup measuring cup and whisk to combine. Pour in the olive oil and whisk vigorously until the dressing is emulsified. Taste for seasoning and adjust with additional swerve, salt, or vinegar until the flavor is the right balance of sweet and tart for your taste.
- Combine broccoli and red onion in a large bowl; pour in the dressing then toss until well combined. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and up to overnight.
- Just before serving, cook the bacon. Chop the bacon and place into a skillet over medium high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and bacon is golden brown and crisp. Remove using a slotted spoon and set onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Add the sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, and cooked bacon to the salad. Toss until well combined, then taste for seasoning. Adjust with salt as pepper as needed. Serve cold or room temperature.
Emily Jaycox
Your advice to make it ahead and let it marinate in the dressing was spot on! I like the idea of broccoli salad but don’t always enjoy the real thing as much as I would hope.
For this recipe. I had to make several substitutions (didn’t have hemp hearts, poppyseeds, or Swerve. I used 1 tsp of maple syrup and skipped the other things). Also, bacon is a pantry staple for us, but unbeknownst to me my spouse had used the last of it.
I made up the salad at 10 am thinking it could be for lunch or dinner. When it came time to serve (evening) I found we were out of bacon, I toasted some pine nuts in bacon grease to give a little crunchy, smoky flavor. Win! I’m sure using actual bacon would be even tastier, but with your basic dressing method I’m now looking forward for to using this year round.
It was really appealing as a winter salad, but will be a great make-ahead for summer also. It could be a one dish meal with some chopped boiled egg. Thanks again for giving me a second look at an excellent raw broccoli salad.