Summer Fest is officially over and what a great way to end it with broccoli. The health benefits of broccoli are never-ending. Broccoli contains high amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, fiber and potassium. Broccoli aids in detoxification, has anti-inflammatory benefits and has anti-cancer nutrients. Broccoli is also easy to find and extremely versatile – I use it almost daily at my house.

Broccoli might be a dreaded addition to your meals at home, but is loved at mine. I have served it to my children since they could eat it and they love it. If your kids don’t like it I suggest continuing to put it on their plate and experiment with different recipes – I bet your children will love it eventually too. My daughter wouldn’t eat salad and I kept putting it on her plate and trying different dressings – she loves a homemade raspberry dressing I make. It took some time, but now she loves salad and asks for it daily. My 18 month old is starting to love salad too! Keep trying and don’t give up! =)

My mother-in-law serves a similar broccoli salad for guests and is one of my favorite things she makes. I decided to recreate a vegan version and cut down on the amount of mayo by blending an avocado to make the dressing. The avocado adds some good fats and so many nutritional benefits that mayo cannot offer – it was a good choice for this recipe. The recipe does contain a small amount of soy-free vegan mayo for the traditional flavor of the broccoli salad I love.

Next time, I would add fresh cut-up grapes instead of raisins and some cut-up apple to this salad. You an also substitute the sunflower seeds with your nut of choice – walnuts would be great – or leave the nuts out all together to decrease the fat or if you have an allergy. Also, I used Dr. F’s vinegar, but you can use all apple cider or if you think something else would work try that.

Summer Fest: Vegan Broccoli Salad

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 5 mins

 

Author: Jennifer Strohmeyer – Virtually Vegan Mama

Recipe type: Side

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp date syrup or pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp Dr. Fuhrman’s Riesling Raisin Vinegar or other sweet vinegar
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• ½ cup unsweetened non dairy milk of choice
• 1 head broccoli, cut into bit-sized pieces
• ½ cup shredded carrot
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a blender or food processor, add avocado, mayonnaise, date or maple syrup, lemon juice, vinegars, garlic, and non-dairy milk and blend until smooth.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, carrots, red onion, raisins, and sunflower seeds. Add dressing to bowl and toss until well coated. Season with freshly ground black pepper and chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours.

3.2.2208

My leftovers kept nicely in the fridge for two days so far, still munching on this delish dish! (after that you’re probably pushing it because of the avocado)

Enjoy!

Check out these other great recipes for Summer Fest featuring broccoli:

*I received a free coupon from Earth Balance to try out their new Mindful Mayo in some of my recipes. =)