This Low Carb, Paleo + Whole30 Broccoli Salad is a real food version of the much loved classic. It’s creamy + fresh, savoury + crunchy. You’ll want to serve it as a side dish to every meal!

The fact that warmer weather + sunshine have arrived in England makes my heart SO HAPPY. There’s just something about a blue sky + some chirping birds that can make almost anything feel better. The only downside to summertime, in my opinion, is that my husband STILL can’t cope with sleeping with a fan on. So, it gets freaking hot at night, but such is life! I can’t have a fan…but I can have this delicious low carb, paleo broccoli salad, which is much better in my opinion anyway. (I’m a foodie, what can I say?!)

If you aren’t familiar with broccoli salad, it’s a veggie based dish with a mayonnaise dressing. My husband thinks its HILARIOUS that Americans douse everything in mayonnaise + suddenly it’s a salad, but I didn’t make the rules. I’m quite content for bacon to be included in my list of healthy foods, ha!

Ingredients for this Low, Carb Paleo Broccoli Salad

The ingredient list for this Low Carb, Paleo Broccoli Salad is incredibly simple. We are using a few, real food ingredients that come together and become the most divine side dish. You should be able to find every single one of these ingredients at your local grocery store – no specialty store trips needed!

To put together this broccoli salad, you’ll need:

Broccoli
Red Onion
Bacon
Sunflower Seeds
Avocado Oil Mayonnaise
Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt + Pepper

Really, can a list get much simpler than that?! If you’re looking to optimise your ingredients to ensure that you’re really getting the least amount of food additives, I would hone in on a few key things;

Read the ingredient list on your bacon. Processed foods can be hidden places for tons of sugar, so keep your eye out. Also, bacon tends to be processed with nitrates + nitrites. These compounds are designed to kill bacteria + can be toxic in high amounts. You can find bacon without them if you’re looking! (US peeps – Applegate is a safe choice! UK- I choose Naked Bacon by Finnebrouge.)
When buying seeds, like sunflower seeds, I do try to grab organic. Since we aren’t washing these seeds, I just like to know they have as little pesticide residue on them as possible.
Watch your oils! When choosing a mayonnaise, I always opt for either an avocado oil mayonnaise or an olive oil based mayonnaise. Traditional mayonnaise contains inflammatory vegetable oils, which I try to avoid.

*** As always, these suggestions are just meant to provoke your thought process on why + how you choose your foods, not to add guilt or shame to your plate if you aren’t in a place to care or can’t afford to be selective. Do what you can with what you have! This is a journey for all of us.

Putting the Salad Together

If the ingredients in this Low Carb, Paleo Broccoli Salad are simple, than the process of putting it together is even simpler…if that’s possible!

The hardest part is “prepping” the ingredients – chopping an onion, cooking some bacon + washing some broccoli. All in all, it takes a few minutes to do + is 100% worth it when you taste the final results.

Once your ingredients are prepped, the actual salad is just a bit of mixing. Simply combine the salad ingredients (bacon, onion, sunflower seeds and broccoli) in one bowl + the dressing ingredients (mayo, vinegar, salt + pepper) in another.

The last step is to combine the two bowls + stir! You can absolutely eat this salad immediately, but I prefer to prep it a few hours in advance to really let the flavours meld together + for the broccoli to soften slightly.

** You’ll notice in the recipe below that it calls for 6-10 pieces of bacon. This is because I love to save a few slices to crumble over the top of the salad when its served. However, this is completely optional + totally not necessarily (although its delicious!).

Serving + Storing the Salad

If you are having any sort of warm weather meal – think grilled chicken or sausages, hot dogs on the grill or a good ole burger, this Low Carb, Paleo Broccoli Salad is THE dish to serve alongside. It’s the PERFECT party dish to bring to a family picnic or barbecue + you can absolutely double, triple or quadruple the recipe to feed a crowd.

However, it’s just as good for an easy week day lunch alongside of some eggs or a piece of salmon. I love to eat a bowl of it straight, ha!

Once prepared, this salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. We’ve never had it last that long, ha! As stated above, I do prefer to make mine a few hours in advance, or even the night before, so the flavours really have time to merry – but it’s also a quick one to make in a pinch!

If you do make this divine Low Carb, Paleo Broccoli Salad, I’d love to know what you think! It means so much to me when you tag me in your photos on instagram or when you pin this recipe to make later – I promise it’ll be a mealtime lifesaver all summer long.

And as always, be sure to leave a rating + review down in the comments if you try this + love it! It helps other readers to stumble upon my recipes, which I appreciate so much.

PS – Need some other crowd friendly favs? Check out these much loved Salt + Vinegar Magic Potatoes or my Paleo Soft Baked Lemon Cookies.