Labor Day is coming up and I’m already excited for a long weekend! Yes, I just had one earlier in the month for my annual girls beach trip. And no, we haven’t even started school. That comes on Monday for us. But still, I’m looking forward to a little vacation and I think we are beach bound! We always go to a spot just outside of Charleston, S.C., and besides 36 hours for the solar eclipse earlier this week (during which time we didn’t make it to the actual beach), we haven’t been all summer. So a Labor Day beach weekend it is! And you know I’m all about the cookouts and the FOOD for these kinds of holidays! Which is why I wanted to share this healthy broccoli apple salad with you today. I can’t stop eating it and I didn’t want to keep it to myself!
I originally made this as a way to try and get the kids to eat more broccoli. It’s one vegetable that they’ll always take a bite or two of when I serve it as a side, but that’s usually all. (Unless it’s my cheesy broccoli and black bean tostadas or my cheesy chicken and broccoli twice-baked potatoes. Then they dig in! But it’s because of all the cheese!) And even though just a bite can seem like a minor win, sadly, I thought maybe I could try new ways for them to eat it. You know, develop that love of broccoli. So we had this broccoli salad for our family dinner one night with some cheddar chicken burgers and, per usual, they had a small sample and said “no thanks.” Sigh… On the other hand, I finished mine, cleaned off their plates and then ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. I can’t help it – this chopped broccoli salad is OH so scrumptious!
The broccoli, apple and nuts have a ton of crunch and get covered in this creamy, sweet dressing for a seriously stellar bite. After bite. After bite. I also made this for my annual girls boat day this summer. We have a lot of gluten-free friends and this fit the bill. I prepped it the day before, added the dressing and the walnuts when I got there and we chowed down on it later. It’s seriously addictive, and it wasn’t just the day drinking
Notes on healthy broccoli apple salad:
I really like this salad best when everything is chopped small, but you can certainly make it chunkier if you prefer. I use golden raisins here but you could substitute regular raisins or dried cranberries if that’s what you have on hand. You could also substitute pecans or your favorite nut in place of the walnuts. This salad is best after it’s been refrigerated for a couple of hours, so all the flavors can combine. But it’s still tasty when served immediately. This salad will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, but it loses a little bit of crunch after day 3.
So get to chopping, then get to mixing and you’ll have this healthy broccoli apple salad ready to go! Have a fabulous weekend! XO, Kathryn P.S. Need some other summer salad inspiration? Check out my mom’s classic spaghetti salad and my summer veggie pasta salad. Or my easy summer salad with blueberries for a lighter option.
This salad is best after it’s been refrigerated for a couple of hours, so all the flavors can combine. But it’s still tasty when served immediately. I really like this salad best when everything is chopped small, but you can certainly make it chunkier if you prefer. I use golden raisins here but you could substitute regular raisins or dried cranberries if that’s what you have on hand. You could also substitute pecans or your favorite nut in place of the walnuts. This salad will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, but it loses a little bit of crunch after day 3.
