This creamy, savory, crunchy, and delicious Vegan Broccoli Salad with Dried Cherries is the perfect potluck dish!
Before sharing the recipe for this easy Vegan Broccoli Salad with almonds and dried cherries, I have a confession to make. I grew up hating raw broccoli. I just couldn't do it.
I loved cooked broccoli, but there was just something that I didn't like about raw broccoli.
Luckily my palate has evolved over the years, I know I love raw broccoli. In fact lately, I can't get enough broccoli—especially raw broccoli!
My family makes a very traditional broccoli salad, but I wanted to put my own vegan spin on the salad.
how to make this Vegan Broccoli Salad with Dried Cherries
The base of the salad starts with raw broccoli—no surprise there! I like to finely chop the florets.
You don't want to use the stems for this salad. I like to save the broccoli stems and make a broccoli slaw or chop them up and add to a stir-fry.
For a salty addition, roasted and salted almonds get added to the broccoli. The almonds add a really nice crunch to the salad.
I'm obessed with dried cherries and add them to pretty much everything. So it's not surprise that I added them to this broccoli salad.
I always have a bag of Michigan dried cherries in the pantry. I just love the pop of tartness to salads. Plus, dried cherries are a great source of anthocyanins.
All the salad ingredients get mixed together and then tossed in a creamy cashew dressing.
how to make the dressing
Most traditional broccoli salads, use a mayo based dressing.
I love vegan mayo based dressings, but for this broccoli salad I wanted to keeps things on the healthier side.
Raw cashews that have been soaked created a creamy, dairy-free dressing.
The dressing has the perfect balance of sweetness from maple syrup and acidity from vinegar.
This Vegan Broccoli Salad is a salad that non-vegans would love.
As you're eating the salad, you wouldn't really assume that this broccoli salad is naturally vegan. It is just a delicious broccoli salad!
The next time that you need to bring a dish to a potluck, I hope that you will give this recipe a try!
more salad recipes to try:
- Vegan Dill Potato Salad- a summer staple for bbqs and picnices
- Michigan Cherry Salad- a light summer salad recipe
- Vegan Taco Salad- a vegan spin on classic taco salad
- Coleslaw Macaroni Salad- combines the best of macaroni salad and coleslaw
Vegan Broccoli Salad with Dried Cherries
This creamy, savory, crunchy, and delicious Vegan Broccoli Salad with Dried Cherries and Almonds is the perfect potluck dish!
Ingredients
For the salad
- 4 Cups Broccoli Florets, finely chopped
- ½ Cup Dried Cherries
- ½ Cup Roasted and Salted Almonds, chopped
- ½ Small Red Onion, finely chopped
For the dressing
- ¾ Cup Raw Cashews, soaked for 2 hours
- ¼-1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Small Garlic Clove
- ½ teaspoon Salt, or to taste
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place cashews in a bowl. Cover with water and soak for at least 2 hours.
- Drain the cashews and place in a high-speed blender. Add ¼ cup of water, maple syrup, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. If the dressing is too thick add an additional ¼ cup of water.
- Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more salt or pepper if needed, maple syrup for sweetness or vinegar or extra tang. Set aside.
- Assemble the salad. In a large mixing bowl, add the chopped broccoli, dried cherries, almonds, and red onion.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Chill until ready to serve.
Xo Jeni
Liz
This is so good I want to use expletives!!!!
Super easy and soooooooo good . I’ll be making this dressing for other salads - or maybe just to eat with a spoon.......