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Apple Broccoli Salad is a healthy no-mayo vegetarian version of the classic picnic side dish. Made with Greek yogurt plus walnuts and cheddar cheese, you get an extra burst of flavors, protein, and crunch. Bring this easy recipe to your next party or serve it with a weeknight dinner!
Healthy Broccoli Salad – No Mayo!
When you are looking for salad recipes to serve with dinner or even to add to a gluten free barbecue menu, broccoli salad is a perfect choice. With all the tasty additions, it might even get the kids eating their veggies. And that crisp texture coated with a creamy dressing makes it one of everyone’s favorites.
But traditionally it is made with mayonnaise. If you don’t like mayo or just want to cut some extra calories without losing any of the creaminess, this is the recipe for you.
Instead, it’s made with a healthy Greek yogurt dressing to lighten it up and even add a little boost of protein. Plus with plenty of chopped apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, and cheddar cheese, it is definitely not short on flavor and crunch. Makes a yummy side dish for any potluck!
Ingredients
Instead of mayonnaise, this healthy broccoli salad dressing is made with Greek yogurt. Here are the ingredients:
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh broccoli florets
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Peeled and chopped apple
- Walnuts
- Dried cranberries
- Red onion or shallot
How do you make Apple Broccoli Salad?
- Stir together the ingredients for the dressing until smooth.
- Add the broccoli, cheese, apple, walnuts, dried cranberries, and red onion.
- Mix together until everything is combined.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
Do you cook broccoli for broccoli salad?
This is technically a raw broccoli salad. It is fresh and crisp. However, if you make it the night before, the dressing will tenderize the broccoli a bit and allow the flavors to fully develop. This makes it even more delicious.
However, if you do not like the bitterness of raw broccoli and want to eat the salad right away, you can blanch it for about 2 minutes in simmering water. Then immediately shock it in cold ice water to stop the cooking process. Dry it thoroughly before adding to the dressing.
How long does broccoli salad last?
Kept in an airtight container, you can keep this dish in the refrigerator for three to four days.
How many calories are in healthy broccoli salad?
In this recipe, there are approximately 100-125 calories per 3/4 cup serving. This will vary slightly depending on the exact ingredients you use, your choice of low fat versus nonfat Greek yogurt, and other slight variations.
Overall, compared to classic picnic salads like coleslaw, potato salad, and pasta salad made with mayonnaise, this is quite a low calorie option. In fact, Greek yogurt is a great choice to lower the calories and add protein to dishes like Tropical Pineapple No-Mayo Coleslaw or Bacon Blue Cheese Greek Yogurt Potato Salad. You can even make Greek Yogurt Deviled Eggs!
Is broccoli salad gluten free? Is it low carb?
This is a gluten free side dish. None of the ingredients contain gluten, and none are typically hidden sources of gluten. Though, as always, I definitely recommend reading labels, especially for any products you might not have used before.
While lower in carbs than things like macaroni salad, this would not be considered a low carb or keto recipe. However, it is a great way to get in a serving of veggies.
You could swap out the honey for a low carb sweetener and be sure to find sugar free dried cranberries. Most low carb broccoli salad recipes call for mayonnaise, but if you don’t like it, try this Low Carb Greek Yogurt Broccoli Salad that gets its hint of sweetness from Stevia.
More savory apple recipes:
- Apple Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese is extra tasty compare to traditional chicken salad with the tang of blue cheese.
- Crockpot Pulled Chicken With Apples cooked with onions and hard apple cider makes amazing sandwiches.
- Pecan Apple Baked Brie tops melty cheese with crunchy nuts and caramelized apples.
What are other favorite salads without mayo?
- Apple Maple Dijon Coleslaw has just a bit of sweetness compared to the usual slaw.
- Cheddar Bacon Greek Yogurt Ranch Potato Salad adds favorite flavors to a classic salad while skipping the mayo.
- Mango Avocado Quinoa Chicken Salad is packed with protein, whole grains, and tons of fresh ingredients.
- No-Mayo Tuna Salad from Simply Whisked uses a tasty blend of olive oil, soy sauce, Dijon, and lemon juice instead of mayo.
Healthy No-Mayo Apple Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain nonfat or low-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 8 cups fresh broccoli cut into florets
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup peeled and chopped apple
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Tablespoon finely minced red onion or shallot
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until smooth.
- Add the broccoli florets, cheddar cheese, apple, walnuts, dried cranberries, and red onion. Stir until everything is combined and coated.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator up to three or four days.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
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Enjoy!
Delicious recipe, Brianne. Thank you!! I used dried cherries because that’s what I had in the pantry and added crumbled turkey bacon because I was eating it as a main salad rather than a side.
That sounds absolutely delicious!