This Keto Broccoli Salad is made with raw broccoli, bacon, cheese, and jalapeno pepper and a tangy dressing. It is a low carb broccoli salad with a delicious sweet heat profile that will have the whole family at your next potluck or barbecue asking for the recipe!
Whenever we have family gatherings, side dishes are what become the star of the show and this broccoli salad is the star recipe that everyone wants to have! With only 4 net carbs per serving, this is a side salad that is perfect for the keto diet.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
✔️ It is a keto take on the original recipe, replacing the sweet raisins with a touch of sugar free sweetener to keep that sweet and tangy flavor the salad is so well known for.
✔️ It is the best broccoli salad recipe with 6 total carbs (4 net carbs) per serving.
✔️ This low-carb broccoli salad is the perfect keto side dish for your next picnic.
🥘 Ingredients
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Powdered Sugar-Free Sweetener: Monk fruit is my sweetener of choice, and this brand is my go-to. I use a powdered sweetener due to the fact it dissolves better than a granulated one does.
Fresh Broccoli: I like to buy the entire crown and break it down into bite-sized pieces, Two medium heads of broccoli should give you enough broccoli crowns to make this recipe.
Macadamia Nuts: I went with this nut because it is one of the better nuts for keto. It is high in healthy fats and low in carbs.
Bacon: I love good thick-cut crispy bacon. The flavor of the crispy salty fat that melts in your mouth is irresistible. Using thick cut in this recipe is recommended for that reason alone!
Green onions for color and flavor.
Jalapeno Peppers: You want just enough jalapeno to give the salad a tiny hit of heat. Feel free to adjust to your own heat tolerance or leave this out entirely.
Mayonnaise: If you are strict keto, then be sure your mayo is sugar-free.
Cheese: I always shred my own cheese and always use a mild or sharp cheddar.
Red bell pepper is added for color contrast and takes the place of raisins or cranberries in the original recipe.
🔪 Instructions
- Pre cook and crumble bacon for the salad. Set aside in an airtight storage container until ready to use.
- Dice and chop the broccoli florets, red bell and jalapeno pepper, peppers, and scallions. Toss together in a large bowl with the cheddar cheese
- To make the salad dressing, In a medium bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and sweetener (if using).
- Stir the salad dressing into broccoli salad mixture until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the salad with crumbled bacon and stir to combine.
🥄 Equipment
Kitchen knife
Cutting board
Small bowl
Large bowl
Whisk
Measuring cups
🥫Storage
Store this delicious broccoli salad recipe in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.
📖 Variations
- Turkey bacon can be substituted for pork bacon.
- Use roasted chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds in place of the macadamias.
- Make it dairy-free and omit the cheese. To make it visually appealing, add ½ cup shredded carrot to the salad in place of the cheese. Be sure to adjust the carb count accordingly.
- If you really miss the cranberries, you can use no sugar added dried cranberries. They will not increase the carb count by much.
💭 Tips
- To keep the bacon crispy, don't mix it into the salad until just before serving.
- If you prefer cooked broccoli, you can cook until crisp-tender and shock it in cold water to keep the bright green color. Be sure to cool completely and pat broccoli dry before assembling the salad.
📚 Related Recipes
This Homemade Coleslaw is another keto friendly summer salad perfect for picnics.
Keto Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein is a delicious main dish for low carb dieters.
🍽 Serve with...
This low carb keto broccoli salad is the perfect side dish to these Grilled Pork Chops with Cilantro Lime Topping.
🏫 The last word
I ate traditional Broccoli Salad at many family reunions in my childhood. It was always a favorite of mine. I loved the sweet tang of cranberry with the savory and salty flavor combination. I wanted to replicate the flavor and make a low carb salad that would not lose that sweet, salty, savory flavor combination.
This Broccoli Salad is not your typical picnic salad. To make this keto-friendly, I omitted the dried cranberries to remove the sugars. And, I substituted chopped macadamia nuts in place of sunflower seeds to add more healthy fat.
The combination of smoky bacon, spicy jalapeno, cheese, and keto-friendly sweet dressing is totally delicious and satisfying. This particular recipe cured my craving and satisfied my addiction to the sweet heat combination that I love so much!
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When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Keto Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 7 cups broccoli florets
- ½ medium red bell pepper , diced
- 1 small jalapeno pepper , diced (optional)
- 3 scallions , diced
- 8 slices bacon , cooked and chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese , shredded
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 teaspoons Powdered monkfruit Sweetener , optional
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre cook and crumble bacon for the salad. Set aside in an airtight storage container until ready to use.
- Dice and chop the broccoli florets, red bell and jalapeno pepper, peppers, and scallions. Toss together in a large bowl with the cheddar cheese.
- To make the salad dressing, In a medium bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and sweetener (if using).
- Stir the salad dressing into broccoli salad mixture until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the salad with crumbled bacon and stir to combine.
Lisa
I’ve made this many times in the past few years. I take it whenever we have a potluck and it always disappears really quickly. I usually make it without the nuts because it’s cheaper that way and it still tastes great.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Lisa, thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe. I'm so happy to hear you enjoy the recipe! Shelby
Sheena
I l ov e this salad
Viv
I’ve been making this salad for a few months now. DELICIOUS! Even my family members not on keto have me make it! They all ❤️ It.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Viv, thanks for letting me know! I am so happy your family loves this salad!
Adriana Wrenn
can I use Splenda for sweetener?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Adriana, you can use splenda if you wish. However, if you are strict keto, it is not an approved sweetener. We are keto, but are considered more "dirty" keto and do use other sweeteners occasionally.
Jean | Delightful Repast
Looks great, though I would definitely prefer to use three teaspoons of sugar than three teaspoons of artificial sweetener. It comes to just over 1/3 teaspoon per serving. I'm not on keto, but I do carefully monitor my sugar intake and never have more than 6 teaspoons in a day from any source. Pinned!
Shelby
Hi Jean, absolutely, you do what is best for you! I actually reduced the sweetener to just 1 teaspoon when I made it this week. The longer we are on Keto, the less sweetener we use as we don't crave that sweet! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I hope you make and enjoy the recipe!
Joyce
How big would you say a serving size is ?
Shelby
Hi Joyce, I am making this again this week so I will exactly measure, but my guess would be about 3/4 - 1 cup is a serving. Depending on how big you cut the broccoli. I'll come back and update after I have remade the recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
Shelby
Hi Joyce! I did make this again, and one serving size is 1 cup. I've updated my info for the post. Thank you!
Joan Morse
I used about half the recommended amount of sweetener and it was sweet enough for my taste. Also did not have the macadamia nuts so used shaved almonds instead. It was a hit with my husband also. Will definitely make again.
Shelby
Hi Joan, Happy to hear it! Thanks for stopping by and making my recipe!
Jenn, from KeenForKeto.com
Such a pretty salad! 🙂 My broccoli lovers are going to LOVE this. Thanks so much for participating in Keen for Keto's keto salad roundup, Shelby!
Whitney
Hi how many carbs is this?
Shelby
Hi Whitney, net carbs are listed in the recipe notes along with the rest of the nutrition information. This recipe has 2 net carbs. Please note that it depends on what ingredients you use as to how accurate nutrition information is and the information I provide is to be used as a guide only.
Jennifer
I wanted to use pre cut broccoli but wasnt .sure of how much to use if I halved the recipe or kept it whole?
Shelby
Hi Jennifer, I would think a package of pre-cut broccoli could be considered approximately the same amount as a head of broccoli. I hope you were able to try the recipe. I apologize I haven't had a chance to be on my website for a few days.
Jennifer Travis
Oh my! This is just SO good! I doubled the recipe, made 1/2 with the jalapeno and half without (for the kids and adults that didnt like the heat.) I cut the sugar amt in half and used 1 small red onion in place of the scallions. I will def be making this again in the near future and years to come! Thank you for your wonderful recipe!
Shelby
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for trying my recipe and for stopping by to share your experience! Happy you enjoyed it!
Jeanie
I've made this many times before and all of my family and friends have loved it, but I've made it the day we were to eat it. I'd like to know if I make it Wednesday for a Friday night church event would it be good?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Jeanie, If you want to make it ahead, hold off on adding the nuts and bacon until the day your going to your event. Everything else would be fine. Thanks for stopping by! Shelby