Lightened Up Broccoli Crunch Salad

Summer = Salad.

Picnics, parties and heat make for quick and healthy recipes you can throw together on the fly.

This salad is great to take to a party with friends or make for dinner on a night when you don’t want to turn your oven on because it’s a million degrees outside.

 

Mikey and I both LOVE Broccoli Crunch Salad with a strong passion. It is unfortunately, like most delicious things, full of sugar and fat…so I made up a lighter version that tastes pretty close to the original.

The longer you let the broccoli sit in the dressing the better it will taste. I used honey to sweeten mine but you could add brown sugar and Mayo (I used greek yogurt) if you want to make it a bit more like the original recipe.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend! Mikey and I stayed in Chicago for the first half of the weekend and then went camping with friends about an hour north of the city. It was a nice relaxing weekend filled with lots of food and drink! This salad is a great way to start a detox after a weekend of gluttony!

This is his “I’ll pretend I’m sleeping/not interested in your food and then pounce the second you look away” move. He tries it every time, but I’m on to him now.

• Servings: 4-6
• Time: 30Mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Ingredients:

3 Heads of Broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 Cup Onions, Diced

1/3 Cup Shelled Sunflower Seeds

1/2 Cup Golden or Regular Raisins (Craisins would work too)

4 Ounces Diced Pancetta (or 3-5 slices of bacon) cooked and cooled

1/4 Cup (or a sprinkling of) Shredded Cheddar Cheese

For the Dressing:

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 Teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Honey

3 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

For the salad, cut the broccoli into small bite size florets.

Combine broccoli with diced onion, cooled and cooked pancetta, cheese and raisins.

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and stirring well. Taste the dressing while making it and before you dress the salad. I ended up adding more honey, salt and red wine vinegar before I was happy with the flavor!

If you want to use mayo instead of greek yogurt you can. I would recommend trying it with less olive oil and adding to taste/texture as you go.