I Can’t Stop Making this Roasted Broccoli Salad (and I'm Not a Salad Person)
I’ve finally done it; I’ve gone all-in on salads. My favorite salads are not the leafy lettuce kind, and the salads I’ve been loving lately are broccoli salads. The best thing is that there are so many varieties of broccoli salad to try, and I’ve had Rachel’s Chopped Broccoli Salad with warm honey vinaigrette on constant rotation. The warm dressing in that salad made me wonder if every broccoli salad had to be served cold, and it turns out the answer is no. Now that the weather has turned, I’m transforming roasted broccoli into a delicious dish that has all of the textures and flavors you expect from a salad.
Why You’ll Love It
Broccoli is the star of this salad. Salads don’t have to be built on lettuce. This salad leans on caramelized, roasted broccoli for its main ingredient.
You need just 6 ingredients. Every ingredient plays their part: tender broccoli, crisp bacon, crunchy almonds, savory red onion, crumbly-creamy feta cheese, and bright lemon all work together here.
Key Ingredients in Roasted Broccoli Salad
Fresh broccoli: Cut 1 pound broccoli florets into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces so that they cook evenly in the oven. Use Ina Garten’s technique of cutting the broccoli upside-down to keep the mess under control.
Bacon: Kitchen shears make it easy to cut raw bacon into small pieces. For golden and crisp bites of bacon, give them a headstart in the oven before adding the broccoli to the baking sheet.
Almonds: Coarsely chopped almonds add crunch to this broccoli salad.
Feta cheese: Finish the salad with crumbled feta cheese. I prefer to buy brine-packed blocks of feta because it tastes fresher and takes just seconds to crumble the cheese myself.
More Delicious Broccoli Recipes
Roasted Broccoli Salad Recipe
Perfect roasted broccoli with crispy bacon, toasted almonds, and salty feta cheese.
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes to 30 minutes
Makes 2 1/2 cups
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients
6 slices bacon (4 to 5 ounces), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 pound (1 to 1 1/2-inch) broccoli florets (from 2 to 3 medium crowns, about 6 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium lemon
3 ounces feta cheese (about 1/2 cup), crumbled
1/2 cup coarsely chopped whole, skin-on roasted almonds (about 2 1/2 ounces)
Instructions
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Heat the oven to 425°F.
Scatter 6 chopped bacon slices over one half of a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place 1 pound broccoli florets in a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and toss to combine.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Add 1/2 thinly sliced red onion over the bacon and toss to combine. Arrange in an even layer over half of the baking sheet. Arrange the broccoli in a single layer on the empty half of the baking sheet.
Return the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the broccoli is tender and browned, and the bacon is browned and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Finely grate the zest of 1 medium lemon (about 2 packed teaspoons) over everything. Juice 1/2 of the zested lemon until you have 2 teaspoons, then drizzle over everything. Add 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese and 1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted almonds, and toss to combine.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
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