Broccoli Salad With Cheddar and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

I roasted the broccoli for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, tossing once midway through cooking, because I far prefer roasted vegetables to boiled or steamed. Used some excellent peppered bacon from Whole Foods and served on a bed of arugula and spinach. Excellent winter salad that I will make again.

I made it with raw broccoli and was thrilled at the wonders of my laziness! All good! And I used dried cranberries instead of the grapes, which as also terrific!

Leave the rendered fat in the pan...when you whisk in the mustard and vinegar it becomes the dressing.

Leave broccoli a little larger, 1 inch long and wide. Toss with olive oil S & P. Roast at 400 for 10 minutes and check for desired doneness. Used 1/2 cup pine nuts instead of pecans.
Remove bacon from saute pan after crisping and add lastly to salad.
Replace grapes with about 1/2 cup dried cranberies

I was testing this out for a possible Thanksgiving side, because it would be good at room temp. My family adored it. My daughter liked it even better the next day, warmed up so that the cheese melted a bit. She also suggested making it with cherry tomatoes instead of grapes. I'll try that next time.

Instead of blanching, try roasting the broccoli for 10- 15 minutesOther alternatives: -Dried cranberries instead of red grapes-Pine nuts or walnuts instead of pecans-Asiago, Ricotta Salata, or Cotija instead of cheddar

This is absolutely delicious, thanks to the previous commenters who suggested roasting and cranberries. I cannot and do not wish to imagine this with blanched broccoli, although I am not against blanched broccoli as a rule. (My first responsibility working in fine dining kitchens was as blanch boy.) But please, no blanching here. I had this with a bowl of steamed basmati, the nutty chewiness of which paired perfectly. And, though I’m quite the meat eater, I felt more than satisfied at meal’s end

Won't make again, but for those who want to try it I recommend: substitute dried cranberries for the grapes (which are not in season) and cut everything smaller (bacon, nuts and florets) to ensure a better melange on the fork.

Cranberries (dried) instead of grapes. Roast broccoli 10-15 minutes. Pine nuts instead of pecans. Asiago instead of cheddar

Is the rendered bacon fat discarded? Or kept and whisked together with the vinegar etc.?

This will get the pickiest eater to take seconds. I roasted the broccoli and used dried cranberries instead of grapes. There was enough rendered fat from the bacon so that adding extra olive oil wasn't necessary. I even poured off some of the bacon fat. I removed the crisp bacon when it was done and added it back in the serving bowl. We ate every last bite and would have eaten more.

prosciutto instead of baconpomegranite instead of grapesthis is a very nice change of pace

Step 3: set aside means "remove the pecans"; then do the bacon, etc., before returning the pecans to the skillet.

Leave the nuts and bacon out until the end and make sure bacon's crisp. I'd fry it in strips and then crumple. Add more bacon. And no need for more oil other than what comes out of the bacon. I think I'll try it again, because I think it should be fab. But it's actually a bit bland.

Yes, this takes broccoli salad to a different level. I had some pickled grapes I used instead of fresh, and I loved rhe sour punch.

I would either cut the salt in half for blanching or follow others by roasting the broccoli. It was WAY to salty!

Quick snd delicious as written, I highly recommend!

Made this with candied pecans as that's what we have. And scallions instead of green onion. Very good. Love the pan sauce.

It was very vinegar and Dijon forward when I dressed immediately before serving. I put the leftovers in the fridge and ate the next day and it was so much better!! Yes, the bacon was better day of, but wasn’t bad leftover since it was crispy. Would recommend to make ahead and let marinate.

Made this dish for Christmas dinner with family. Too acidic for us.

not as tasty as it should have been. Broccoli too hard- undercooked at 30 sec.

I roasted the broccoli along with some carrots and also added warm rotisserie chicken for more protein. I too removed the bacon from the fat and added at the end. Doubled the dressing to account for the chicken absorbing it. It was divine. Will make again and again.

very good. i followed the suggestion from another note to use cranberries instead of grapes. my 3 year cheddar had calcium lactate crystals and the crystals added a lot to the salad. i would suggest using cheddar that is aged at least 3-5 years. (maybe I will try 20 year next time.)

It was delicious immediately...so I forgot to add the cheese!!! Will throw that it tomorrow and warm it up a little.

There must be a wide range of fattiness in different people's bacon. I notice some people commented that there was quite a lot; I would not expect the stuff I get around here (Vancouver BC) to give much at all from 4oz of bacon. I wonder how much rendered fat the author expected there to be?

Not instead of raisins; instead of grapes.

I made this for our annual HOA picnic. Went over great, except for I didn’t realize one of my neighbors no longer eats meat! I followed the instructions, except had to blanch the broccoli longer than it said. I put the stems in first and gave them a full minute after the water came back to a boil, then did the florets for about a minute and didn’t wait for the water to return to the boil. I also just cut the bacon in half and fried it and then took the bacon out while I made the dressing.

I made this exactly as written. Next time I will remove the bacon from the pan and then make the dressing. I will use more vinegar and dijon, maybe double, due to the amount of rendered fat from the bacon. I won't put the pecans and green onions in the dressing, I'll add the pecans to the broccoli and grapes, dress, then add the green onions and cheese. Was good as made but I felt the dressing could be improved.

Broccoli way too salty