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Broccoli Crunch Salad is packed full of crunchy broccoli, crispy bacon, toasted pecans and ramen noodles. Covered it a light, flavorful dressing it is a delicious side dish for any meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe is a twist on a Classic. My mom made this broccoli salad recipe long before I did. Today’s recipe for Broccoli Crunch Salad takes my mom’s traditional broccoli salad up a few notches.
Instead of a mayo based dressing this recipe uses a light, oil and vinegar based dressing. And it is loaded with crunch. Besides the broccoli you have crunch from the toasted pecans, ramen noodles and the crispy bacon.
This is one of the easiest salads to make, the hardest part is cutting up all the broccoli. I usually get my husband to do that part!
Ingredients Needed
- Broccoli florets. I also use part of the stem of the broccoli.
- Green Onions
- Bacon, cooked crisp and cut into small pieces
- Ramen Noodles, you only need the noodles, not the seasoning pack.
- Butter, salted
- Pecans, toasted
- Oil, canola, vegetable or avocado oil. You can also use olive oil.
- Vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar will work.
- Sugar. You can also use maple syrup if you prefer.
- Soy Sauce
How to Make Broccoli Crunch Salad
- Chop up your broccoli into bite size pieces. Make sure they are small pieces, about 1/2″ size. I use the florets and the stem of the broccoli. Remove the outer skin from the stem with a potato peeler and you will find nice, tender broccoli hiding inside. Cut it up into small pieces too.
- Break up the ramen noodles and combine with nuts and butter on a baking sheet.
- Toast in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 minutes. Stir a few times to make sure they are browning evenly.
- Fry bacon until crisp. It softens up as it sits in the dressing so make sure it starts out nice and crisp.
- Whisk together oil, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar together in a bowl until combined.
- Combine broccoli, bacon, green onions, toasted ramen noodle mixture in a large bowl.
- Pour salad dressing over salad and toss to coat.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips from leigh Anne
- For additional flavor and crunch you can add salted sunflower seeds or pistachios.
- This salad is also delicious with dried cranberries or cherries. Throw in some chopped red onion for even more flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will broccoli salad last?
With the dressing on it, it will last 1-2 days in the refrigerator. Without the dressing it will last 3-4 days. Keep in an airtight container and refrigerated.
Can I blanch the broccoli first?
I have only made this salad with raw broccoli. If you don’t like raw broccoli you can blanch it in a pot of boiling salted water. Just add the broccoli to the boiling water and let it cook for one minute. Remove, drain and run cool water over it. Add to recipe as directed. This will make the broccoli more tender and you will have less crunch to your salad.
Does the stem of the broccoli taste the same as the florets?
Yes it does. You won’t notice any difference in flavor. They are both delicious.
Check out more of my other favorite broccoli recipes:
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Broccoli Crunch Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large head broccoli cut into small pieces
- 4-6 green onions sliced
- 1 lb. bacon cooked crisp and in small pieces
- 2 packages of Ramen noodles crushed. Throw away the seasoning packet
- 4 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Dressing
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 Tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Mix butter, nuts and crushed noodles together. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly brown at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Stir several times for even browning. Set aside to cool.
- Mix together chopped broccoli, onions, bacon and noodle/nut mixture.
- Mix together the dressing ingredients. Mix well to dissolve sugar.
- Toss with dressing right before serving.
Tips & Notes:
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Nutrition Facts:
Catherine says
Most people around here make that salad with coleslaw mix – the cabbage chopped up in a bag. All the other ingredients are similar. I hear there’s even a broccoli slaw mix, so you could use it to get a similar taste to yours but change the texture up a little.
And I have a friend that toasts her ramen noodles before throwing them in the salad – it’s heavenly. You’ll have to try it sometime.
I’ll try your way with the whole chopped broccoli head. It’ll be nice to take to a potluck. Thanks for the idea!!
Karen W. says
I wouldn’t have thought to put bacon, noodles and broccoli together but it looks like it works! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
Vicki says
This looks delish; I’m not fan of raw onion but I would imagine a sprinkle of onion powder in the dressing mix would suffice?
Leigh Anne says
Would think that would be fine and give it a little onion flavor – enjoy!
Karen says
I love broccoli salads. We’re having this with Sunday dinner this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
Mary says
That looks delicious! I love anything with broccoli, truly I do!
I have sme in my fridge, all the ingredients, I belive I will get in the kitchen and make some for supper right now.
Thanks for the recipe. I just came across your blog on stumbleupon. Glad I did, I signed up for your emails. 🙂
Leigh Anne says
Mary – glad you found me!
Mary says
Leigh Anne,
I made that salad to go with our supper Friday night, we loved it so much that I am making it again to go with tonights supper. Is a very good recipe. Thanks for posting it.
Leigh Anne says
So glad you enjoyed it. It’s a great way to eat your veggies!