Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

You’ll love the combination of textures and flavors. The crispy veggies meet a velvety, smooth, and tangy dressing with mayo and yogurt.

Broccoli cauliflower salad video

Ingredients & Substitutions

How to make broccoli cauliflower salad

Serving suggestions

Variations

Tips

We think you’ll love the taste and texture of raw broccoli and cauliflower florets marinated in our finger-licking dressing with mayonnaise (we use our vegan mayo recipe), Greek-style yogurt, a hint of sugar, and apple cider vinegar. The acidity in the dressing is enough to marinate and slightly “cook” the vegetables, packing them with flavor. And the added ingredients – especially the sun-dried tomatoes – do the rest to transform boring broccoli and cauliflower into one of the most flavor-packed salads.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Use fresh broccoli and cauliflower, preferably the florets and only part of the stems. Cut them into small pieces to become more flavorful and less intimidating for people not used to eating raw vegetables. You can make a delicious broccoli soup or cauliflower mashed potatoes with the leftover stems.

Sun-dried tomatoes

Sun-dried tomatoes in oil (not the dry ones) are crucial because they have a bold, savory flavor that adds richness and umami to every bite. We use them to replace bacon bits, and we think you’ll love them.

Almonds & seeds

Go for a mix of almonds and sunflower seeds. Toast them on a pan for a couple of minutes before chopping them and adding them to the broccoli cauliflower salad. Substitute walnuts, hazelnuts, cashew nuts, or pecans for almonds. Substitute pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds.

Red onion

Red onion adds a tangy and sharp flavor that’s delicious with the creamy dressing and the crunchy veggies. Substitute spring onions for red onion.

Dried cranberries

Dried cranberries add some sweetness. Substitute raisins or other dried fruit (like chopped dates or dried apricots) for dried cranberries.

Dressing

Mayonnaise: you can use regular store-bought mayonnaise or our quick and delicious vegan mayo. That’s what we use here and in all our recipes that call for mayo. It’s thick, light, and easy to make. Yogurt: your recommendation is to use either plain Greek yogurt or an unsweetened non-dairy yogurt. You can substitute yogurt with sour cream or vegan sour cream. Apple cider vinegar: substitute white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or lemon juice for apple cider vinegar. Sugar: you can use white or brown sugar or replace it with maple syrup, agave syrup, or honey. Salt and black pepper.

1. Make the dressing

Here’s the recipe for vegan mayo if you are interested. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 of a teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside.

2. Prep the veggies

You’ll need a small broccoli head and a small cauliflower head to make the salad. In total, they should weigh about 1.4 pounds. Rinse, dry, and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into small florets. Toast 1/4 cup of almonds and 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds in a small pan for a few minutes, then chop them into smaller pieces. Chop 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes into small bits, and finely chop a small red onion. Tip: You can use some of the stem, but I wouldn’t use all of it. With the leftovers, you can make broccoli soup or cauliflower mashed potatoes.

3. Mix the salad

To a large bowl, add raw broccoli florets and raw cauliflower florets, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped onion, almonds and seeds, and dried cranberries. Pour in the dressing and toss until well combined. You can serve the salad immediately, but we recommend letting it sit in the fridge for at least one hour for the best result.

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To do so, cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets, then boil them in a large pot of salted boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain them and put them in a bowl with iced water, or cool them down under cold running water, then use as per our recipe.

Broccoli salad

This easy broccoli salad is similar to our broccoli and cauliflower salad but without the cauliflower. This delicious side dish will make you fall in love with broccoli! Check out our broccoli salad recipe. Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Take out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before eating. Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.