Roasted Broccoli Salad with Blueberries, Bacon & Pecans
This deliciously Tangy Roasted Broccoli Salad is dotted with fresh or frozen blueberries, bacon, and pecans. It's the perfect healthy winter salad recipe. You will LOVE it!
I've been holding out on this recipe for a while. It's not that I don't love you all and want you to have all the good recipes. I do! It's just that I thought this one would be perfect for all things pink day coming up next week.
Seriously, how is it almost Valentine's Day already?
Also, do you have any big V-Day plans? I can't decide whether my handsome man and I should join the throngs of people eating at all the fancy restaurants or if we should stay at home and eat all the Molten Lava Chocolate Cakes. (BTW I have you tried those yet? #todiefor)
If we stay home we should prob start with this Roasted Broccoli Salad. You know, veggies first. (omg I've turned into such a mom.)
Seriously though, this salad isn't just the prettiest color ever, it's super delicious, too.
If you're looking at these pictures and thinking, “This salad looks familiar” then you must follow me on Instagram. Or you follow the Whole30 Recipes account. When I was doing a takeover of their Facebook and Instagram accounts back in November, I shared this recipe.
Since I originally posted it I tweaked the dressing recipe a little. To make it a little less heavy, I swapped some of the mayo for yogurt. I like it better this way. The only problem is that the swap makes it not Whole30 Compliant. If you're doing The Whole30 Program, make sure you stick to the original recipe. (To make it easy I've made notes in the recipe for you.)
This Roasted Broccoli Salad of my Dreams
There are so many good things going on in this salad that it's hard not to fall in love with it. It's loaded with crispy bacon and toasted pecans, which makes it all things awesome right there.
Then there are the blueberries. Don't you just love blueberries? I've used frozen blueberries since it's not blueberry season. I know it sounds a little strange, but it totally works. You can add them frozen straight to the salad and they'll thaw before you serve it. They are a little bit soft, which is perfect in this salad.
There's tons of broccoli in here, too. (A roasted broccoli salad with tons of broccoli, go figure. Ha!) But it's true, there is. Three whole heads of it, to be precise. You roast more than half of it until it's crispy and has an almost nutty flavor. It's so delicious.
Then there's the dressing that brings it all together. It's a simple creamy vinaigrette that has the perfect amount of tang to it. You're going to love it!
If you love this Tangy Roasted Broccoli Salad with Blueberries, Bacon, and Pecans as much as I do, make sure you give it a 5-star review in the comments below!
Tangy Roasted Broccoli Salad with Blueberries, Bacon, and Pecans
Ingredients
- 3 heads of broccoli, chopped
- 1 lb. bacon, sliced into 1-inch chunks
- 1 ¼ cups toasted pecans, chopped
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
The Dressing
- ½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt, see notes
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon each: salt and pepper
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic clove, very finely minced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place a little over half the broccoli on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Roast for 20 minutes, or until it starts to brown. (You can toast your pecans for 6-7 minutes at this time, too.)
- Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crispy then set aside to cool.1 lb. bacon
- Add all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt, ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon each: salt and pepper, Zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 small garlic clove
- Add the roasted and raw broccoli to a salad bowl. Add the bacon, pecans, blueberries, and red onion and top with the dressing. Toss well and dig in!1 ¼ cups toasted pecans, 2 cups frozen blueberries, ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
I’m giving this 2 stars because I used fresh versus frozen blueberries. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a tee. The flavors are indistinguishable and I pretty much taste only one flavor and it’s not too good. If I were to design this recipe, I would not roast the broccoli at all. Maybe parboil it to make it less raw, but the roasted flavor (which I normally love) combined with toasted pecans & smokey bacon is just too heavy.
I’m sorry to hear that it wasn’t a hit for you.
I never would have thought to put frozen blueberries in here! I’ll try it again once I see fresh ones in season. Really tasty!
Fresh ones are so good too!!
Amazing! I roasted all of the broccoli because I’m not a fan of raw, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The dressing alone is wonderful, and then the addition of some of my favorite ingredients that I never would have put together. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! Hooray!!
Hi Kristen!
I am making this dish for a neighborhood gathering tonite. Should I wait to toss all the ingredients together at the last minute or will it hold up in the fridge for a couple of hours?
ps. I made the dressing this am -it’s delicious!!
I would have everything ready to go and then toss it just before you serve it. It does hold up reasonably well, but it’s best when fresh. 🙂
When I make , I willlove it! Anything I’ve tried from you, we’ve loved!!
Awww thank you so much! That makes me really happy to hear!