Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon will impress your friends and family. Broccoli, bacon, and pecans are paired with a lightly-sweetened mayo-based dressing with cranberries and raisins to make a delicious warm salad. Side dish? Main dish? The choice is yours.
How To Make Warm Broccoli Salad With Bacon
This delicious broccoli salad recipe might surprise you in its simplicity. You probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients already on hand:
- cranberries
- raisins
- real mayonnaise
- milk
- honey
- raw broccoli florets
- bacon
- pecans
Start by cooking the cranberries and raisins.
Next, add milk, mayonnaise, and honey.
Stir until the mixture becomes smooth.
Add cooked broccoli, bacon pieces, and pecans.
Stir it all well.
Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon is a great side dish. It’s a great holiday side dish served at Easter or Christmas with ham. It’s also good with grilled chicken breasts making it a versatile everyday side.
Recipe Notes
- To save money, purchase a head of broccoli and cut it into bite-sized pieces (florets). If you prefer to skip that step, you can buy pre-chopped broccoli in the produce section.
- Cooking the broccoli – Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook just until bright green and slightly tender, about 5 minutes. I don’t recommend using frozen broccoli.
- If you will be dining with vegetarian friends, omit the bacon to make this fantastic broccoli salad vegetarian-friendly.
- If you need a nut-free option, substitute a cup sunflower seeds for the pecans.
Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon
Ingredients
- ½ cup cranberries
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup water
- ⅔ cup real mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 4 cups broccoli cooked
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 1 cup pecans
Instructions
- Place cranberries, raisins and water in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until soft and liquid is reduced.
- Reduce heat to low and add mayonnaise, milk and honey. Mix well and continue to stir until heated through and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in broccoli, bacon and pecans and heat until mixture is heated through.
- Serve warm.
Video
Nutrition
Broccoli Facts
- Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous (Brassica) botanical family. (Other members of that family are cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.)
- One cup of (raw) broccoli supplies 135% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C and is only about 30 calories.
- Broccoli is a great source of natural folate, containing about 63 µg/100 grams (provides 16% of RDA).
- Vitamin K, Niacin, pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), and riboflavin and a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids (Alpha linolenic acid-ALA) are other nutrients naturally found in this cold-season veggie.
- The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means “the flowering crest of a cabbage”, and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning “small nail” or “sprout”. The large head and thick stalk broccoli we are most familiar with is Calabrese broccoli (named after Calabria, Italy)
What would you serve along with Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon? I think it would go great with Chuck Eye Steak!
Love veggies? Check out these other delicious veggie recipes:
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