Roasted Broccoli Salad
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This roasted broccoli salad has both roasted and raw broccoli, toasted almonds, sweet cranberries, and tiny pieces of tart lemon. It's delicious!
If you love broccoli salad recipes, also try our broccoli blueberry salad and our grilled broccoli caesar salad!
Table of contents
If you haven't had a roasted broccoli salad before, can you please promise you'll make this one tonight? We promise you that you won't regret it.
This beauty in a bowl here is what happens when broccoli salad, broccoli slaw, and crispy roasted broccoli all come together for a salad party like no other. You'll also find some crispy almonds, sweet cranberries, and tart little lemons slices in the mix just for some extra delicious fun times.
With each bite you take, you'll get a little bit of crunchiness, crispness, sweetness, and tanginess. What more could you possibly ask for?
Ingredients needed
- Broccoli – the star of the show gets cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed in olive oil and sea salt before a roast in the oven.
- Almonds – they get roasted alongside the broccoli so they're wonderfully fragrant.
- Cranberries – you could use raisins if you have them on hand. Or use your favorite dried fruit.
- Fresh dill – just a tablespoon brings so much fresh flavor to the salad.
- Lemon – sliced super thin and into tiny little pieces for the occasional, wonderfully bright pop of flavor.
- Lemony dressing – we make a dressing that is very similar to our popular lemon salad dressing and it just brings it all together.
About the lemon
We need to talk to you about the little lemon slices that are in here. They're so tiny that you might not think they would be of much use, but every time one finds its way onto your fork your mouth will explode with the most beautiful fresh lemony taste. They make the salad.
Or some of us think they make the salad. One of our taste testers asked for fewer lemon slices on his second helping, which didn't make any sense at all to the rest of us who fully believe that they were the best part of this roasted broccoli salad.
So here's the thing, we want to know your opinion. What do you think of the lemon slices in here?
Recipe FAQ
How long do the leftovers keep?
This is a salad that is perfect for meal prep as it still tastes great the next day! If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days. The texture will get a little bit soggy, but it still tastes delicious!
I'm all out of almonds, what can I use instead?
You can substitute another nut such as walnuts, pecans, cashews, or pine nuts.
Is this a good salad to take to a party?
Yes! If you're taking this to a party, put all the ingredients into your salad bowl and then mix the dressing in a mason jar. When you get to your party, add the dressing and wait for the compliments to roll in!
What can I add to turn this into a full meal?
All you need is some protein to turn this into a meal. We like to cook some meat and then slice it and put it on top of the salad as we do with our steak salad recipe. Try adding our baked chicken breasts, bourbon steak, or our 8-minute baked salmon!
You can also add some grains such as quinoa or wild rice. And some crispy cooked bacon is delicious and will make the salad more filling.
I love adding cheese to salads. What do you recommend?
We love cheese, too! This roasted broccoli salad tastes great with some feta cheese, goat cheese, or parmesan.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
In a pinch! Frozen broccoli gets soggy when it's thawed, so you'll definitely want to skip adding some to the salad raw. Instead, roast the frozen broccoli, adding at least 5 minutes to the baking time as it tends to take longer than raw broccoli to cook.
More delicious salads
- Cauliflower Salad with Avocado Pesto Dressing
- Asian Coleslaw with Orange Sesame Dressing
- Classic Broccoli Coleslaw with Lemon Buttermilk Dressing
- Grilled Peach Salad with Curry Pecans and Honey Vinaigrette
Roasted Broccoli Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup almonds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 4 very thin slices of lemon (each cut into 8 tiny triangles (whatever you change about this recipe make sure you don't leave out the lemon slices. They're the best part!))
The lemony dressing
- ¼ cup lemon juice (fresh is best!)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey (sub maple syrup for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic (grated on a Microplane or very finely minced)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to broil. Place oven rack on the second to top shelf. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roughly chop the broccoli, making sure to include the sweet broccoli stems. You should have around 9 cups. Place 2 cups of broccoli in a large bowl and the rest on the baking sheet. Drizzle the broccoli on the baking sheet with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Mix it around so that all of the broccoli is coated with oil. Pop it in your oven and let it roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the florets are dark brown. Remove them from the oven and put them in the bowl with the raw broccoli.2 heads broccoli, 2 teaspoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Put the almonds in a small baking dish and roast them in the oven along with the broccoli until they are fragrant and light brown, about 8 minutes. Remove them from the oven and roughly chop them once they are cool enough to handle. Add the chopped almonds, cranberries, dill and lemon slices to the bowl with the broccoli.½ cup almonds, ¼ cup dried cranberries, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, 4 very thin slices of lemon
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour it over the broccoli and toss to coat.¼ cup lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Serve immediately, or let it stand for up to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our salad recipes and our broccoli recipes!
