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Enjoy a classic Broccoli Salad that’s perfect for a light lunch or a side dish. This fresh and flavorful single serving salad is packed with fresh broccoli, bacon, dried cranberries, and a tangy dressing that will have you wanting more. If you’re looking for a wholesome dish just for yourself, this delightful salad is the perfect choice to brighten your day and nourish your body.
Enjoy this delightful small batch broccoli salad, perfect as a crisp, rejuvenating lunch or as an ideal accompaniment to Broiled Chicken, Baked Salmon, or a classic hamburger.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Incredibly delicious: This broccoli salad is designed to provide you with a satisfying meal or side dish that is perfectly portioned for one person.
- Versatile recipe: This salad is easy to customize and can be adapted to your tastes and preferences.
- Quick and easy to prepare: This vegetable salad comes together quickly and is ideal for a busy lifestyle.
- Recipe doubles well: Our recipe yields one generous serving of the best broccoli salad. If you’d like to make a second bowl or simply have some leftover, just double the ingredient amounts.
Check out our other Single Serving Salad ideas!
What Is A Broccoli Salad?
Broccoli salad is a tasty mix of fresh broccoli florets combined with other colorful vegetables, dried fruits, and sometimes nuts or seeds. It’s tossed with a tangy and slightly sweet dressing, creating a refreshing and crunchy dish that’s both delicious and packed with nutrients. You’ll love our single serving broccoli salad because it’s perfectly portioned for one, quick and easy to prepare, nutritious, customizable with your favorite nuts or seeds, and comes with a delicious dressing that ties all the flavors together.
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this simple broccoli salad recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Broccoli: Use fresh broccoli florets for the best texture and flavor. There is no need to blanch the broccoli first. Frozen broccoli is not recommended for this salad. If you’ve got extra broccoli, consider using it in Pasta Primavera, Vegetable Casserole, or Cashew Chicken.
- Cheese: I prefer using shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Look for thick shredded cheese and stay away from the finely shredded variety. Extra cheese can be used in a Broccoli Casserole, Shrimp and Grits, or Baked Black Bean Tacos.
- Dried cranberries: Or use raisins if preferred.
- Bacon: I use 1 strip of cooked and chopped bacon. Pre-cooked bacon will save you time but make sure you are using real bacon pieces and not imitation flavored “bacon bits”. If you’ve got leftover bacon, consider freezing the bacon or using some in a German Potato Salad, Minestrone Soup, or Pasta Carbonara.
- Sunflower seeds: This ingredient adds a delicious crunch to the salad. Extra sunflower seeds can be added to a small batch of Morning Glory Muffins.
- Chopped red onions: Gives the salad extra crunch and flavor. Use any leftover onions in Chicken Shawarma, Steak Fajitas, or make a small batch of quick Pickled Onions.
- Dressing ingredients: Mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and black pepper. For a lighter version, substitute the mayonnaise and/or sour cream with plain Greek yogurt or a mix of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise.
How To Cut Broccoli Into Florets
Prepping broccoli florets for your single serving broccoli salad couldn’t be easier; here’s a quick guide to help you get those bite-sized pieces perfect every time.
Slice off the broccoli crown near the stem, breaking it into large florets. Then, snip the stem of each floret to create bite-sized portions.
This simple method ensures you get the ideal broccoli pieces for your solo salad experience.
How To Make Broccoli Salad
These step-by-step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make a small batch of broccoli salad. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Combine the broccoli florets, cheese, dried cranberries, cooked and crumbled bacon, onions, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Enjoy chilled!
Expert Tips
- Read through the entire recipe and the Ingredient Notes section of the post and gather your ingredients. This small broccoli salad comes together quickly so it’s a good idea to have everything ready before beginning.
- Cut your broccoli small. Because this recipe calls for using fresh broccoli, you want to make sure the pieces are small enough to become fully coated and soften slightly with the dressing.
- Adjust the dressing ingredients to suit your taste preferences, adding more vinegar for tanginess or more sugar for sweetness.
- Let the salad chill. This salad is great right after it’s made, but it’s even better after an hour or more so that the flavors can develop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! This mini broccoli salad recipe yields one generous bowl of the best broccoli salad. If you’d like to make a second bowl, just double the ingredient amounts.
Yes. You can prepare the salad up to 3 days in advance. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy it.
Yes! Feel free to add other vegetables, fruits, nuts, or seeds to customize your salad.
Keep in mind that broccoli salad with bacon and cheese is meant to be an indulgent side dish and is not a health food. To lighten the salad, replace some or all of the sour cream or mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt, eliminate the cheese, and add more vegetables.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried this broccoli bacon salad or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Broccoli Salad For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (If possible, use thick shredded cheese)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 strip bacon -cooked and chopped in ¼-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons chopped red onions
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
For the dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the broccoli florets, cheese, dried cranberries, cooked and crumbled bacon, onions, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Enjoy chilled!
Notes
- Read through the entire recipe and the Ingredient Notes section of the post and gather your ingredients. This small broccoli salad comes together quickly so it’s a good idea to have everything ready before beginning.
- Cut your broccoli small. Because this recipe calls for using fresh broccoli, you want to make sure the pieces are small enough to become fully coated and soften slightly with the dressing.
- Adjust the dressing ingredients to suit your taste preferences, adding more vinegar for tanginess or more sugar for sweetness.
- Let the salad chill. This salad is great right after it’s made, but it’s even better after an hour or more so that the flavors can develop.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I did not have sunflower seeds. I toasted some pecans and chopped them. Oh my goodness! Was very yummy! Will use the pecans next time I make it.
Thank you for adding ideas for what to do with the leftover ingredients. I find this the hardest part about cooking for one. It’s not like you can make more salad and freeze it, so I rarely have them anymore since moving out.
I’m glad you found our tips for using leftover ingredients helpful. Cooking for one can be tricky, especially with items like salad.
As you might have noticed, we include ways to use leftover ingredients within our posts. Plus, we now have a Recipe Finder button at the top of each page. Just type in an ingredient, and you’ll see a list of our recipes that use it. This should help you make the most of your leftovers!
Really very good! I added more raisins to make it sweeter. Love how you have recipes available for leftover ingredients.
Thank you so much.
The crunch of the celery, the bite of sweet with a little chew of the cranberry an=ll dressed in a lovely dressing that is not overly sweet. YUM!
Terrific recipe