ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Festive Broccoli Salad for Every Occasion

Updated on June 17, 2015

A Popular Salad for All Occasions

This is one of our favorite salads for both causal family meals and holiday celebrations.
This is one of our favorite salads for both causal family meals and holiday celebrations. | Source

This Crunchy Broccoli Salad Has Become a Favorite for All Seasons

Broccoli never tasted better than in this quick and easy salad..

I have adapted this recipe from one I tried at Trader Joe's a few years ago, and we've been enjoying it ever since. Some ingredients can only be found packaged at Trader Joe's, but if you don't have one near you, I'll tell you how to substitute for a comparable result. 

This broccoli salad is equally good served with ham or turkey. It also nicely complements a quiche. It can be made a day ahead so you can just pull it out  the day the day you want to serve it and put it on the table -- no last minute fuss. It's something most guests will enjoy eating guiltlessly, since it's packed with nutrients and flavor. The only fat is in the nuts and olive oil (good fat) and the little bit of mayonnaise.

Once you try this, I'm sure it will become one of your favorite recipes, too. Because it's so easy to make, we don't wait for holidays to serve it. We have it often whenever broccoli is in season.

All illustrations are pictures I took, unless they are products for sale.

One More Thing to be Thankful For

This salad is healthy for all blood types.

We recently started eating according to blood type as explained in Dr. Peter D'Adamo's Eat Right for Your Type plan for optimum health. I was happy to see that with a change in the dressing (to get rid of the mayonnaise) this salad is compatible with all blood types. The recipe for the new dressing I invented can be found at Broccoli Salad for All Blood Types.

The new Tofu Ginger Salad Dressing is usable as is for Types O, A, and AB. A simple fix is included for Type AB, which needs to avoid tofu. The ginger adds just a touch of zip to it, but not enough to be hot. I can't tolerate hot, but I like this.

Ingredients for Festive Broccoli Salad

Assemble ingredients for broccoli salad before beginning preparations
Assemble ingredients for broccoli salad before beginning preparations | Source

Ingredients you will need for your broccoli salad

  • 4 cups of fresh broccoli, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces. Frozen just won't cut it.
  • 1 cup of Trader Joe's Golden Berry Blend. If there is no Trader Joe's near you, you'll have to make your own. You will need about equal parts of golden raisins (dark will also do, but won't look as pretty), dried cherries, dried cranberries, and dried blueberries. The ingredients on the label are in the following order, which indicates their proportion to each other: sweetened dried cranberries, golden raisins, sweetened dried wild blueberries, and sweetened dried cherries. I can buy the sweetened dried blueberries at Costco. In a pinch, you can combine whichever of these ingredients you can get your hands on, but the cranberries really add a taste that makes this unique.
  • 1 cup dry toasted slivered almonds. You can buy these packaged at Trader Joe's or you can make your own. My sister-in-law made this for Christmas dinner and she used cashews instead of almonds, and that was also very good.
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • For Dressing:

    2 tablespoons each mayonnaise, liquid honey (not creamed), cider vinegar, and olive oil.

    Directions are after the module on broccoli t-shirts.

Now let's make this easy broccoli salad. - Be sure to click on each picture to see the written directions.

Click thumbnail to view full-size
Put the dry ingredients -- chopped broccoli, dried fruits, chopped red onions, and slivered almonds into a bowl.Mix the ingredients in the bowl so that they are well combined.Pour the mayonnaise and honey into a measuring cup and whisk until combined.Add vinegar and olive oil and whisk again until all ingredients are smoothly mixed.Pour dressing over salad and mix until all ingredients are moistened with the dressing. If you like, put into an festive serving dish and store in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. It's even better if it sits until the next day. If you are in
Put the dry ingredients -- chopped broccoli, dried fruits, chopped red onions, and slivered almonds into a bowl.
Put the dry ingredients -- chopped broccoli, dried fruits, chopped red onions, and slivered almonds into a bowl.
Mix the ingredients in the bowl so that they are well combined.
Mix the ingredients in the bowl so that they are well combined.
Pour the mayonnaise and honey into a measuring cup and whisk until combined.
Pour the mayonnaise and honey into a measuring cup and whisk until combined.
Add vinegar and olive oil and whisk again until all ingredients are smoothly mixed.
Add vinegar and olive oil and whisk again until all ingredients are smoothly mixed.
Pour dressing over salad and mix until all ingredients are moistened with the dressing. If you like, put into an festive serving dish and store in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. It's even better if it sits until the next day. If you are in
Pour dressing over salad and mix until all ingredients are moistened with the dressing. If you like, put into an festive serving dish and store in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. It's even better if it sits until the next day. If you are in

Everyone needs a good set of wire whisks.

Norpro Balloon Wire Whisk Set of 3 Stainless Steel Stir/Mix/Beat 6" /8"/ 10"
Norpro Balloon Wire Whisk Set of 3 Stainless Steel Stir/Mix/Beat 6" /8"/ 10"
I say you need a set because different sizes do different jobs. I find I use my smallest size for whisking salad dressings, such as the one for the broccoli salad, and I use the larger ones for larger volumes in larger containers. I used the large one in the quart measuring cup when I made my Serbian Musaka. I find my whisks are one of my handiest kitchen tools. They give the same results as a mixer for small quantities of liquids that need to be completely blended into a smooth final product. If you don't have a multi-sized set of whisks, you are missing out on a great convenience that would make your job in the kitchen a lot easier.
 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)