This flavorful No Mayo Broccoli Salad is the perfect side dish for summer picnics and cook outs. We love this the most after it’s sat in the dressing for the day (or overnight), making it great for meal prep. Kids and adults alike will love this healthy broccoli salad recipe with no mayo!
A Healthy Broccoli Salad without Mayonnaise
I have never understood mayonnaise. Especially in terms of summer salads. Mayonnaise is made of eggs, which added to heat over the course of several hours spells food poisoning, right?
Overall, I am just not a fan of mayo at all. Give me a simple vinaigrette any day.
Also, a typical store bought mayo is loaded with sodium, and also has a myriad of preservatives along with different types of processed sugars. Making your own dressing at home is simple, and you swap these unhealthy ingredients for flavorful alternatives that are bursting with nutritional benefits.
There is no need to add a ton of mayo to a broccoli salad. This healthy broccoli salad recipe proves that a light and creamy tahini dressing is all it takes to really let the other ingredients shine!
If you’re a fan of this healthier take on broccoli salads, you’ll also love my Broccoli Cauliflower Salad.
Tahini and lemon juice is my favorite simple salad dressing — when I am making a quick lunch for myself, just a little drizzle of both adds all the flavor I need, plus tahini is packed with Vitamin E, and even adds a dose of protein and fiber to whatever you drizzle it on.
Plus, tahini has the best toasty flavor and combined with a few other simple ingredients, really allows the other ingredients in this no mayo broccoli salad to shine.
Make this Easy Broccoli Salad Ahead of Time
This recipe is simple, but spectacular in it’s own right. Broccoli is one of those veggies it’s hard not to love — it’s typically a favorite among kids also, making this salad ideal for summer gatherings.
Broccoli is a sturdy vegetable that holds up well to dressings, so you can make this the morning before, the evening before, or even keep this salad around for a few days, and it actually just gets better!
I like to mix the creamy dressing into the broccoli, and prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep them separate. Right before serving, I mix everything together. This keeps all the ingredients the freshest.
Adapt this No Mayo Broccoli Salad
- Make it Vegan: This can easily be made into a vegan broccoli salad by subbing a dairy free cheese in place of the cheddar, or simply omitting it.
- Make this Paleo or Whole30: This salad is great for the Whole30. Omit the cheddar (it doesn’t need it!), and omit the small amount of honey in the dressing as well.
Other Healthy Summer Salad Recipes:
- Summer Greek Quinoa Salad, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Kale Salad with Blueberries and Quinoa, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Addictive Asian Cabbage Salad, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Massaged Kale Salad with Blood Oranges, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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Broccoli Salad No Mayo
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli chopped small
- 1 bell pepper orange or red
- 1 cup red grapes halved
- 1/3 cup cashews toasted
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese cut into small cubes
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar or sub red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey or date syrup, optional
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the dressing ingredients together. They can be whisked together, but for the creamiest dressing, add to a blender and process for a minute.
- Add the chopped broccoli to a colander, and then pour boiling water over the broccoli to quickly soften it. Rinse it with cool water afterwards.
- Mix the dressing into the broccoli and stir to fully coat.
- Right before serving, add the rest of the ingredients. It's okay to add the raisins, grapes, and peppers, but keep the cheese and cashews reserved until serving.
Nutrition
Ahhh can’t believe how soon it is! I can imagine how difficult it would have been finding well…anything party centric in your side of town as funny as that sounds! I remember needing blu tak for an assignment when I was over there as a kid and could NOT find it anywhere even though it was a global product.
That salad looks great and I love the reasoning behind it- Your son is going to have an amazing palate 😀
Shopping here has gotten better and better over the years, but is still so much more difficult than in the Western world… and every place is more difficult to shop than the super-consumerism society in America 🙂 I can’t help comparing shopping experiences here to back at home.
Oh my gosh, Michelle, such a fun post! You look fantastic and the party is so special with the pirate theme.
So sweet that they made your recipes and a really nice surprise to see my salad on there! So excited for you. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by!
I do much the same thing with my veggies each Sunday and usually cook up chicken or fish as a topping. Saves so much time for the week, doesn’t it?
Won’t be long now 🙂
Yes, time has really flown by! I can’t believe we are almost down to the final 10 weeks. I have only recently in the past 3-4 weeks started really putting on weight and getting a belly– and that is making it more and more real. Well, that, and the fact that we have baby stuff crammed in every room of our house and still haven’t had the new closets built so we can rearrange and empty out the baby’s room. Thank goodness for being a teacher and having summer break!
i have no doubt your child will be a healthy eater. Look at you! So nourishing. Such a great party full of flavor and love. <3
Thanks Lindsday! He is going to have a lot of nutritious options available to him.. and I also think that this is one area in his life where I will NOT be a pushover 🙂
Holy moly! I can’t get past those cupcakes – SO COOL!! And congratulations!! How exciting for you 🙂
You know, I never thought to make broccoli salad before. Why on earth not is totally beyond me. Thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
I know, the cupcakes kill me. We … two weeks later … still have the one with the baby on it in my fridge. We couldn’t eat it, and I can’t bring myself to throw it away. It’s made of fondant… so eventually I guess it will disintegrate!
I am new to your site and have found several recipes I want to try! I just began my journey in WHOLE 30 so I anxiously looking for HEALTHY recipes that meet all the rules & requirements of the program. My question regarding your recipe for Mayo-Free Broccoli Salad is where would I find champagne vinegar or what can I use as a substitute? Also, you might want to correct your ingredient amount for olive oil as your dressing calls for: ¼ cup tablespoons olive oil 😉 Found it fun that you’re an Oregonian and your mom lives in Bend, I too am a native and live in Redmond! Thank you for posting good, clean, healthy recipes!!
Thanks Lynne! I actually have been wanting to update the Mayo Free Broccoli Salad with new photos and everything, because that has been a really popular recipe. Thanks so much for pointing out the mistake in the measurements! I will fix that. Champagne vinegar is just a white wine vinegar, but it’s lighter in flavor, not quite as acidic. I buy it at Whole Foods, but I am thinking I’ve seen it at Trader Joe’s in Bend as well. I’ll let you know, because I am going out there this weekend! Good luck on your healthy-eating journey– if you haven’t downloaded my free eBook, The Clean Eating Detox, please take a look! You’ll also get a twice-monthly newsletter highlighting new recipes or trends in nutrition. Looking forward to hearing from you again!
What a great way to enjoy broccoli! I absolutely love it!