• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

  • About
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Recipe List
  • Store
  • The BBA Challenge

Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Raisins, and Cashews

November 25, 2008 by Nicole 33 Comments

Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Raisins, and Cashews Recipe | pinchmysalt.com

This is one of my favorite salads ever.  It combines all of my favorite things: broccoli, bacon, raisins, and cashews!  How can you go wrong with that combination?  I even had a hard time taking the photo because I  just can’t stop eating this salad once it’s put together.

I just remembered that I made this salad last year for Thanksgiving.  It’s getting close, but I decided to throw it up here in case there are any other procrastinators out there looking for last minute Thanksgiving side dish ideas.  It really is simple enough to throw together at the last minute!

Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Raisins, and Cashews | pinchmysalt.com

Broccoli Salad with Bacon, Raisins, and Cashews

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 4 cups broccoli florets (about 2 small heads chopped into small florets)*
  • 6 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)**
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup cashews, roughly chopped***

Instructions

  1. 1. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, brown sugar, and vinegar; add salt and pepper to taste.
  2. 2. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, bacon and raisins. Add dressing and toss well. Store, covered, in refrigerator until ready to serve. Stir in cashews just before serving.

Notes

*Because the broccoli isn't cooked, be sure to cut it into very small florets. If you prefer to stay away from raw broccoli, the florets can be blanched (boiled or steamed for only a minute or two until broccoli turns bright green but is still crunchy) before the salad is made. I don't normally use the thick stems, but others have suggested peeling and finely chopping the stems for the salad, so I'll try that next time.

**You can add chopped red onion to the salad for a big boost of extra flavor if you like raw onions in salad - it's also good without.

***As other commenters have pointed out below, sunflower seeds can be substituted for the cashews if that's what you prefer. There are several variations of broccoli salad floating around out there, feel free to create your own!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 361Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 489mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 13gProtein: 7g
© Nicole Cross
Category: Side Dishes

Filed Under: Bacon, Holiday, NaBloPoMo, Salads, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving Tagged With: broccoli, NaBloPoMo, salad, side dish, thanksgiving

Previous Post: « Sweet and Sour Grilled Pumpkin Recipe
Next Post: Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elisabeth says

    November 25, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    Oh, man. Totally sold!
    Reply
  2. Ruby says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:13 pm

    MY FAVORITE DISH at Sweet Tomatoes!!! YUMMY but I like it with red onions...lol
    Reply
  3. Nicole says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Ruby: Yes, I purposely left the red onions out!! :-)
    Reply
  4. patsyk says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:21 pm

    this looks wonderful. I think it would even make a nice salad to take in my lunch during the week. Definitely marking this one to try!
    Reply
  5. Nicole says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:27 pm

    patsyk: Yes, it's a great lunch salad, too! We had it for dinner tonight and will be eating it for lunch tomorrow :-)
    Reply
  6. Aunt LoLo says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    Ooh...we make a version of this salad that's supposed to have red onions and craisins in it. (I never add the onions because if there's any salad left over, it ends up tasting like nothing BUT red onions!) I had to chime in, though - I cut off the thick stems, and then julienne them. They're my favorite part of the salad! Kind of like broccoli slaw, all mixed in. :-)
    Reply
  7. Vanessa says

    November 25, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Oh thank you, thank you for this recipe. I have loved this salad for a few years now trying to figure out exactly what was in it. I haven't attempted your recipe yet but I already know it's going to be delicious.
    Reply
  8. Susan C says

    November 25, 2008 at 9:02 pm

    A friend of mine just made a similar salad for me for dinner (along with a simple grilled chicken), and I couldn't get enough of it. I like the idea of adding some red onions.
    Reply
  9. alicia says

    November 25, 2008 at 9:56 pm

    i love this salad! i was just looking for a recipe for this today! no joke. thanks for posting it. Looks good!
    Reply
  10. Jesse says

    November 25, 2008 at 11:55 pm

    I love red onions so if you guys say it's good with that, they are goin' in. I also love garlic, but I have to keep telling myself that it's OK to NOT add garlic to everything. I can't help it though, when I'm cooking I often think "garlic would be amazing in this" but I just have to draw the line. Anyway, that was off-topic. This salad looks GREAT. I love broccoli, in all it's forms, soI can't wait to try it, does anyone have any ideas for what I could substitute the mayonnaise for to be less calorific? Though I'm going to try it with the mayo (I also love mayonnaise), I have some friends who are watching their intake (as I GUESS I should be...meh). I was going to use just Fat Free, but I wondered if there were any more creative alternatives? Thanks :D
    Reply
  11. icelandicchef says

    November 26, 2008 at 4:10 am

    Great veggy dish....tried something similar once......it had walnuts and blue cheese. Nothing is more healthy than broccoli.
    Reply
  12. Debbie says

    November 26, 2008 at 7:28 am

    Love love love this salad, the only difference in mine is sunflower seeds instead of the cashews.. sounds good either way...
    Reply
  13. Amy says

    November 26, 2008 at 7:45 am

    LOVE it! david's family introduced me to the wonderful world of broccoli salad last year, this looks so good!
    Reply
  14. Robin says

    November 26, 2008 at 8:14 am

    I love this salad! Also a fan of it from Sweet Tomatoes. I recently made a bunch of recipe cards for a wedding shower gift. I knew the bride would love this, so I went in search for a copycat recipe (which I never do). One thing different in their recipe, which I think makes a huge difference, is they blanch the broccoli. That explains why th Sweet Tomatoes version has no trace of bitterness. It's not necessary, of course, but I think blanching would be worth the extra bit of effort.
    Reply
  15. Leaca says

    November 26, 2008 at 8:39 am

    This is my favorite salad ever. I have it on my list of things to make for tomorrow.
    Reply
  16. The Secret Ingredient/Season to Taste says

    November 26, 2008 at 9:16 am

    I make a similar version of this, but use sunflower seeds in place of the cashews. It is SUCH a great dish---I usually make it a lot at summer get-togethers. For some reason I never thought about serving it at Thanskgiving, but it is a great do-ahead side dish. Have a happy one!
    Reply
  17. ttfn300 says

    November 26, 2008 at 9:27 am

    ooh, i've had something similar but i love the additions of cashews :)
    Reply
  18. Gabi says

    November 26, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Nicole! This is lovely! Fresh! And I digg your photos!
    Reply
  19. Nicole says

    November 26, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Aunt Lolo: Thanks for the tip on using the stems, I'll try that next time and I just added a note to the recipe! Vanessa: I hope you enjoy it! Susan C: I can't agree with you guys about the red onion, but I just added a note to the recipe that it can be included. I just can't stand raw onion :-) Alicia: Well sounds like I posted it at the perfect time! It was totally spur of the moment! :-) Jesse: Yes, lots of people love red onion in this salad (not me)! I think you should stay away from the garlic in this one, though! I'm not sure about substituting something else for the mayo. I can't stand the fat free stuff so I just think of this as a 'special occasion' salad and make it the super fattening way! Everything in moderation, right? But we'll see if anyone else has suggestions for you! Icelandicchef:I think blue cheese would be AMAZING in this salad! I'm trying that next time! Debbie: I think sunflower seeds would be great in this! I just added a note to the recipe saying that they can be substituted for the cashews. Thanks! Amy: I know, it's so good! I just ate some for breakfast (after the pumpkin spice cake). Robin: You're right, some people do prefer to blanch the broccoli for this type of salad. I happen to love raw broccoli as long as it's chopped small and have never noticed any bitterness, but I'll add a note about blanching for those who might disagree :-) Leaca:Is your recipe similar to this one? I think it's a great addition to the Thanksgiving table! The Secret Ingredient:Debbie mentioned the sunflower seeds too so I'm definitely gonna give that a try sometimes. It is definitely a great year-round salad! ttfn:There are so many versions of this salad floating around! But of all I've tried, this is the one I like the best :-) Gabi: Thanks so much!
    Reply
  20. Terri says

    November 26, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    Nicole: I love this salad and it is my youngest son's favorite. For a little different texture, I've also used the "broccoli slaw" that you can get in bags at the market. Delicious! BTW, those Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls are truly amazing. They will be a big hit tomorrow!
    Reply
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Posts by Category

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy · Terms and Conditions