Cauliflower, Broccoli and Bacon Salad

Cauliflower, Broccoli & Bacon Salad is a classic. One of those salads you can serve year-round. I love that it’s so universal, it’s perfect for any and every season. A winner at big family dinners and easy enough to serve during the week. Our family serves it with practically everything and it’s been kicking around our family dinners for decades!

It hits all the right notes. The sweet and the savoury do a perfect little dance together. The sweetness from the grapes and salad dressing balance beautifully with the savoury bacon and cheddar cheese! Not to mention the crunch from the fresh broccoli and cauliflower, really, let’s not get me started on that. This Cauliflower, Broccoli and Bacon Salad is served at almost every gathering, for a reason.

Not only is this salad delicious and it is, but it’s also pretty. The colours are so vibrant, which is important because we eat with our eyes first. And trust me your eyes will be pleased and your mouth watering.

Serve it in a beautiful glass bowl for maximum effect. The grapes with that gorgeous purple shine to them, matched with the bright green from the broccoli and then a bit of orange from the cheddar, it’s so appealing! Ok, let’s dig in, so you can make this for your next big dinner or little dinner, it works with pretty much everything!

How to make Cauliflower, Broccoli and Bacon Salad

Start by cooking the bacon, fry it nice and crisp, and set it aside. While that’s cooking, roast the almonds. I put mine on a cookie sheet and then place in a preheated oven set to 400 degrees F. Just keep an eye on these because they do tend to go from perfect to burnt in seconds.

In the meantime, cut your cauliflower and broccoli into small bites. Mix these in a bowl, add the grapes, green onions and cheddar cheese. When the bacon has finished cooking and cooled, crumble it into small pieces, toss those in and then add the almonds right before the dressing.

The dressing is super simple. Just whisk together mayo, sugar and red wine vinegar. I’m impatient and never whisk long enough for the sugar to actually dissolve, but I don’t mind the sugar granules in this, I actually don’t even notice them. To be honest, I’m not sure if the sugar would ever truly dissolve, I’ve never whisked it long enough to know for sure.

When I first started making this salad, I found that it makes more dressing than I ever need. I only ever use about 2/3 of the recipe, so I’ve tweaked the dressing from its original version, so you won’t end up with a pile of leftovers. As you get use to this recipe, though, you may find that you like extra dressing or maybe you prefer more cauliflower and broccoli or maybe it’s grapes, it’s totally adaptable to your own tastes.

Maybe that’s why we’ve kept this classic around, for so long. It’s sort of fail-proof. My mom doesn’t include the cheese in her version and it’s good her way too. I’ve seen some versions that include diced red onion and use only broccoli or only cauliflower. It really is versatile. Now it’s your turn to see how you’ll tweak this classic into your own favourite version.

Loved Cauliflower, Broccoli & Bacon Salad? Check out these other delicious recipes, I’m sure they’ll hit the spot:

• Asian Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Dipping Sauce
• Pastrami Sandwiches with Mustard Cream Cheese
• Smashed Butternut Squash with Sage

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If you get a chance to make this or any other recipe on the blog and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or use #candyjarchronicles on Instagram, so I can see your post. I’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen!

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