Updated Broccoli Salad

I’m sure we’ve all had the infamous broccoli salad from back in the day, you know the one with bacon, raisins, sunflower seeds and a mayo based dressing? No potluck or picnic was complete without it. It’s such a great combination of flavors and textures, but I wanted to give this classic a little makeover. In my updated broccoli salad, I swapped the raisins for cherries, added sharp white cheddar and skipped the mayo dressing. Instead, I made a healthier Greek yogurt poppyseed dressing which works really well with the saltiness of the bacon and the tartness of the cherries.

Ingredients for the salad:

• 8 slices of bacon, diced
• 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup tart dried cherries
• 1/2 (heaping) cup grated white cheddar
• 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon poppyseeds

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a sauté pan over medium heat until crispy, then drain on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, Place the broccoli, shallot, cherries and cheese in a large bowl and set aside.

Toast the sunflower seeds in a small pan on low heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. This just brings out a nice nutty flavor.

To make the dressing, whisk everything together until smooth.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli salad and stir to combine, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors blend together and the broccoli soften a bit.

15 minutes before serving, fold in the bacon and sunflower seeds.

This salad is perfect on the side of your favorite sandwich or you could add a grilled chicken breast to it. I like to have it on it’s own for lunch.

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