Yesterday I whipped up a huge batch of this creamy broccoli apple salad recipe and I plan on eating it for lunch every day this week. The last few weeks have been rather chaotic and I need a serious break for a while. We had a series of unplanned home repairs that created a huge mess as well as a giant expense. Sometimes, when the stress level is high, you need a healthy salad recipe to keep you balanced. Even better if it is an easy make ahead recipe that can be stored for a while in the fridge. Thankfully, this broccoli apple salad recipe was a huge hit with the family…even the ones who aren’t thrilled with broccoli!
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Broccoli Carrot Apple Salad to the rescue!
Know what my life is like this week? Torn up wood floors, leaky dishwasher, leaky washing machine, and water dripping out of ceilings. Seriously…I am ready to just ditch this house for a new one if things don’t stop breaking. Then, the day after we got everything ALMOST fixed we left for a 2-week long road trip to see family up north.
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Needless to say, there hasn’t been a lot of ‘me time’ this month. Not to mention the fact that I have eaten more fast food and packaged foods than is probably good for me. But, now that life is kind of settling back to normal, I am back to cooking from scratch and feasting on fresh fruits and vegetables. This broccoli carrot apple salad recipe was easy to make and delicious!
Go Meatless with Broccoli Salad Recipes Without Bacon
I have seen a lot of broccoli salad recipes but most of them use bacon which my daughter doesn’t like. Weird, huh? Who doesn’t like BACON? But, to accommodate her food aversions I made this one without the beloved bacon added into it. To give it a bit of protein, I added chopped walnuts instead of bacon (check out my post on the health benefits of walnuts to learn why this is my favorite nut!).
Other Healthy Salad Recipes You May Like
- Healthy Quinoa Salad Recipe with Spinach and Apricots
- Shrimp Avocado Salad Recipe with Cajun Lime Dressing
- German Cucumber Salad Recipe – Gurkensalat
Everything in this salad recipe is really fairly healthy which I’m happy about since we gorged ourselves on vacation. One night I ate a huge platter of batter fried whole belly clams and I am not sorry one tiny bit! I only have them when I go up north so when I finally get them in front of me, I am not sharing with anyone! But, now that I’m home, I am back to healthy recipes for a while or I won’t be able to button up my pants.
Make a Healthier Broccoli Salad with Yogurt
If you are concerned about the calories in this salad, you could make a broccoli salad with no mayo but I really love the flavor of it in this dish. I tried to find a happy medium.
The dressing for this broccoli apple salad recipe is half mayonnaise and half Greek yogurt. Replacing half the mayo amount is a great way to cut the fat and make it even healthier without sacrificing flavor or using some weird ‘low fat’ version of mayonnaise.
Just whisk some salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice into the mayo and yogurt and you have a simple dressing for your broccoli salad that takes only a few minutes to make. Yogurt is seriously my go to healthy ingredient when it comes to sauces and glazes. Check out my fruit salad recipe with homemade yogurt glaze. Totally delicious!
You can store the broccoli salad in the fridge for several days once you add the dressing. Nothing gets soggy or limp and it will be a quick and healthy lunch for me this week as I try to finish digging out from vacation laundry and the mess of home repairs. I think I need a vacation from my vacation!
Creamy Broccoli Apple Salad Recipe
Creamy Broccoli Apple Salad Recipe
This creamy broccoli apple salad recipe is healthy and easy to make. An easy summer salad for your next outdoor get together!
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 2 medium heads)
- 2 large apples, chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice (about half a lemon)
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise,
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/8 tsp Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the broccoli, apples, cranberries, pecans, onion and shredded carrot
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt, salt, pepper, sugar and lemon juice.
- Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and mix until everything is coated.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 to 2 cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 166Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 4gSugar: 11gProtein: 3g
Nutrition info is not always accurate.
Looking for more salad recipes?
Try this Asparagus Pasta Salad Recipe with Bacon and Bleu Cheese
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I read the ingedents for the Broccoli, Apple Salad. While it sounds really delish, the last thing a diabetic wants or needs is to add sugar to their diet, that is what those of us who are Type 2 Diabetics want to get away from!!!!
Mayonnaise has sugar in it and so by adding more sugar, we are just asking for trouble….
I agree that if you are diabetic you need to watch your sugar intake, obviously. You are free to leave out the sugar if you want. I have a paleo approved mayonnaise that I use regularly that has no added sugar and uses avocado oil instead of soybean oil.
Could I use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt?
Rita
Usually they are pretty interchangeable but I have never tried it!
This looks so good! I like to make broccoli salads because they are so filling!
they definitely are! Loads of fiber to keep you full longer!
Thanks for sharing! How long do you think it is good in the fridge for?
I try to use all my leftovers within 3 to 4 days.
What kind of apples did you use??
Any lightly sweet apple will do. Macintosh is great. I would not use Granny Smith since they are a bit tart.
OMG!!! This salad is amazing! At first I though it would taste weird bc of the yogurt and mayonnaise but I was so wrong! I love it and I made my husband try it (I beg him to try it lol) and surprisingly he like it too! I think I put a little to much of onion but now I know for next time!
Im so glad you enjoyed it! I love combining yogurt with mayo… helps reduce the calories and gives it a nice tangy flavor!
This is absolutely delicious! Made for a bar be questioned.. Everyone raved about it! I did use dried cherries instead of cranberries because that is what I had…
I think any dried fruit would work well! Glad it was a hit!
Would this work without the lemon juice or not? My sister in law can’t have anything with lemon in it.
it would probably work fine!
I would use a splash of apple cider vinegar, it needs some acid
great tip! Thanks for sharing!
I have to give this a really high rating. My husband is a very good chef and he loved the salad. That is saying something because he is very opinionated about food. Thank you for sharing this recipe. We will make this one many times over.
so glad you guys enjoyed it!
Looks delish! Could I make it one day and serve it the next or is it better made and served the same day
it is probably best served that day. The apples may brown and the sauce may not hold up as well.
Loved this for casual dinner with friends. It was bright, crunchy and yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This was such a hit at Thanksgiving dinner, it was requested for Christmas dinner as one of the “new” traditional sides. Thank you for sharing!!!
So glad you liked the recipe!
I loved this salad it was so pretty and delicious my husband and I ate the whole salad that nite it was so good could not quit eating it we are going to sisters tonight so I made it Thsnk you for sharing
My family loves all types of salads so I’m always looking for new delicious recipes and this one did not disappoint! It was so easy to make and packed with so many fresh flavors. Thanks for this, it’s a keeper!
so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious!! Exactly what I’ve been looking for. So refreshing and light. Thank you for sharing! 🙂 -From Philly
So glad you enjoyed it!
Sounds delish!! Will definitely be trying this one! 🤗
Hope you enjoy.
I am a diabetic and made this salad without cranberries and 1 cup Greek yogurt. Also used a sweetener instead of sugar. Will definitely make again.
Glad you found a way to cut back on the sugar!
I just made this, wasn’t sure if the hubby would like it with the fruit in it, he’s weird about that kind of stuff. He LOVED it and so did I.I will definitely be making this again!!! Thank you
So happy you both enjoyed the recipe!
The recipe looks great! But I didn’t understand if the broccoli are raw?
Yes the broccoli is raw. It has quite a nice crunch!