Creamy Keto Broccoli Salad with Bacon

Well, another winning recipe that’s healthy and easy to make…Keto Broccoli Salad with bacon and cheese!!! Of course, as always, I ask the question…who doesn’t love bacon?

Bacon makes everything taste good, even veggies, so of course, you will enjoy trying our Keto broccoli salad recipe!!

Broccoli salad is very easy to make with a lot of fresh ingredients that are perfect year-round. It’s so delicious to eat that you will be so happy that you made it for lunch or as a side at dinner.

If you make it for friends and family they will certainly ask you for the recipe and will make it over and over and over again, and they will not even know that it’s a low carb broccoli salad.

What is Broccoli Salad?

Broccoli salad is just as it sounds…a Summer salad with broccoli being the main ingredient. It can be a side dish or a main dish, which is creamy and refreshing and crisp and healthy. It’s naturally low carb and compliments so many other foods. 

Also in a broccoli salad are other veggies like tomatoes, onions and of course everyone’s favorite…BACON!

Is Raw Broccoli Healthy?

Raw broccoli just like other veggies is always best served raw. Cooked veggies are good but raw is the best. There are so many health benefits to eating raw broccoli, and as a result it’s the main ingredient in a healthy broccoli salad.

Broccoli is an excellent source of many vitamins such as A, B, C, potassium, manganese, iron, and has many antioxidants. It’s low in carbs and calories, it has a lot of water, protein, and fiber.

with only 4 NET Carbs in a whole cup Broccoli is a low carb vegetable, making it a great choice on a Keto diet.

Is Broccoli Salad Low Carb?

Our broccoli salad is a perfect side dish or meal to have, and it’s so delicious that no one even knows it’s low carb. In fact, we have had friends ask us for the recipe since they love it so much…mission accomplished!!

Broccoli Salad is 4.2 NET Carbs per cup which makes it a great food to eat on Keto.

What Ingredients are in Keto Broccoli Salad?

Salad

• Broccoli – The main ingredient on a broccoli salad. Bite-size florets are the best size.
• Cheddar – This is the best cheese to use, shredded or chunks.
• Bell Peppers – Any color peppers will be good, red, yellow or orange are best because they look nice in contrast to the green color of the broccoli.
• Red Onion – Any onion will do but I like the red onion for taste and color.
• Tomatoes – Use small bite-size ones cut in half.
• Bacon – Use real bacon, I like Oscar Mayer…I feel there is no better bacon.

Dressing

• Mayonnaise – This is the base to make the creamy dressing. You can either use a low carb store-bought mayo like Hellman’s or a homemade version made with olive oil.
• Pepper – Black pepper, coarse or finely ground.
• Celery Salt – A spice that brings in the flavor of celery without using the vegetable. Plus it adds a touch of salt to enhance the flavor in the food.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – This is a good vinegar for a low carb diet.  Other popular kinds of vinegar like balsamic or red wine, all have a high sugar content which are not good choices if you are counting carbs.                                                                                                                                                                                                  
• Powdered Swerve – A zero carb sweetener. Swerve measures one for one like sugar and the powdered version as opposed to the granulated version leaves the dressing with a smooth consistency.

Fresh vs. Frozen Broccoli in this Recipe

You may wonder if you should use fresh broccoli or frozen? Well, fresh vegetables are always the best to use if you can get them and in this Keto Salad, I prefer fresh over frozen.

Fresh broccoli just has that certain crunch and certain “fresh” taste that salads should have, it’s like saying “should I use fresh lettuce in my salad or frozen lettuce? there’s just no comparison in my eyes.

Best Cheeses

The best cheese to use in your Keto broccoli salad is cheddar. You can use sharp or extra sharp, whichever is available or that you like the best. 

It needs to be shredded, so you can shred it yourself or you can buy it in a bag already shredded. The important thing is not to shred it too fine or else it will get lost in the salad.

Sweetener Options

You certainly want the dressing on the salad to be smooth and creamy and not gritty, so my recommendation would be to use powdered swerve. It’s a sweetener that has zero carbs and fits perfect on a Keto diet. We use it a lot in our recipes to make low carb foods and this Keto broccoli salad recipe is just one of them.

Different Variations & Add-Ins

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can take out a couple of ingredients or you can add a couple of other ingredients without changing the flavor of the Keto salad.

• Mayo – For instance, I like to use Hellmans mayo, regular, not the low-fat one. But you could also use a mayo made with olive oil. 
• Without Mayo – Or you could replace the mayo altogether and use sour cream or greek yogurt as the base instead.
• Nuts – A welcomed addition to this low carb broccoli salad (if you like nuts or don’t have a nut allergy) is to add some slivered almonds or even some toasted almonds. Nuts always fit into the low-fat way of eating, by adding protein and good fat to a recipe, so add some nuts to make for a healthy broccoli salad. 
• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Pine nuts
• Sunflower seeds

Best Dressing for Keto Broccoli Salad

The best dressing to use with your broccoli salad with bacon is a creamy dressing. We have a recipe for a nice dressing included with this recipe but you could always alter it by adding some ingredients or taking some ingredients away.

Do you Steam or Blanch Broccoli for Broccoli Salad?

The best way to eat broccoli for this Keto salad is raw/fresh.

But if for some reason that you do not like raw broccoli you can either blanch it or steam it. It’s an easy process that only takes a couple of minutes of prep time. 

1. Just bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Add the broccoli and cook for 1 minute.
3. Immediately drain the broccoli and place it in an ice bath for 5 minutes.

You could always spin the water out with a salad spinner or just let it drain in a colander until all of the water drains out.

How to Make Keto Broccoli Salad

Now that we talked about how wonderful Keto broccoli salad is, let’s share with you how we make it.

How do you Cut Broccoli for Broccoli Salad?

The best way to cut the broccoli for this Keto/low carb broccoli salad is to cut small, bite-size florets. That way the stems that are with the florets are small and tender and easy to eat. 

• If you want to use the larger stems in the salad so that you don’t waste anything, just cut them small so that they will be tender too. 

The first thing to do is wash your head of broccoli, to get off any dirt, etc. Pull off any unwanted leaves, they will just pop right off.       

So grab your favorite knife and cutting board. Cut off the bottoms of the stems which are hard and brown and unwanted. Discard them.

Cut the broccoli into bite-size florets. They will separate easily with your knife. Continue until all of the florets are separated. If you want to use the stems, this is when you would cut them in small pieces too.

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Putting it Together

Now that the broccoli is cut, let’s put it all together.

Here is a list of all the ingredients that make up the Keto broccoli salad recipe. 

• 8 cups broccoli
• 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
• ½ cup Bell Peppers, any color that you prefer
• ½ cup Red Onion
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, of your choice.
• 1 cup chopped Bacon

You can either chop all of your ingredients ahead of time and have them all ready when prepping this healthy broccoli salad or you can do them one at a time as you go along each step. I like to do the prep work first and then throw the low carb broccoli salad together, whichever way is easier for you.

So the rest of the prep work involves baking the bacon in the oven, then crumbling it up, shredding the cheese, and cutting up the onion, tomatoes, and peppers.

Get out a large bowl or platter and first add the cut broccoli florets. Then add the onion, shredded cheddar cheese, peppers and tomatoes.

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You can either shred the cheese it yourself or buy it already shredded in a bag.

And last but certainly not least, the bacon….it’s like the frosting on a cake and you can’t leave it out!

Now it’s time for the dressing.

Dressing the Salad

The Keto broccoli salad dressing is really easy to put together and only takes a few minutes.

Here is the list of all the ingredients and the instructions to make your Keto broccoli salad complete.

• ¾ cup Mayo
• ½ tsp Black Pepper
• ½ tsp Celery Salt
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ cup Powdered Swerve

Get a bowl and then measure out the mayo and place it in the bowl. Next, add the Swerve, celery salt, pepper, and then the vinegar. 

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Blend all of the ingredients together until the dressing is smooth.

Spoon it over your already prepared broccoli salad with bacon and cheddar, and then mix it all together until all of your veggies are evenly coated.

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Best Tips

The Cheese – Make sure when you shred the cheese for the broccoli salad with bacon and cheese that you do not shred it too fine or else it will get lost in the mixture. If you shred it thicker or even cut it into cubes it will stand out better in the salad.

Better Taste – For the best taste, make the dressing ahead of time, it will taste better as it sits a few hours or even a day or two as the flavors all come together. You can even make the salad and still serve it 3 days later, as the flavor just improves.

The Bacon – Use real bacon, it tastes better, and not imitation bacon bits.

Making It Lighter – If you want to replace the mayo or sour cream, you can replace it with greek yogurt.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Nut-free – Nuts go well in this Keto salad but they are just a garnish for those that can eat nuts.
• Gluten-free – No gluten in this salad at all.
• Sugar-free – It’s nice to have zero-carb alternatives to sugar using powdered Swerve.

What Goes Good with Broccoli Salad?

Everything goes very well with Keto broccoli salad, and it’s especially good in the Summer. Think of all the things that go well with broccoli, and think of everything that goes well with salads. Put them all together and that’s how many things you can serve with this salad. 

It’s very versatile and can be eaten in conjunction with other cold foods and also with hot meat etc. Anything that is cooked on the grill will go well with this healthy broccoli salad.

Likewise, it can be eaten for lunch and dinner or a snack in between.

If you are looking for some ideas and recipes to go along with those ideas, feel free to look at some other recipes on our site. Here are some ideas, just to name a few.

• Oven-Baked Ribs
• Garlic Pork Chops
• Prime Rib
• Ham
• Meatloaf
• Crab Cakes

Can I Make Broccoli Salad Ahead?

This Keto broccoli salad recipe is one that for sure can be made ahead of time. I love recipes like that so that you don’t feel rushed trying to throw everything together all at once. 

The dressing can be made even up to a few days ahead of time and then when you make the salad the dressing will already be made. When you get ready to eat then you can toss the salad with the dressing and serve.

How to Store This Recipe

The best way to store your Keto broccoli salad is in an airtight container in the refrigerator and in spite of the dressing on it, it will keep well for 3-4 days. 

As it sits a day or two the flavor becomes even better because the onions, bacon, dressing, etc soak into the broccoli and because it was raw to start with it will not become soggy. It’s hearty and will hold up well.

Can You Freeze Broccoli Salad?

Sorry to say but broccoli salad does not freeze well, so you will have to just make enough for a few days. That should not be a problem to eat it up because if it’s like my house it does not last long.

More Keto Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Low Carb Recipes then try our:

• Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Cheese
• Creamy Keto Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Best Low Carb Tuna Salad
• Easy Keto Egg Salad
• Keto Taco Salad w/ Ground Beef

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit at your next meal!

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