Amish Broccoli Salad

This easy Amish broccoli salad recipe (complete with a creamy dressing) is a simple and delicious side dish that’s perfect for family gatherings, potlucks, and summer cookouts. Crisp broccoli, cauliflower, and red onion, tangy mayo and sour cream, a little bacon, and shredded cheese create an incredibly flavorful salad everyone will love!

What Makes This Salad So Good

• It’s great for reunions, holidays, potlucks, summer cookouts, or any time you just need to feed a lot of people. You can easily double or triple the recipe without much extra effort.
• This recipe uses raw vegetables, so there’s absolutely no cooking involved! Just a little chopping, then some mixing, followed by some chilling – and that last step’s optional.
• Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days, which makes this a terrific make-ahead or meal prep option!

Key Ingredients

Bacon – A lot of people are in the “bacon doesn’t need to be in everything” camp, and I hear you! BUT, I promise, it really adds an extra layer of flavor in this salad! The savory bacon is especially delicious with the tangy and slightly sweet dressing.

Shredded Cheese – We’re using cheddar cheese in this recipe, but you can use any kind of shredded cheese you like! Cheddar jack and parmesan are both solid options that go well with the other flavors in this Amish broccoli salad. Feta and goat cheese would also be great!

Chef’s Tips

• This recipe is fully customizable. If you like really creamy vegetables, feel free to add more mayo and sour cream. Likewise, you can cut back on the dressing ingredients and the raw veggies will shine through. Use any kind of cheese you like. Add nuts, seeds, raisins, bell pepper, or cranberries.
• If you’re making this more than a few hours in advance, store the bacon separately from the rest of the salad and fold it in just before serving.
• Not big on sour cream? Try the same amount of full-fat Greek yogurt instead. The flavor will be a little different but still great!
• Use fresh broccoli and cauliflower – not frozen – to get the brightest flavors and the crispest textures. Frozen vegetables just won’t work the same.
• As amazing as it is right away, Amish broccoli salad gets even better after a little time in the refrigerator. If you can, factor in 2 hours of chill time before serving, to let the veggies really soak up the dressing.

Other Salad Recipes We Love

• Deviled Egg Salad
• Ham Salad
• Guacamole Salad
• White Bean Salad
• Paleo Chinese Chicken Salad (Whole30)
• Perfect Pea Salad
• Chef Salad