Bacon Broccoli Salad with Raisins and Sunflower Seeds

  4.8 – 39 reviews  • Broccoli Salad Recipes

This salad is crisp and delicious. With a mayonnaise-based sauce, broccoli, bacon bits, raisins, sunflower seeds, and a trace of onion are combined. Delicious!

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

  1. ½ pound bacon
  2. 4 heads broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
  3. 1 ½ cups raisins
  4. 1 ½ cups unsalted sunflower seeds
  5. ½ cup chopped onion
  6. 1 cup mayonnaise
  7. ¼ cup white sugar
  8. ¼ cup granular sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda®)
  9. 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and crumble.
  2. Toss bacon, broccoli, raisins, sunflower seeds, and onion together in a large bowl.
  3. Whisk mayonnaise, sugar, sweetener, and vinegar in another bowl until smooth. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 385 kcal
Carbohydrate 32 g
Cholesterol 14 mg
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 10 g
Saturated Fat 4 g
Sodium 284 mg
Sugars 19 g
Fat 27 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Christopher Rodriguez
It’s really good. I used white cooking wine instead of vinegar. More of it too, about a quarter cup. Let it steep in the fridge for a few hours. Also, I used cranberries instead of raisins. Oh, and I used pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds because that’s what I had. And no sweetener. Just a couple tablespoons of sugar or honey or agave. What ever I have.
Laura Brown
I make this every year at Easter and my sisters frequently request it for BBQ’s and get togethers. This time I cut back on the sunflower seeds and raisins to 1/2 cup each because the extra just end up at the bottom of the bowl wasted. I also used agave nectar 1/2 cup instead of sugar and splenda because it’s a natural sweetener and it’s safe for diabetics. I also like to use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar and red onion is a must!
Charles Atkinson
I omitted the sugar since I’m diabetic, but it was still plenty sweet enough with Splenda for me. Thank you for sharing recipe, I will definitely make again!
Jerome Gordon
This is absolutely delicious but way too sweet for me. I’ll totally make it again with maybe a quarter the amount of sugar. I also swapped raisins for craisins- it added a little tang. Everyone loved it but agreed it was much to sugary.
Richard Howard
A local deli used to make a broccoli salad that was to die for! I had the recipe but couldn’t find it so I tried this one on the 4th of July. It was a huge hit with the crowd!!! I didn’t have any sunflower seeds so I substituted sliced almonds. Dried cranberries replace raisins. Delicious!
Monique Mason
my family likes this salad.
Nicole Williams
I made this with several changes and it was Delicious! I did not cook the broccoli, added a dollop of the horseradish mayo as one reviewer suggested (GREAT idea), added salted cashew pieces instead of sunflower seeds since I didn’t have the seeds. Definitely skip the artificial sweetener!! You don’t need it. I always cut the amount of sugar for a recipe in the beginning. Taste it and see first before adding the full amount. Great summer side dish in my opinion!
Angela Bell
I wish it said how many cups of chopped broccoli instead of heads which can vary greatly. I basically chopped broccoli into my largest mixing bowl (which I felt was good for a potluck) and sort of halved all the other ingredients (omitted onion because I don’t like it raw). It turned out very delicious.
Donna Lynch
I cut the broccoli into small, small bites.
Alyssa Jordan
I used less sugar than the recie called for and no sweetener. Came out really well, similar to a recipe we once had and lost.
Melinda Payne
I used just a little sugar. Delicious!
Katherine Peterson
A very nice side to dinner tonight. I only used sugar. The sunflower seeds added a nice crunch and were ‘friendly’ to my nut allergy suffering husband. Craisins would be a good sub for raisins or even a little diced apple. I think some cooked diced chicken and some extra dressing would make this an easy main dish salad as well.
Kristin Burns
Delicious! I don’t eat meat, so I didn’t use the bacon & I also left out the artificial sweetener. This is a great dish to take to any gathering. It goes very quickly & people will ask you for the recipe!
Kathryn Bailey
I used turkey bacon and added a bit of apple cider vinegar to it. I would use less sugar next time as well but this was the bomb! I made it for a birthday potluck lunch at work and it was a big hit! I will definitely make this again. 😀
Patricia King
Note I use Stevia start at 1/4 cup and season to taste. Depend s on Vinegar I use. Have found if Wine may use more Stevia. To please husband and children why have made changes. I like cranberries /raisins.
Jessica Little
This is a bit labor-intensive (cutting the broccoli), but well worth it! The only changes I made was quickly blanching the broccoli ( draining well on paper towel), using golden raisins and craisins ( for more color ) , and instead of all the sugar (plenty of sweetness in the raisins and craisins ), I mixed the mayo with a splash of Hendrickson’s Sweet Vingar and Olive Oil dressing . Oh my!!! Thank you, Ruthie Joyce! So many compliments and requests for the recipe!
Derek Dennis
Two alternate versions that have been successful at my holiday gatherings: Option 1: sub the seeds from a large pomegranate for raisins, use 1/2 cup mayo instead of a full cup, use 2 tbsp sugar instead of 1/4 cup, sub plain white vinegar for white wine vinegar, sub green onions for white/yellow onions, add 1 cup bite-sized sliced sugar snap peas for more crunch. Option 2: sub the seeds from a large pomegranate for raisins, use 1/2 cup mayo instead of a full cup, use 2 tbsp honey instead of 1/4 cup sweetener, sub apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar, sub green onions for white/yellow onions, make the salad more festive by also adding 1 cup quartered cranberries.
Nathaniel Glass
terrific!!! I made 5 times the recipe for a gathering after a friend’s funeral and it went very fast…no yummy leftovers! I will make this often! I DID use low fat mayo and didn’t have sunflower seeds.
Sara Harvey
Very tasty but sweeter than it really needs to be. I lightly steamed the broccoli, which took the harsh edge off, but it didn’t occur to me until it was too late that by steaming it I’d probably reduced the need to use sweeteners to mask its flavor. Also, I’ve read that you should eat foods rich in Vitamin C at the same meal that you eat foods rich in plant-based iron, because the Vitamin C helps the body utilize the iron, so I had a glass of orange juice with the salad and between the two of them it was a super-sweet little meal.
Daniel Mccullough
Absolutely Delicious, I’ve looked for this recipe for a while now. So glad I found it. Thanks for sharing!
Amy Proctor
Very good. I had a similar salad @ Green Tomatoes restaurant in Florida and decided to try to make it myself. This was delish. I had to serve the sesame seeds on the side since hubby can’t have seeds or nuts but all the flavors were there. One issue I had…I wish the recipe gave cups of broccoli. I bought a bag. Started with 1/2# trimmed but had to add some more after adding dressing. I would recommend 1# of trimmed broccoli flowerets. I think I would even like to try adding some diced chicken. The recipe is very versatile. Thanks for sharing.

 

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