Home > Salads > Lemon Poppyseed Broccoli Salad Lemon Poppyseed Broccoli Salad January 22, 2016 | 42 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. A delicious, simple, and quick lemon poppyseed broccoli salad. Broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced almonds with a delicious creamy lemon poppyseed dressing. This salad has accompanied dinner every single night this week. It’s THAT good. Coupled with the fact that I bought enough broccoli to feed a small army. You know, when it goes on sale, you gotta stock up right?! Each night I’ve made slight adjustments and am so excited about the salad! It’s has quickly become a favorite in my home. It’s not quite summer yet (okay we’re in the throes of a FREEZING winter), but I’m telling you now, you are going to want this recipe come summer potluck and BBQ time! It’s perfect for any dinner party that you need to bring a crowd-pleasing salad too, but summer this recipe may just become your go-to salad! The dressing is pretty close to your traditional broccoli salad — mayo, vinegar, and some sugar. I decided to put a little bit of freshness by adding the lemon. It is not overpoweringly lemon at all. In fact, it’s barely a hint of lemon with only 1 tablespoon in the whole dressing. That’s the most I could add without it getting too watery. To enhance that lemon just a bit more, I added some finely grated zest. I also played around with the vinegars added and red wine vinegar was the winner! It’s delicious with the lemon and mayo. And finally, the sugar. You can definitely increase or decrease the sugar based on personal preference. From a google search I saw some salads call for an entire 1/2 cup ?. This dressing only calls for 2 tablespoons, so if you want a super sweet salad, increase it from there! And if you want the dressing to really stick to the salad, make sure to use full-fat mayo. That and, make sure the broccoli is WELL dried. Otherwise it makes the whole salad kind of blahh. More potluck salads Greek Tortellini Salad with a Greek-inspired vinaigrette Corn Salad with a lime vinaigrette Macaroni Coleslaw Salad summer potluck mash-up salad! Grape Salad dessert “salad” with creamy grapes and pecans Orzo Pasta Salad with a lemon vinaigrette FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Lemon Poppyseed Broccoli Salad 5 from 8 votes - Review this recipe A delicious, simple, and quick lemon poppyseed broccoli salad. Broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced almonds with a delicious creamy lemon poppyseed dressing. SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Lemon Poppyseed Broccoli Salad 5 from 8 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe A delicious, simple, and quick lemon poppyseed broccoli salad. Broccoli, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced almonds with a delicious creamy lemon poppyseed dressing. Prep Time 15 minutes Total Time 15 minutes Servings 6 -8 as a side Author Chelsea IngredientsSalad4-1/2 to 5 cups (317g) chopped broccoli (~4 florets)3/4 cup (95g) dried cranberries1/2 cup (45g) sliced almonds1/2 cup (65g) roasted and salted sunflower seeds1 cup (123g) sharp cheddar cheeseDressing1 cup (201g) full-fat mayo1 tablespoon red wine vinegar2-4 tablespoons sugar depending on sweetness preference1 large lemon 1/2 tablespoon zest, 1 tablespoon juice1/2 tablespoon poppyseeds InstructionsRemove the stems from the broccoli and cut into very small pieces. IF you want to blanch the broccoli follow the next few steps. If you're short on time or don't mind raw broccoli you can skip blanching. Fill up a bowl with very cold water and a few cupfuls of ice. Bring a pot of water to boiling point. Add in a heaping tablespoon of salt.Pour the broccoli into the boiling water and count to 30. As soon as you get to 30 drain the broccoli and pour the broccoli into your prepared ice/water bath.Allow the broccoli to sit in the cold water until completely cooled. Then remove with a slotted spoon to a salad spinner or bowl.Make sure the broccoli is 100% dried before tossing it with anything else (especially the dressing). I like to use a salad spinner and then let it sit out for a while. If it's any bit wet, it becomes too watery.Add the cranberries, almonds (toast if desired), sunflower seeds, and sharp cheddar cheese (that has been cut into very small cubes) to the bowl with the broccoli.In a bowl, whisk together the mayo, red wine vinegar, sugar, zest of one lemon, and about 1 tablespoon lemon juice.Add some salt and pepper, taste, and add more sugar (1-2 more tablespoons) or lemon to personal preference (not too much lemon or the dressing becomes too watery)Whisk in the poppyseeds.Toss the dressing with the salad and place in the fridge to marinate for 15-30 minutes.Toss again and enjoy! Video DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
Oh goodness, it’s been freezing here too but that never stops me from enjoying a good salad! This one is gorgeous, Chelsea! I love the broccoli and cranberry combo! Reply
My deliciousness…. GET IN MY MOUTH NOW! This looks so good I can’t even contain myself. Love how colorful and full this salad is. Seriously, I love everything that you put in this and I love their flavors put together. Killing in 🙂 Reply
Wow… what a beautiful and flavourful salad, Chelsea. I also love the dressing. It is super simple to make 😉 Reply
Your tips for making this salad are so useful. I never get my salad quite dry enough, and wonder what went wrong. This salad is so gorgeous!! Reply
I tried this with pignoli’s and jack cheese which I already had in my refrigerator and it worked great. Reply
What a beautiful salad! I love adding dried cranberries to my salad and love the combo going on here! Reply
Wow this broccoli salad looks AMAZING!!! I love the colours and the flavours sound so delicious! I could totally eat that whole bowl right now!! Reply
That salad looks like Spring! And I’m sure ready for Spring…this will be on my menu this week, for sure. Thank you. P.S. I’m giving it 5 stars even though I have tasted it, yet. I just know it will be worthy. Reply
Oh my word, this looks absolutely delicious! I LOVE traditional broccoli salad, but I definitely need to give this a try! Maybe for Easter dinner? 🙂 Reply
Can this be made the night before?? I’m hoping so, maybe I’ll chop everything and add the dressing in the morning. Reply
Absolutely can be prepped ahead! Just make sure to add the dressing before serving and not too early 🙂 Reply
I am definitely going to try this for my kids, very soon, this looks so yummy and so beautiful! Reply
Can’t wait to try this salad! Two questions: what kind of onion did you omit and with the dressing already mixed how many days will it keep? Thank you Reply
There isn’t onion in this recipe, but the recipe that inspired this one did have red onion! This one is quite different so I’m not sure how onion would taste in it. And I don’t like this recipe sitting with the dressing after one day, but that’s personal preference 🙂 Reply
I just made this salad for a Father’s Day BBQ. I have to say, I have made a lot of variations of Broccoli Salad and this was by far the best. The lemon gives it such a refreshing flavor! The only change I made was adding about 10 strips of crumbled crispy bacon… because BACON! 😀 Thanks for such a great recipe! Reply
Oh, this makes my day!! I’m so thrilled to hear this one was the best! 🙂 And YUM on the bacon addition! Thanks Diane! Reply
I absolutely despise mayonnaise, so instead I used plain yogurt for the dressing. Huge hit at my work potluck. I always consider it a successful dish when I don’t get to bring any home! Reply
That’s great!! And so happy that there wasn’t any to bring home 🙂 Thanks for the comment Nicholas! Reply
Made this last night for a small family get together, everyone loved it! My husband had thirds! And two people wanted the recipe. Also I was asked to bring it to our big family bbq next month. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks! Reply
I made this today and it’s totally a pin(terest) win! I made a couple small tweaks…I added 1/2 tsp lemon extract and toasted the almonds. Loved it!! Reply
