Quick and Easy Keto Asian Broccoli Salad with Peanut Sauce

A simple twist to a traditional recipe creates the most unique and delicious Keto Asian Broccoli Salad. Perfect for a quick and easy side dish for any party or potluck and even fancy enough for a formal dinner party.  Made with peanut butter (or any other nut or seed butter!), soy sauce, vinegar and peanuts, this is one of my favourite keto summer salad recipes that can be prepped in under fifteen minutes!

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Keto Summer Salad Recipe

Broccoli salad is one of my favourite side dishes (you can find another one of my favourites, this Keto Maple Broccoli Salad, here).

It’s perfect for serving alongside any fancy holiday dinner or with a more casual and chill potluck or BBQ. It can be thrown together in under fifteen minutes and I can almost guarantee that at least one person will ask you for the recipe.

In contrast to most savoury and tart salads, this recipe has a surprising bit of sweetness thanks to a pinch of sweetener and peanut butter. The contrasting flavours blend perfectly together, and a splash of vinegar gives the dressing a subtle bite. Plus, add the salty crunch of peanuts and I am sure you will agree that this truly is the perfect keto summer salad recipe.

Keto Asian Broccoli Salad Ingredients

Making this easy broccoli salad does not require very many ingredients or much time! Here are the ingredients you will need for this quick salad recipe:

• Broccoli - You can use either a bag of Taylor Broccoli Florets or buy a head of broccoli.
• Peanut butter - Use any type of peanut butter or use almond butter instead.
• Soy Sauce - You can use low-sodium soy sauce or replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos.
• Liquid Sweetener - You can use any sugar-free sweetener, such as Tapioca Fiber Syrup or Liquid Allulose, Sugar-free Honey or Sugar-free Maple Syrup.
• Onion - Adding some sliced green or red onion adds a nice dimension to this keto Asian broccoli salad.
• Toasted Sesame Seed Oil - This is by far my favourite oil to add to any and all salad dressings!
• Roasted Peanuts and Sesame Seeds - These 2 ingredients are optional but the roasted salted peanuts add some crunch and saltiness which really ties in well with the peanut dressing.

Asian Broccoli Salad Instructions

Super simple, this keto summer salad recipe is actually best if made a couple of hours ahead of time to allow the flavours to soak in so plan to make this at least 30 minutes before serving.

Step 1 - Nuke the Broccoli

• Using your hands (or a knife), break apart the broccoli into bite-size pieces over a large microwaveable bowl and chop the stems into small pieces and add them to the same bowl
• Place the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute or until the broccoli turns a nice, brilliant green

Step 2 - Make the utterly delicious peanut Asian dressing

• Whisk together all the Aisan broccoli salad dressing ingredients until fully combined. (Tip - if your peanut butter is a little thick, place it with the toasted sesame oil in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds)
• If you want a thinner dressing, simply add 1-2 tablespoons of water and whisk to incorporate

Step 3 - Assemble the salad

• Pour the dressing over the broccoli
• Mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but up to 6 hours before serving
• Toss one last time before sprinkling the salad with the roasted peanuts and sesame seeds right before serving

Broccoli: To Blanch or not to Blanch?

I use to not blanch my broccoli salad but found that I always had a hard time getting my salad dressing into the tightly closed heads of the broccoli florets.

I tried blanching my broccoli and it did help to open the florets but it was more work then I wanted for a quick salad recipe.

That's when I discovered the magic of "blanching" in the microwave! A mere 1 minute in the microwave not only gives this keto Asian broccoli salad a beautiful bright green colour, but also helps to soften the florets which allows the salad dressing to get into every nook and corner of each piece of broccoli.

So, if you have never tried this trick in the past with any easy broccoli salad recipe, I highly suggest trying it at least once to see if you aren't hooked on the results!

Easy Broccoli Salad Tips

• you can easily make the dressing the day before and store it in the fridge
• you can use pre-cut broccoli in a bag to save some time
• make sure to use ALL the broccoli stems as it adds a nice crunch to the salad
• you can always top this keto broccoli salad with some microwave-fried onions, for some added flavour
• make sure that you mix the salad together early enough to allow for the dressing to soak into the broccoli before serving

More Homemade Keto Quick Salad Recipe Ideas

Looking for other keto summer salad recipes like this? Try these:

More Keto No-Bake Summer Dessert Recipes

These are my favourite keto summer dessert recipes:

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