Vegan Broccoli Salad
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The most amazing vegan broccoli salad made with a rich and creamy cashew dressing instead of mayo. This salad is a total crowd-pleaser and perfect for parties!
Like many of the recipes you’ll find here on EBF, this one is inspired by my mom. She used to make classic broccoli salad all the time when I was growing up. Her version was sweet, crunchy and a staple dish at all of our summer cookouts. I loved that salad and used to request it frequently. Alas, said salad is like most southern “salads” and has a good amount of mayo, 1/2 cup of sugar and bacon…
I decided to try my hand at a healthy version of this old favorite — one that still has the crunchy, sweet vibe, but healthier without the added sugar, dairy and meat.
My broccoli raisin salad is crunchy, rich in flavor and sweet, but with much healthier ingredients like raw nuts, seeds and raisins. I even managed to sneak apple cider vinegar into the dressing! I think I’ll take it to my next family cookout and see if my version stacks up to mom’s.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what ingredients you’ll need to make this salad:
- broccoli – you can use pre-chopped florets or buy full heads.
- raw sunflower seeds – I prefer roasted and salted, but you can use dry roasted or raw. Roasted tends to have more flavor and crunch.
- red onion – the red onion adds a pop of color and a nice crunch to the salad.
- raisins – I love the sweetness the raisins add to this salad!
Creamy Cashew Dressing Instead of Mayo
The key to this recipe is the creamy cashew dressing. It gives the salad tons of flavor and really brings this broccoli salad to life. Once cashews are soaked and blended, they get so creamy and make an amazing non-dairy dressing for broccoli raisin salad. No need for mayo or loads of sugar!
Substitutions & Notes
- Raw broccoli – Make sure you’re using fresh, raw broccoli. Frozen or cooked broccoli won’t work for this recipe! If you’re looking for a salad with cooked broccoli try this: roasted broccoli quinoa salad.
- Red onion – Not a fan of red onion feel free to use yellow onion instead.
- Raisins – The raisins are what takes this salad to the next level, in my opinion. If you’re not a raisin fan you could swap in dates, dried cherries, prunes or another dried fruit.
Prepping & Storing this Salad
I love eating this broccoli raisin salad as a mid-afternoon snack or as a side with lunch or dinner but it would also be a great dish to bring to a potluck or summer cookouts.
If you want to meal prep this broccoli salad, it will last up to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You may notice that the raisins absorb some of the liquid or the sunflower seeds soften but that’s okay! It will still be delicious.
More Vegan Salads to Try:
More Broccoli Recipes to Try:
- Classic Broccoli Salad
- Broccoli Avocado Tuna Bowl
- Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
- Broccoli Cranberry Salad
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Vegan Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli, two small to medium sized crowns, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, roasted and salted
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup raisins
Cashew Dressing
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 1- 2 hours
- 1/3 cup fresh water
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon shallot, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
Instructions
- Soak cashews: place cashews in a bowl, cover with water and let sit for 1-2 hours or until soft. Drain water.
- Make dressing: mix soaked cashews, fresh water, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, maple syrup, shallot, garlic, salt and dijon mustard in a high powered blender or processor until completely smooth.
- Mix ingredients: combine broccoli, sunflower seeds, red onion, raisins and dressing. Toss until all ingredients are covered.
- Serve: Serve immediately or let chill in the fridge a bit before serving.
Video
Notes
- Raw broccoli – Make sure you’re using fresh, raw broccoli. Frozen or cooked broccoli won’t work for this recipe! If you’re looking for a salad with cooked broccoli try this: roasted broccoli quinoa salad.
- Red onion – Not a fan of red onion feel free to use yellow onion or sweet vidalia onion instead.
- Raisins – The raisins are what takes this salad to the next level, in my opinion. If you’re not a raisin fan you could swap in chopped medjool dates, dried cherries, prunes or another dried fruit.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Can I use honey instead of agave or maple syrup?
I like your blog by the way! I’m going to try a bunch of your recipe this week!
Honey should work fine! Enjoy the recipes.
I’ve made this twice, and LOVE it!! I want to use this cashew dressing for more than just this salad. Are there any other dishes you’ve used the cashew dressing with?
Hi Jen. Thanks for your comment. I haven’t used this dressing on anything else but I’m sure it would be great on other dishes. Let me know if you experiment and find something tasty.
When you say to soak the cashews, what do you mean?
Just place cashews in a cup of filtered water and soak for at least 2 hours, then drain and use in the recipe.
Thank you s much! !! I assumed thst was it, then I was like hmmmmm surely it cant be that simple lol
This sounds amazing… I will be trying this before summer is over, my cousins love this stuff and always serves it during outings long story short I fell in love with it! Now I can make it healthfully!! Thank you!
Thanks Samantha. I hope you love it!
thank you! this is amazing! I tried it 2 times and serve it in our cafe.
I find it too hard to digest completely raw brocoli, so I slightly steamed it. this also gives the brocoli a really brilliant green colour.
first time I didn’t have raisins, so I used chopped up dates.
second time I didn’t have cashews, so I used soaked sunflower seeds for the sauce.
both times it turned out incredible.
I just made this! It is amazing! Didn’t have sunflower seeds, tossed in a few pine nuts instead.
So glad you liked it Nikki!!
I used to love broccoli salads as a kid, but with lots of mayo and bacon! I can’t wait to try this healthy version!
Brittany! You are very creative with all of your recipes…where do you find most of your inspiration?
Thanks for sharing!
I made this today to bring to work. It’s easy, wonderful and delicious! I had everything in my pantry, minus the fresh broccoli. Thanks for the inspiration to eat more veggies!
I love this salad. I tried it before but I never knew how to make it. Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe with us. I am going to make it today!