Asian Broccoli Salad
This Asian Broccoli Salad is so so good! Broccoli florets are quickly cooked and then tossed in the most insanely delicious asian dressing. This is a great make ahead salad that is always a crowd pleaser. It’s Vegan, Paleo and Whole30 too!
I have to admit that broccoli salad is generally not my thing. I’ve found that broccoli salad generally falls into two categories, either raw and a little too healthy tasting, or smothered in cheese, mayonnaise and bacon to try and disguise the fact that it’s actually broccoli.
Enter my new favourite salad, Asian Broccoli Salad! I honestly can’t get enough of this, which is saying a lot considering the main ingredient is broccoli.
The broccoli is cooked for just 90 seconds so that it loses its raw crunch and becomes slightly tender. The florets are then tossed in a deliciously creamy Asian dressing. I love that the broccoli florets absorb some of the dressing, make each bite extra flavourful.
I kept the other ingredients in the salad very simple. There are sliced scallions to add a sharp kick of fresh flavour, toasted cashews for a bit of texture and crunch and sesame seeds. Don’t feel restricted by the ingredients I’ve included, you could always add in bell peppers, cucumber or shredded carrot.
Here are a few other easy salads that you might enjoy…
- Creamy Cauliflower Faux-Tato Salad
- Pesto Zoodle Salad with Prosciutto & Pine Nuts
- Roasted Fennel & Green Bean Salad
- Grilled Zucchini & Asparagus Salad
- Carrot Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
- Roasted Cauliflower, Date, Red Onion & Parsley Salad
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Asian Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 2 heads broccoli
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1/3 cup toasted salted cashews
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Asian Dressing
- 1/4 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 inch piece of peeled ginger
- 2 tsp honey (or 1 medjool date soaked in boiling water for 10 mins for Whole30/Vegan)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While you are waiting for it to boil cut the two heads of broccoli into small bite sized florets
- Once the water is boiling, add in the broccoli and leave to cook for exactly 1 minute (not longer, you don't want them to be mushy!). After 1 minute remove the broccoli and place them in a bowl filled with ice and water. Once the broccoli is cool drain and place in a large bowl.
- In a blender or nutribullet container combine all of the ingredients for the dressing and blend until completely smooth
- In a bowl combine the broccoli florets, cashews, scallions, sesame seeds and toss in the dressing. Serve!
Nutrition
What would you use as a replacement for the ginger? My daughter is allergic and I haven’t found a great replacement yet in Asian inspired recipes.
Honey I thought wasn’t permitted
So my family is not necessarily vegan , so I used what I had on hand .
I subbed
Soy sauce for coconut aminos
Peanut butter for almond butter
Walnuts for Cashews
My kids ate up the broccoli , and that’s what I was going for .
I had almond butter so used that and toasted some raw almonds to chop instead of cashews – added a little honey since the almonds aren’t as sweet as cashews. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe
Amazing, amazing salad. Made it for a dinner party and several friends asked for the recipe. I forgot to add the oil and it was still delicious. Will definitely make this again.
This was very easy to make and it taste amazing! I added grilled chicken to make it more of a main course dish. I made the mistake of adding more almond butter and not adding more amions and sesame oil so it was a little thick but still VERY tasty. I will do this again!
I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit, even with a thicker sauce
Delicious broccoli salad!
Thanks Dena!!
Woops, for future people reading this: the oil comment was meant as a reply to Gina 🙂
I haven’t had sesame oil, too and replaced it with walnut oil. I think you could easily replace it with any nutty or neutral tasting oil. The dressing has so much flavour that the oil doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things imho.
Also this recipe is sooo delicious. I love it! 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Jonas! I totally agree, you can really use any kind of oil as long as it doesn’t have an overpowering flavour.
This recipe looks great, and I have most of the ingredients already, including the coconut amino acid.
However, I’m allergic to sesame seeds. What would you recommend as a replacement for the sesame seeds and oil?
Does it get wilty if you don’t eat it all in one setting?
I’m wondering this same thing too. Can anyone answer this?