Broccoli Salad Recipe with Blueberries, Red Onion, Dried Cranberries and Honey-Toasted Walnuts is a beautiful side dish for any of your gatherings.

Broccoli salad in a bowl with dried cranberries to the side and forks to the side.

This is not your mommaโ€™s broccoli salad recipe. I donโ€™t even know what that means, I just wanted to say it.

Loaded with fresh blueberries, zippy red onion, tangy dried cranberries and toasted candied walnuts, it is the perfect side dish to just about any main dish. The candied walnuts really bring it up a notch!

Ideal for those who love broccoli salads but also love a little adventure, this easy recipe is here to support your desire for novelty.

Broccoli Salad with Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, and Honey-Toasted Walnuts in a large bowl with two forks to the side, ready to serve

Ingredient Notes:

Here are the ingredients needed to make this simple recipe.

Fresh Broccoli: The main ingredient! We need one large crown of broccoli, or a bunch of broccoli with the stems attached. You can blanch broccoli for 30 seconds in boiling water to soften it up a bit if you’d prefer.

Fresh Blueberries: Berries level up this unique broccoli salad recipe and turn it into a never-before-seen sort of situation.

Honey Toasted Walnuts: You’ll go wild over them! They add pizzaz, crunchy flavor and some sweetness to make the salad sing.

Dried Cranberries: Mandatory in all salads in my opinion! They add sweet and tangy flavor.

Dressing Ingredients: Plain Greek yogurt, avocado oil, pure maple syrup, and fresh lemon juice. This combination of ingredients yields a light creamy dressing.

Recipe Adaptations:

  • Replace the fresh blueberries with dried blueberries and omit the dried cranberries.
  • Use raisins instead of dried cranberries.
  • Make my Rosemary Candied Walnuts for added flair.
  • Swap the walnuts for pecans or almonds.
  • Play with the portions of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt depending on your preference.
  • Use pure maple syrup instead of honey.
  • Add 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • Just add cooked bacon!

How to Make Broccoli Salad with Toasted Walnuts:

Cook all of the ingredients for the toasted walnuts in a small skillet until the walnuts are coated in honey and sticky. Once cool enough to handle, chop the nuts.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl.

Toss all of the broccoli salad ingredients together in a mixing bowl with the creamy dressing.

Serve with your main dish, and enjoy!

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Big bowl of broccoli salad with honey toasted walnuts.

If you’re a lover of broccoli recipes, also try my Broccoli Slaw and my Broccoli Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing!

Here’s the recipe:

Broccoli salad in a bowl with dried cranberries to the side and forks to the side.

Broccoli Salad with Honey-Toasted Walnuts

4.67 from 3 votes
Broccoli salad with blueberries, honey-toasted walnuts and dried cranberries – an easy, delicious mayo-free broccoli salad recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 large crowns broccoli chopped into florets
  • ยผ red onion thinly sliced
  • 4.5 ounces fresh blueberries
  • ยฝ cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp avocado oil mayonnaise
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Honey-Toasted Walnuts:

  • 2/3 cup raw walnut halves
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1.5 tablespoons honey
  • ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

To Prepare the Honey Toasted Walnuts:

  • Add all ingredients for the walnuts to a small skillet and heat over medium. Cook 5 to 8 minutes until mixture is very bubbly and walnuts have caramelized and turned golden-brown. Set aside and allow to cool. Chop the walnuts when cool enough to handle.

To Prepare the Broccoli Salad:

  • Soak the broccoli in a large water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and pat dry.
  • Chop the broccoli crowns into small florets, and chop the broccoli stems. Add stems and florets to a large serving bowl.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, honey, and salt.
  • Pour this mixture over the broccoli and stir well to coat all of the broccoli with dressing.
  • Add the red onion, blueberries, dried cranberries, and toasted walnuts. Toss everything together and serve with your favorite entree.

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 6 ยท Calories: 134kcal ยท Carbohydrates: 26g ยท Protein: 3g ยท Fat: 3g ยท Fiber: 2g ยท Sugar: 18g
Author: Julia
Course: Salads
Cuisine: American
Keyword: broccoli salad, broccoli salad with blueberries, healthy broccoli salad recipe, healthy side dishes, no mayo broccoli salad, toasted walnuts, vegetarian side dishes
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @the.roasted.root on social media!

More Delicious Recipes To Bring to Any Gathering:

Julia Mueller
Meet the Author

Julia Mueller

Julia Mueller is a recipe developer, cookbook author, and founder of The Roasted Root. She has authored three bestselling cookbooks, – Paleo Power Bowls, Delicious Probiotic Drinks, and The Quintessential Kale Cookbook. Her recipes have been featured in several national publications such as BuzzFeed, Self, Tasty, Country Living, Brit.co, etc.

Read More About Julia

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4.67 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Questions and Reviews

  1. Your broccoli salad recipe is ALWAYS a hit! The blueberries and toasted walnuts add great flavor and texture. Keep the recipes coming youโ€™re an amazing chef.

  2. Iโ€™ve never seen a recipe call for soaking broccoli in a water bath before. Whatโ€™s the purpose? Just to clean it?

    1. I soak the broccoli to remove anything from it. If you’d like, you can just give it a good rinse, but soaking it is more effective for removing anything unwanted (pesticides, dirt, critters, etc)

    1. Yaaaaay! So glad to hear it, Debra!! I absolutely love the salad too ๐Ÿ™‚ So simple and healthy, yet packed with flavor.

  3. Hands down the best broccoli salad I’ve seen. I love all the flavors going on in here. pinning.

  4. This salad is fabulous. So glad you brought it to the party to keep us balanced ๐Ÿ™‚ PS: Very happy to meet you!! I love your blog and have spent a few many minutes drooling over your amazing recipes (and photos!!!)

  5. Oh, I am SO pinning this! ๐Ÿ™‚ A friend shared her mom’s broccoli salad recipe with me years ago and I adore it, but the idea of adding fresh fruit and walnuts is just too much to resist. Fabulous!

    1. Thanks, Meg! Let me know if you try it! I’m a huge fan of broccoli salads and there are so many ways to make it fun, healthy and tasty ๐Ÿ˜€

  6. Aw man, I want a T-rex hug. I can see the literal version of that coming to life in my dreams. Hopefully a bowl of this awaits at the end. Love the creativeness of mixing blues with broccoli!

    1. Haha! Luckily, I give T-Rex hugs away liberally, so I reckon I have an extra to spare ๐Ÿ˜‰ Glad you like the salad, m’lady!

    1. Thanks, Cheri! Broccoli’s always a winner and I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the salad came together. Let me know if you try it! ๐Ÿ™‚