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Home » All Recipes » Low Carb Recipes » Low Carb Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

Low Carb Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

November 13, 2020 By Louise 6 Comments

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Broccoli Cauliflower salad in a white bowl

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad is one of the easiest side dishes to make and this version is LOW CARB! YAY! It's also one of those side dishes that are better the next day or even the day after that, so it's definitely a make-ahead kind of recipe.

Broccoli Cauliflower salad in a white bowl

I used to make a version of this salad all the time for my residents at the assisted living I owned when I had some leftover broccoli that I needed to use up, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a lower carb version.

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Jeff and I both LOVED it! We seriously couldn't tell it wasn't made with real sugar and I'm not usually one that likes the flavor of any artificial sweeteners in food. There always seems to be a weird aftertaste, but not this time!

Of course, I didn't write the recipe down because I wasn't planning on it ending up here. I should really know better by now! Anyway, I made it a few more times, wrote everything down and now I can share it with you!

Can I Make this Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad Keto?

Yes! I decided I really liked the sweet flavor of the Craisins®, even though they do add to the sugar/carb counts, but you can omit them!

Or, try drying your own cranberries with some artificial sugar and see how that goes. I think I'll give that a try next time!

The only two ingredients in this recipe that aren't considered keto are the onions and the Craisins®, so omit them or substitute them for something more keto-friendly and you have a nice Keto Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad!

How Long will this Last in the Refrigerator?

This salad is even better 1-3 days after you make it, but, after the 3rd day, I did notice it getting a little watery.

It will last 5-7 days, as long as your vegetables are fresh when you make it, but you might need to drain off some liquid and add a little more mayo to get it back to that creamy texture.

This salad won't freeze well, so I don't recommend trying that. If you don't think you will eat it all, you can easily cut back to half of a batch by cutting all the ingredients in half.

If you end up liking it as much as Jeff and I did, it won't last longer than 3 days! We found ourselves eating it as a little afternoon snack as well as a side dish for our lunch or dinner. It's that yummy!

Can I Make a Vegetarian version of Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad?

Absolutely! Simply omit the bacon and, if you want a little smokey flavor, you can add in a drop of liquid smoke.

You can also cut out the egg and bacon, and use a vegan mayo if you want to make a vegan version.

There are no rules with this salad, you can omit or add anything you like, so it turns out exactly the way you want it to.

Can I use Real Sugar or an Artificial Sweetener of my Choice?

Yes, absolutely. This recipe works great with using real sugar and you would add ¼ cup of white sugar in place of the Swerve I use.

As far as other artificial Sweeteners go, look on the package directions to see what the equivalent is compared to regular sugar. Swerve is a 1:1 conversion which makes it really easy, but not all artificial sweeteners are.

If you aren't sure how much to add, start out with just a teaspoon or two and taste the dressing. You can always add more before mixing the dressing with the broccoli & cauliflower salad.

Other Low Carb Recipes You Might Enjoy

Although my website doesn't exactly reflect this, Jeff and I try to eat as low carb as possible. I often take my favorite full carb recipes and turn them into a lower carb version and some of them have made it on my website.

Keto Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

Healthy Chicken Corn Chowder

Low Carb Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Guilt Free Shrimp Alfredo

Cauliflower Arancini Balls

Low Carb Salmon Patties

  • bowl of broccoli and cheese soup with shredded cheddar on top
    Broccoli & Cheese Soup
  • Southwest Turkey Burgers on a cooling rack next to a salad with a dressing and sliced lime
    Southwestern Turkey Burgers
  • bowl of chicken corn chowder
    Healthy Chicken Corn Chowder
  • pesto stuffed pork tenderloin cu
    Pesto Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
  • shrimp alfredo on a plate
    Guilt-Free Shrimp Alfredo
  • Cauliflower Arancini balls on a plate with marinara
    Low Carb Arancini Balls
  • Salmon Patty on a salad with a bit of tarragon mayo and a lemon wedge

How to Make Low Carb Cauliflower & Broccoli Salad

You will want to cook your bacon until it is crispy and let it sit on paper towels to drain the grease.

The BEST bacon cooking appliance that I have is the Ninja Foodi XL grill. It's unreal how evenly and fast the bacon cooks. I set it on 360℉/180℃ for 12 minutes and it was perfect. Keep in mind that I'm using thick cut bacon, so if you are using a thinner bacon, you will not have to cook the entire 12 minutes.

crispy bacon on a plate

You will also want to hard boil 2 large eggs. I use the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Crisper for this and they peel so nicely! I pressure cook with 2 cups of water on high for 4 minutes, with a natural release of 5-6 minutes and then put them in an ice bath until I am ready to peel them.

Prep the broccoli and cauliflower by cutting the florets into small, bite size pieces. We don't cook the vegetables in this recipe, so you don't want the sizes too big or the salad is hard to eat.

showing small size of broccoli florets

Dice the red onion (if using) into about ¼" dice.

Add the small broccoli & cauliflower florets, the diced onion, and craisins/dried cranberries to a large mixing bowl.

broccoli, cauliflower, onion, craisins in mixing bowl

Peel and chop your eggs and add to the bowl. Crumble the bacon and add to the bowl. The bacon does add flavor to the salad when added before you chill it, but it does get softer. If you want really crispy bacon, add it just before serving.

adding eggs and bacon to mixing bowl

Next, mix up the dressing by combining the mayo, apple cider vinegar, and Swerve or sugar and whisk to combine.

mixing up the dressing for the broccoli cauliflower salad

Pour the dressing over the broccoli & cauliflower salad and toss to combine. You can also add a few Tablespoons of sunflower seeds or even some chopped nuts if desired. Sometimes I add some diced fresh tomatoes.

Cover & refrigerate for at least an hour, but it is better when chilled overnight.

mixing the dressing with the broccoli cauliflower salad and covering to chill

Serve & Enjoy!

broccoli cauliflower salad in a small bowl with a fork
Nutritional values are provided as a courtesy and thesaltedpepper.com makes no guarantees of accuracy. We do our best to ensure they are accurate, but many factors influence nutritional values that are beyond our control. Different brands of items have different nutritional values, so it is always best to do your own independent nutritional analysis based on the items you are using in a recipe if you require a high level of accuracy. Thesaltedpepper.com will not be held accountable for any errors in the displayed nutritional information.
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Low Carb Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

Recipe by The Salted PepperFollow us on Pinterest!
Easy & Delicious cold salad that is low carb and perfect for any occasion.
Prep Time30 mins
Chilling time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 30 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Broccoli Salad
Servings: 8
Calories: 275kcal
Author: Louise

Ingredients

  • 3 strips apple wood smoked bacon Thick Cut
  • 2 large eggs hardboiled
  • 3 cups broccoli florets
  • 2 cup cauliflower florets
  • ¼ cup red onion diced
  • ¼ cup Craisins/dried cranberries

Salad Dressing

  • 1 cup Mayonaise
  • 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Swerve white sugar replacement
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Cook the bacon until it is crispy and let drain on paper towels. Hard Boil 2 eggs and let them sit in an ice bath until you are ready to use them or keep them cold in the refrigerator.
  • Cut the broccoli and cauliflower florets into small, bite size pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. Dice onion into about ¼" dice and add to bowl. Add craisins.
  • Peel & chop the eggs and add to mixing bowl. Crumble bacon and add to mixing bowl. *If you want the bacon to stay crispy, add it just before serving.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, and Swerve sugar replacement. Pour over broccoli & cauliflower salad and fold to combine.
  • Cover & refrigerate at least 1 hour, but overnight is preferred.
  • Serve & Enjoy!

Video

https://youtu.be/vlUZv14DR9Q

Notes

Carb Counts: While Swerve has a carb count of 5.75 carbs per serving in this recipe, the net carbs are zero because Swerve does not affect blood sugar like some other artificial sweeteners and sugar. The carb count has been removed from the nutritional information and the remaining carbohydrates are broken down below. 
Broccoli: 2.25 carbs per serving
Cauliflower: 1.25 carbs per serving
Red Onion: 0.25 carbs per serving
Craisins/dried cranberries: 3 carbs per serving
Swerve: 0 net carbs per serving
Total carb count per serving: 7 grams
 
 
Nutritional values are provided as a courtesy and thesaltedpepper.com makes no guarantees of accuracy. We do our best to ensure they are accurate, but many factors influence nutritional values that are beyond our control. Different brands of items have different nutritional values, so it is always best to do your own independent nutritional analysis based on the items you are using in a recipe if you require a high level of accuracy. Thesaltedpepper.com will not be held accountable for any errors in the displayed nutritional information.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 269mg | Potassium: 229mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

ABOUT THE RECIPE AUTHOR, LOUISE LONG

Louise is a full-time recipe creator and food blogger @ The Salted Pepper. She has over 30 years of experience with cooking and recipe development. She owned a restaurant for several years and was a full-time RN until retiring to blog full-time.

The Salted Pepper

Louise has several very active Facebook groups that help people with the basics of cooking and getting the most out of the Ninja Foodi.

Ninja Foodi 101

Ninja Foodi Fresh & Healthy Meals

Simply Cooking with Louise

Seeing the need for easy, delicious, and high quality recipes, she is focusing all of her efforts creating recipes specifically for the Ninja Foodi. Her recipes are easy for the home cook to follow and provide step-by-step instructions.

Louise is also a YouTube creator and you can find most of her recipes in video format on The Salted Pepper YouTube channel.

She is very responsive to messages and eager to help in any way she can.

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE COOKING UP IN YOUR NINJA FOODI! TAG ME @THESALTEDPEPPER ON YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WHEN YOU MAKE A DISH!

BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE SALTED PEPPER RIGHT HERE ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becki

    December 01, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    5 stars
    I made this today and did a taste test about an hour after refrigerating. It is absolutely the best I've ever eaten. This will be my go to broccoli salad from now on. Thank you for this and all your recipes. Who knew adding cauliflower would make that much difference.

    Reply
    • Louise

      December 01, 2020 at 10:03 pm

      I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Kim Ortiz

    November 18, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    5 stars
    Tried this today as a 'taste test' for Thanksgivng and its wonderful! It will be on our table. Waiting to hear if we can use Greek yoga instead of mayo. If we don't hear I'll try it and let you know!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Louise

      November 18, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      I haven't tried it with Greek yogurt yet, but it should work. It would be a different flavor, but it will work. I am so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  3. Robin L Ford

    November 15, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    5 stars
    Hey Louise,
    Can you sub low cal plain yogurt for the mayo? Can you add anything else so it taste more like mayo?

    Reply
    • Louise

      November 15, 2020 at 6:08 pm

      I'm thinking you could use the yogurt, I would probably use Greek yogurt because it's nice and thick. I'm not sure how to make it taste more like mayo though. Let me know if you figure something out.

      Reply

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