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This broccoli grape salad is loaded with flavors and textures thanks to tender pasta, fresh veggies, juicy grapes, smoky bacon, and crunchy almonds all tossed together in a creamy dressing. It’s a perfect side dish for weeknight dinners, picnics, potlucks, and holiday tables!
Table of Contents
If you love broccoli salad recipes as much as we do, try this broccoli cauliflower salad, a broccoli salad with bacon, and this marinated vegetable salad, too!
Why You’ll Love this Broccoli Grape Salad
- Easy. If you can boil water, then you can make this dish! Once the pasta is cooked, you simply stir everything together. You even eat the broccoli raw in the salad! It adds great crunch and softens a bit in the dressing.
- Make Ahead. Whether you’re prepping in advance for a busy holiday meal (like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter!) or just trying to get a weeknight dinner on the table quickly, this salad is a great make-ahead side dish to eliminate last-minute stress.
- Delicious. The variety of flavors and textures in this salad makes it unbelievably good. You have salty, sweet, tangy, crunchy, and tender ingredients to satisfy every craving.
Broccoli Grape Salad Dressing
Like many other pasta salad recipes, this creamy broccoli grape salad comes together with a simple mayonnaise-based dressing. Not only is it creamy, but it’s also sweet from sugar and tangy from apple cider vinegar.
We love the combination of the sweet dressing with the salty, smoky bacon and savory veggies, but you can make it less-sweet by adjusting the amount of sugar that you use. For instance, cut the sugar back to ¼ cup (or even less) to suit your preferences.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a broccoli and grape salad. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Pasta: I used mini wheels (“rotelle”) here, but any similar short pasta shape will work. Try elbow macaroni, ditalini, penne, medium shells, farfalle, or rotini, too.
- Broccoli: no need to parboil or cook the broccoli before adding it to the salad raw. It provides a nice crunchy texture and softens slightly in the dressing.
- Green onions: provide a mild onion flavor.
- Celery: for savory crunch.
- Red seedless grapes: add sweet, juicy flavor.
- Mayonnaise: I prefer Duke’s brand mayo for the creamy base of the dressing. You can use light mayo or Miracle Whip as well. If using Miracle Whip, you’ll probably want to decrease the amount of sugar in the dressing, since Miracle Whip has a sweeter flavor than mayo.
- Sugar: for sweetness in the dressing.
- Apple cider vinegar: creates a tangy dressing.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Nuts: I like slivered almonds or chopped pecans here. Toast them for rich flavor and great crunch.
- Bacon: cooked until crispy, the bacon adds a great smoky, salty flavor to the sweet, fresh salad.
How to Cut Broccoli for a Salad
Before you assemble the salad, you’ll need to cut the raw broccoli florets into small pieces. To do so, hold the vegetable by the stem in one hand and carefully use a knife to make downward cuts on the outer edges, separating the florets from the thick center stem, leaving about 1″ of the smaller stem intact. This part of the stem is edible, tender, and delicious. Gradually work your way into the deeper parts of the crown.
Once you have the larger florets separated from the big stalk, some of the florets might need to be cut into smaller bite-size pieces. To do so, use a paring knife to carefully make a vertical slit in the small stem of a floret (do not actually cut through the top of the floret). Then pull the floret apart with your fingers along the cut line. Ta-da! Smaller pieces that are perfect for your salad — without a shredded mess on the cutting board.
How to Make Broccoli Salad with Grapes
This simple broccoli grape salad comes together easily and can be prepared in advance for a convenient side dish that just gets better as it sits! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Cook the pasta.
- Combine the cooled pasta, broccoli, green onions, celery, and grapes in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the dressing in a medium bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and stir to combine.
- Cover and chill for about 1 hour.
- Stir in the bacon and almonds just before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This versatile side dish pairs well with almost any entree — whether you’re serving a Thanksgiving turkey or grilling burgers at a cookout! Here are some ideas to serve with broccoli salad:
- Chicken (like Fried Chicken, Grilled BBQ Chicken, Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs, Cider Dijon Roasted Chicken, Pecan-Crusted Chicken, Rosemary Oven Roasted Chicken, Crispy Roast Chicken with Vegetables, and Roasted Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Herbs)
- Pork (like Dutch Oven Pork Roast with Gravy, Pork Sirloin Roast, Pineapple Glazed Ham, Bourbon-Glazed Ham, Baked Ham with Apricot Glaze, Garlic and Rosemary Baked Pork Tenderloin, Coca-Cola Pork Chops, Oven Roasted Pork Loin with Applesauce Glaze, and Cajun Pork Chops)
- Turkey (like Smoked Turkey Breast, Maple-Glazed Roasted Turkey Breast, Crock Pot Turkey Tenderloin, and Slow Cooker Turkey Breast)
- Beef (try Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Grilled New York Strip Steak, Dutch Oven Pot Roast, London Broil, Southern Meatloaf, Grilled Hamburgers, and Cast Iron Skillet Filet Mignon)
Preparation and Storage Tips
This salad gets better as it chills, so prepare the dish at least 1-2 hours ahead (or the day before). Cover and refrigerate so that the ingredients can absorb the dressing and soften a bit.
How to Store: Keep the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing this salad since the creamy dressing will likely “break” when thawed. The vegetables will also have a watery, soggy texture if frozen and thawed.
Recipe Variations
- We love the combination of the sweet dressing with the salty, smoky bacon and savory veggies, but you can make it less-sweet by adjusting the amount of sugar that you use. For instance, cut the sugar back to ¼ cup (or even less) to suit your preferences.
- Just about any short pasta shape will work. I’ve shown mini wheels here, but you can try farfalle, rotini, penne, elbows, ditalini, or medium shells, too.
- Green onions offer a mild flavor, but you can sub with red onion for a more zesty bite.
- Replace some of the mayo with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for a tangier dressing.
- Instead of grapes, make the broccoli salad with raisins or dried cranberries.
- Add cheese to the salad, such as crumbled feta cheese, crumbled blue cheese, or cubed sharp cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese.
- I typically use apple cider vinegar in this homemade dressing, but you can also feel free to use red wine vinegar, basic white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar if that’s what you have on hand.
- Instead of almonds, use chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, pine nuts, or toasted sunflower seeds.
- Turn it into a main dish salad by replacing some of the broccoli with chicken.
Tips for the Best Broccoli Grape Salad Recipe
- Toast the nuts in a dry skillet over low heat until fragrant and lightly browned. If it’s easier, you can also toast the nuts in the microwave for about 2 minutes total, stirring halfway through. Keep a close eye on the nuts so that they don’t burn.
- Stir the nuts and the bacon into the salad just before serving so that they don’t get soggy by sitting in the dressing for too long.
- Do not cook the broccoli before making the salad. The creamy dressing helps to tenderize the vegetables as the salad sits and the dressing soaks into the ingredients. That’s why this delicious salad is even better when made ahead or as leftovers the next day.
- Do not use frozen and thawed broccoli in this recipe. The thawed frozen vegetables will not stay crisp and firm in the dressing but instead will get soggy. Raw, fresh vegetables are the way to go!
More Salad Recipes to Try
Southern Macaroni Salad
2 hours hrs 28 minutes mins
Classic Pasta Salad
20 minutes mins
English Pea Salad
3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Broccoli Grape Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups uncooked short pasta (such as wheels, rotini, penne, elbows, or farfalle)
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 1 crown), chopped into bite-size pieces
- 4 green onions (green parts only), sliced
- ½ cup diced celery (about 1 large stalk)
- 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's brand)
- ⅓ cup sugar (or reduce to ¼ cup for a less-sweet dressing)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup slivered almonds or chopped pecans, toasted
- 8 slices bacon (about ½ lb.), cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Boil the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water until the pasta is cool. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled pasta, broccoli, green onions, celery, and grapes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the mayonnaise dressing over the broccoli mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve.
- Stir in the almonds and the bacon just before serving.
Notes
- Toast the nuts in a dry skillet over low heat until fragrant and lightly browned. If it’s easier, you can also toast the nuts in the microwave for about 2 minutes total, stirring halfway through. Keep a close eye on the nuts so that they don’t burn.
- Stir the nuts and the bacon into the salad just before serving so that they don’t get soggy by sitting in the dressing for too long.
- Do not cook the broccoli before making the salad. The delicious flavors in this salad come from the raw, simple ingredients — all uncooked. The creamy dressing really helps to tenderize the vegetables as the salad sits and the dressing soaks into the ingredients. That’s why this delicious salad is even better when made ahead or as leftovers the next day!
- Do not use frozen and thawed broccoli in this recipe. The thawed frozen vegetables will not stay crisp and firm in the dressing but instead will get soggy. Raw, fresh vegetables are the way to go!
- Recipe inspired by Southern Living magazine.
