Fresh Broccoli Salad with Lemon
The slightly sweet flavor of this salad's dressing is a great contrast to the rich bacon. You can substitute cauliflower for the broccoli if you prefer. —Janet Roth, Tempe, Arizona
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 14 cups small broccoli florets (about 2-1/4 pounds)
- 12 ounces fresh mushrooms, stems removed, chopped
- 16 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup chopped red onion
- Lemon wedges, optional
Reviews
This was a pretty good broccoli salad! When I first made it, I dished it out immediately (didn't have time to chill it). After sitting in the fridge for a day, I tried it again and I have to say it tastes even better! I would suggest that if you are going to do that though, you keep the bacon separate, and put it in right before you eat it (so the bacon stays crispy!). I cut the whole thing into 1/4, worked perfectly fine. I also used low sugar craisins instead of raisins and omitted the mushrooms. I believe the only thing I would have liked to add to it would be some cheddar cheese (again, put it in right before being eaten so it doesn't get soggy). This is a solid recipe that I'll probably modify a bit more to suit our tastes.
It was a nice taste change form other broccoli salads, but though it was just average.
My husband and I loved this salad. We did substitute dried cranberries for the raisins. We plan on using the sauce for other dishes. It was perfect for our family reunion picnic.
I made this for a potluck and got rave reviews! I've made other broccoli salads before, but the addition of mushrooms and cream cheese in the dressing bumped this one ahead of the others for me. I used regular mayonnaise instead of reduced-fat, and I used an immersion blender to combine the dressing ingredients.The amount of dressing was perfect for the amount of dry ingredients, but since my largest bowl was barely big enough, I mixed the ingredients and dressing together in smaller batches first, which coated everything evenly. You will need a pretty large bowl for this one!
I have made similar recipes of this broccoli salad. I liked this recipe's addition of mushrooms and lemon, but I did not care for the mustard.
I have several recipes for this type of salad, but I like the addition of mushrooms (extra fiber) and lemon juice. I did not have cream cheese so subbed extra mayo (regular mayo instead of reduced-fat; reduced-fat mayo has a "sweet" taste and I felt regular mayo would counteract that). The salad seemed "dry" so I made a mini batch of dressing and after it was folded in, the salad tasted great. This recipe is right up there with the others, possibly better!
Enjoyed this dish