The best vegan broccoli salad with crisp broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and sun-dried tomatoes in a creamy, tangy dressing. Perfect for potlucks or picnics!
You just won’t believe how good this vegan broccoli salad is! Until now, I had NO idea that raw broccoli could taste this good.
And I’m a big fan of broccoli. I love it in a good vegan broccoli soup, vegan broccoli pasta and vegan broccoli cheese soup. But seriously who knew it could taste this amazing in its fresh raw state.
The broccoli in the salad marinates and softens in the creamy, tangy dressing and the result is out of this world delicious. We just couldn’t get enough of this salad and I know you’re going to love it too.
It’s perfect to take to a picnic or potluck and wonderful as a side dish for any occasion or holiday meal.
What Goes Into This Vegan Broccoli Salad Recipe:
Ingredient Notes
- Fresh raw broccoli – is the main attraction in this recipe and it doesn’t need to be cooked first. You can buy broccoli florets or cut them from a whole head of broccoli.
- Sun dried tomatoes – are our replacement for bacon in this salad. Broccoli salad typically contains bacon and we considered sun dried tomatoes to be a perfect replacement.
- Dried cranberries – can be swapped for raisins.
- Sunflower seeds – can be swapped for chopped nuts.
How To Make Vegan Broccoli Salad
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, vegan mayonnaise, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk together.
- Add broccoli florets, chopped red onion, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and sun dried tomatoes to a separate mixing bowl and toss together.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together until well mixed.
- Place the salad into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan broccoli salad makes the perfect side dish. It’s perfect served alongside BBQ Jackfruit Pulled Pork or Crispy Vegan Fried Chicken.
It’s also wonderful served with Vegan Kebabs or a Vegan Burger or Tofu Steak.
Chef’s Tips
Use a salad spinner to wash and dry the broccoli. It’s important that you dry the broccoli very well after washing it so that it doesn’t water down your dressing. The best way to do this is using a salad spinner.
Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces. You don’t want to cut them too small, but huge broccoli florets will also be hard to eat. So cut them into nice bite-sized pieces.
The salad must chill for at least an hour. Don’t cut down on its chill time! It needs at least an hour for the flavors to blend and for the dressing to really absorb into the broccoli for the best flavor and texture.
Make Ahead and Storing
This is the perfect make-ahead salad as the flavors really develop and get even better with a bit of time. So it’s ideal to make this ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to serve it.
Leftovers store very well in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.
More Delicious Vegan Salads
- Marinated Tofu Salad
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Avocado Corn Black Bean Salad
- Vegan Chicken Salad
- Vegan Egg Salad
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Vegan Mayonnaise (240g)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 8 cups Broccoli Florets (600g) Cut into bite-sized pieces
- ⅓ cup Red Onion Chopped
- ½ cup Dried Cranberries
- ¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
- ½ cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Chopped
Instructions
- Add apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, vegan mayonnaise, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk together.
- Add broccoli florets, chopped red onion, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and sun dried tomatoes to a separate mixing bowl and toss together.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together until well mixed.
- Place the salad into the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Use a salad spinner to wash and dry the broccoli. It’s important that you dry the broccoli very well after washing it so that it doesn’t water down your dressing. The best way to do this is using a salad spinner.
- Make ahead: This is the perfect make-ahead salad as the flavors really develop and get even better with a bit of time. So it’s ideal to make this ahead and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours until you’re ready to serve it.
- Storing: Leftovers store very well in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days.
Fabulous salad which guests and family alike love!
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Macca! Thanks so much for your great review!
This salad is amazing, like all your recipes if I am being honest. Last time I didn’t have enough broccoli, so I mixed broccoli with Brussel sprouts. Yum.
Awesome Eva! So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe!
Really enjoyed this tasty salad, on a bed of greens.
That’s great Phil! Thanks so much for your review!
This salad is awesome!! I am not a vegan but made this for a family gathering where we do have some vegans and vegetarians. Everyone loved it, and the sun dried tomatoes definitely were a hit! I have made the traditional broccoli salad with bacon for years but I think this is much better, and I liked how there is only a small amount of brown sugar in this vs a lot of sugar in my other recipe. This will replace my traditional recipe!
Yay Elise! So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thank you so much for your great review!
Awesome salad! Also such a great idea to have a method of keeping your phone from going dark while busy making the recipe.
I made it with roasted red grapes instead of the dried tomatoes. Great result.
Awesome idea!