A delicious salad can transform a simple meal into a gourmet feast. This healthy broccoli bacon salad is one the staples on our weeknight menu. For good reason too - it’s as nutritious as it is delicious!
Can You Eat Broccoli On A Keto Diet?
Broccoli is one of the best (and most popular) Keto-approved vegetables.
It is considered a nutritional powerhouse and is packed with important vitamins like Vitamin A, C and Bs. It’s also high in Magnesium and Potassium as well as a host of antioxidants.
With only 3g net carbs per serving - you really can’t go wrong with broccoli on a low-carb or paleo diet.
See this great Broccoli 101 article from healthline.com.
Can You Eat Salad On A Keto Diet?
If you consider salad a “boring” healthy food, then you’ve been doing it all wrong!
Salad can be a delicious meal, especially great for lunch and be packed with tasty and nutritious ingredients.
It’s a wonderful way to pack in the protein and fat which is absolutely perfect for a low-carb or keto diet!
Sometimes it’s all in the dressing too - any boring raw ingredient can be spruced up with a healthy, nutrient-packed salad dressing and we’ve roundup up the best ones here: Healthy Salad Dressings.
How To Make Keto Broccolli Bacon Salad:
The Ingredients You Need:
- Broccoli Florets
- Cooked Bacon Bits
- Green Pepper
- Peas (We use frozen peas.)
- Cheddar (Optional For Keto. You can make this Broccoli Bacon Salad with no cheese if you’re on a Paleo or Whole 30 diet.)
- Lettuce
- Mayonnaise (Our delicious homemade recipe!)
- Chopped Roasted Salted Cashew Nuts
- Garlic
- Dried Basil, Salt and Pepper
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Boil the broccoli and peas in salted water for approximately 5 minutes. (Photo 1)
- Shock the broccoli and peas in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside and allow to drain. (Photo 2)
- Cut the cheese, green pepper and lettuce into small pieces.
- Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl (Photo 3)
- Stir until combined. (Photo 4)
- Add cheese (if you’re not Paleo or Whole 30). (Photo 5)
- Serve and enjoy! (Photo 6)
Looking For More Healthy Salad Recipes?
For more healthy low carb keto and paleo friendly Salad recipes, check out any of these yummy options from our archives, plus some of our personal favorites from other great bloggers.
- Cucumber Onion Salad
- Avocado Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Orange Chicken Salad
- Greek Shrimp Salad with Warm Lemon Butter Dressing
Did You Make This Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe?
If you’ve made this healthy recipe, please leave a comment and a rating. We love hearing your feedback and it greatly helps us improve our recipes!
You can also give us a follow on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook – we love staying in touch!
Broccoli Bacon Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups broccoli (cut into small bite-sized florets)
- ½ cup cooked bacon bits (about 6 strips of bacon)
- 1 cup green pepper (chopped small)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup cheddar (cut into small cubes)
- 2 cups lettuce (shredded finely)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup cashew nuts (roasted and salted, chopped finely)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- to taste salt and pepper (taste test!)
Instructions
- Cook the broccoli florets and frozen peas until tender. (3-4 minutes in the microwave, or steamed/boiled for 5 minutes. Shocked in ice cold water and set aside. See step by step instructions in post.)
- While the broccoli cooks, chop the green pepper and lettuce. Cut the cheese into cubes.
- Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Stir carefully until everything is evenly combined.
- Serve!
Tips and Tricks:
- It’s important to not over-cook the broccoli. They still need to have a slight crunch.
- Salt is important when bringing out the flavor of the individual ingredients - so taste test and add more salt if needed!
- Leave out the cheese if you are on the Paleo or Whole 30 diet.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published on July 26, 2016 and updated on March 5, 2020 to include detailed step-by-step instructions, video and faqs.
Yvonne says
So delicious!! Thank you so sharing!
Nancy Foster says
Do you have the nutrition info for this recipe?
Katie says
can this be made ahead of time and chilled in the fridge? I wasn't sure if the lettuce would get soggy, or if it would make it taste even yummier 🙂
Shay says
Hey Katie! To be honest, I think the lettuce would definitely get soggy if you do that. I have a weird thing about soggy lettuce haha, but if you're not too bothered by it, it could be worth a shot. Otherwise, I would just chill the salad and the Basil Pesto Mayo separately, then mix it up quickly before serving 🙂
amanda says
How much cheese do I use? It's not included on the recipe.
Shay says
Hi, thanks for bringing that to my attention! I've just updated the recipe. I used about 2/3 cup of cubed cheddar. 🙂
Matt says
This looks excellent, and delicious. Just the type of thing you want after a long hot day!
Shay says
Thanks Matt! 🙂
Robert Vernon says
I would like to make contact with you so we could talk about S A. We have spent some time there in Alldays