Italian Broccoli Salad Recipe (2024)

Toss in a handful of chewy raisins or dried cranberries for a sweet note of contrast and texture. Yum.

I'm so glad to see a broccoli salad recipe that isn't sweet! I've made one similar to this for decades. Mine has in addition to the broccoli, stuffed green olives, chopped hard cooked egg, red onion, chopped mushrooms, and just enough lemon juice & mayo dressing to combine everything. I like the idea of the pickled peppers and almonds in this one and am looking forward to trying it. Sweet broccoli salad? Not for me, thank you!

Yay for more Broccoli salads!! Melissa Clark’s Broccoli Salad with Garlic and Sesame is a favorite go-to in our house, so this recipe is definitely up our alley. We usually blanch the broccoli very, very briefly, so that it is just a smidge less crunchy, for our tastes. Going to pair this with homemade pizza, focaccia, or mozzarella sticks on our next night in!

I needed a new go-to salad. Trying it this weekend with black lentils, a few suggested olives and that basil. Thank you! :)

i guess it depends on where you get your italian subs. if you want a dressing (or salad) that truly tastes like an italian sub, this is the one:https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/06/nancys-chopped-salad/you could absolutely put that dressing on broccoli, or any other salad ingredients you like. (let onions & tomatoes, or broccoli etc marinate in some of the dressing before you add the greens.) also makes an amazing pasta salad. honestly if i had to eat an old shoe, this is the dressing i'd want.

I lightly steamed the broccoli — would try it raw on a day when it’s too hot to cook, but we prefer it a little softer. Otherwise I did this as written, and the flavors are fabulous. I’ve never understood the allure of dried fruit in a salad like this, so I am glad none was included.

I was leery of a recipe that did not parboil the broccoli, but decided to give it a try. I found that if you follow the instructions exactly, and chop into truly bite-size pieces, it’s perfect raw. I was happy to save a step and a pot.

Really good, added chick peas, sliced cabbage, salami bits, used parmesan cheese shards instead of provolone, marinated the shallot in the vinegar first

I try to follow the recipe to the letter the first time I prepare it, but today I had to use what I had in the kitchen. That's the beauty of this recipe- you can be flexible! I substituted Chicago style Hot Giardiniera for the pickled peppers, aged Gouda for the provolone, and a mix of olives. Delicious!

No partial cooking of the broccoli?

I agree…a great non sweet bro salad. I bought a huge jar of olives, peppers, capers and more… I use the Brin in place of the vinegar. Added leftover roast chicken… my guy just said, “Good salad,”

Glad to come across this. I had forgotten that several years ago I had discovered a “broccoli slaw” at the neighborhood supermarket, and I really was into it for a while. This sounds better, with the oil and vinegar dressing. But I’ll probably add the dried fruits suggested by A Reader, since I enjoyed the cranberries in the other version.

I didn’t have roasted almonds so I put in shelled pistachios.also substituted pecorino cheese. This last batch has hearts of palm.

Blanched broccoli 2 minutes

A very forgiving recipe. I used mozzarella because that’s what I had; will buy provolone for next time maybe. Threw in some capers, pickled onions and baby pickles. Added basil. Delish!

Torn up slices of provolone was weird but overall loved the unexpected combination of ingredients.

Really like this one! Nice to have around.

1/2 cup olives & peppers oil vinegar 1 cup slivered amonds

Add chickpeas, hard boiled egg, side of pasta

This was quite good (I used a version of the Smitten Kitchen dressing Stephanie mentioned) but holy cow it makes a lot! Maybe it was because I bought broccoli that was mostly crown, but it took me 6 meals, a large portion at each meal, to get through it.

Amazing salad. My go-to for “what can I bring?” to friend’s dinners and no one ever offers to give me any leftovers! Must make ahead, two days better than one. Allow plenty time to peel broccoli. Tried with cheese several times and we just don’t care for it so add more almonds and peperoncini and olives. When making ahead, I wait until closer to serving time to add the almonds. TJs toasted salted ones are a great shortcut-I cut them in half longways. Use your best evoo.

This is really pretty tasty. I added extras of everything to feed a crowd — if anyone else is in the position of omitting the almonds for an allergic guest, I personally didn’t miss them (although I would have ordinarily added it!). Next time I will add garbanzos. Although I added extra of most ingredients, I found I needed significantly more olive oil and red wine vin than I anticipated for the flavors to really pop and for the acid to soften the broccoli.

Very nice. Roasted the broccoli at 450F for 10 min. Added some cherry tomatoes for color. Delicious.

had a blast turning this into a vegan recipe. YUM!

Nice, sturdy salad. Usually not a raw broccoli fan, but in this salad it marinades nicely after a few hours. Used red pickled juanita peppers instead of peperonci and fried halloumi instead of provolone

I didn’t have almonds at home (used cashews) and couldn’t for the life of me find provolone here in London (so used cheddar), but the salad still tasted brilliant with the substitutions! Defo recommend.

Holy moly, this was amazing. I used a veggie chopper I got on Amazon to make quick work of getting the broccoli into small pieces, and threw in some shredded rotisserie chicken on top for an extra bit of protein. The best part is that this salad lasts all week, and gets more delicious as it sits. Becoming a lunch regular for SURE.

Really good as written. I like to cut the broccoli amount in half to increase the ratio of goodies, but I’ve made this a bunch of times any which way and always enjoyed it. Sometimes I change up the flavors of cheese or peppers. If you like pickly, vinegary things, you’ll like this. The no mayo aspect allows it to travel well, too.

Just as other cooks noted: this recipe is simple, flexible and delicious. I added chickpeas and radicchio and subbed my homemade tofu feta for the Gouda. A healthy tasty vegan lunch!

I included a 1/2 can of kidney beans for a little color and texture (not to mention protein). I also tossed in a little dijon mustard as a bit of a finisher. This made such an excellent lunch.