I’ve been craving colorful salads lately — especially ones that are easy to make, oil-free, and hearty enough to stay good in the fridge a few days. Since I rarely eat broccoli raw, I decided to come up with a broccoli salad that gets me excited about eating this cruciferous veggie that usually tastes like sulfur.
Traditional broccoli salads contain junk ingredients, such as bacon bits, mayonnaise, and sugar. I decided to leave out the bacon and sugar and replace the mayo with a dressing made of cashew cream and apple cider vinegar. The vinegar actually cuts the bitter flavor of the raw broccoli!
In addition to broccoli florets, this broccoli salad contains shredded carrots, red cabbage, shallots, raisins, and sunflower seeds. It makes a beautiful side dish, but of you want to make it your entree, I recommend adding some chickpeas to the mix for some added protein.
Tip: To make this salad come together even more quickly, consider purchasing some of the ingredients from the grocery store salad bar. I actually bought the shredded carrots, red cabbage, and raisins from the Whole Foods salad bar. It was definitely more expensive, but it was faster and less wasteful!
I love the flavor of vinegar, but if you find it overwhelming, I recommend substituting a few Tablespoons of the vinegar with unsweetened nondairy milk. You will still taste the vinegar, but it will be a little more subtle.
This dressing comes out much smoother if you have a high-speed bender, but it should still work if you don’t. Just be sure you soak your cashews in warm water at least two hours, and scrape down the sides of your blender a few times until your dressing is smooth and creamy.
This broccoli salad is creamy, crunchy, tangy, and slightly sweet from the raisins. And on top of that, it’s full of excellent, anti-cancer nutrition!
- 2 crowns of broccoli florets, chopped small
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup red cabbage, chopped
- ¼ cup shallot or red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup raisins, dried cranberries, or dried currants
- 2-3 T. raw sunflower seeds
- ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked in warm water at least 2 hours
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar (or ¼ c. + 2 T plus 2 T. nondairy milk)
- ⅛ t. salt
- Pepper to taste
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the chopped veggies, dried fruit, and seeds.
- In a blender, combine the drained cashews, vinegar, and salt until completely smooth. This works better with a high-speed blender on high about 2 mins. You may have to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to distribute it evenly. Add black pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately, or place covered in the fridge up to 3 days.
This salad is delightfully crunchy and tasty! It would make a perfect addition to a cookout, barbecue (vegan, of course!), or potluck!
I’m adding it to my usual salad rotation!
♥ ♥ ♥
If you love hearty salads and haven’t tried my Thai Edamame Salad or my Black Bean Salad, be sure to try those too!
This looks really good. I’d maybe throw some cucumbers in there… but then again, that might defeat the purpose of a broccoli salad 😀