The BEST Keto Broccoli Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing - 6 Ingredients!

This is by far the BEST Keto Broccoli Salad with the most AMAZING Maple Bacon dressing!  Only 6 ingredients are needed to make this delicious low carb, sugar-free salad.  Serve it at your next barbecue or with your next Holiday meal, this broccoli salad is perfect any time of the year.

this recipe

Keto Salad Recipe

I have been making a version of this keto broccoli salad for years. And although I LOVE the original recipe, I have since "tweaked" the original to come up with an even better version of my original low carb broccoli salad recipe.

This salad is really easy to make, only requires 6 basic ingredients and is a perfect salad that can easily (and actually tastes better) be made ahead of time.

Just like my Easy Keto Berry Trifle or my Easy Keto Strawberry Shortcake, this Maple Bacon Broccoli Salad is the perfect keto salad recipe, especially during the hot summer months or as a side dish for your next holiday gathering.

I promise you that even broccoli haters LOVE this version so gather your ingredients and make this keto salad recipe for your next get-together!

Keto Maple Bacon Broccoli Salad Ingredients

Broccoli - I used 2 lbs of fresh broccoli florets that I bought at Costco. You can also use fresh broccoli crowns. You will need about 10-11 cups for this recipe. Take the broccoli florets or crowns and chop the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Did you know? You can definitely eat the broccoli stems so don't throw them out! Broccoli stems are full of fibre and nutrients. I usually take off the outer peel and then dice the stalks and add them to the keto salad

Mayo - You can use either homemade mayo or store-bought mayo. The best keto mayos on the market are Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo, Chosen Foods Keto Mayo or for a Vegan brand, try Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Fabanaise. As for the most common supermarket brands, Duke's and Kraft are 2 brands with very to no added sugar.

Sour Cream - Sour cream is added to the dressing to help to create an even creamier and slightly tangy dressing. If you don't want to use sour cream, simply add more mayo instead.

Red Wine Vinegar - In a hearty salad, like this Maple Bacon Broccoli Salad, adding red wine vinegar adds just the right tangy pop of flavour that rounds out the other salad dressing ingredients and brings it to life.

Maple Syrup - You have several different options when it comes to sugar-free maple syrup. I used Lakanto by ChocZero also has sugar-free maple syrup. If you don't like the taste of maple syrup, you could always omit the sugar-free maple syrup and simply add 2-4 tablespoons of sweetener.

Bacon - To keep this recipe uber-simple, I used pre-cooked bacon crumbles. Epic makes a keto bacon bit but you can also find bacon bits at your local grocery store or at Costco and Sam's. Just make sure that you don't use imitation bacon bits. To make this a keto salad recipe plant-based, use imitation bacon bits from Frontier.

The BEST Broccoli Salad Recipe

Recipe Update - The biggest change that I made to my recipe was to quickly steam the broccoli for 2 minutes in the microwave. By taking this extra step, I found that the dressing was able to get into all the nooks and crannies of the broccoli bits! Also, I now heat the bacon bits quickly before adding the dressing ingredients to allow some of the delicious smokey flavour of the bacon to be incorporated into the dressing.

Keto Broccoli Salad instructions

Step 1: Quickly steam the broccoli

Chop the broccoli into bite-size pieces and place the broccoli in a large microwaveable bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the bowl and cover the bowl loosely with a plate. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the microwave and allow it to cool. Once cool enough to handle, drain the broccoli using a colander.

Step 2: Make the Maple Bacon dressing

Place almost all of the bacon bits in a small bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Whisk in the mayo, sour cream, apple cider vinegar and sugar-free maple syrup.

Step 3: Assemble the salad

Pour the keto maple bacon salad dressing over the broccoli and stir everything together to incorporate. Place the keto broccoli salad in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours before serving

Crumble additional bacon, chopped nuts or shredded cheddar cheese (believe it or not, cheddar and maple go REALLY well together and taste delicious on this Apple Cheddar Bacon Pizza (Gluten-Free, Keto)!) on the salad right before serving

Keto Salad Recipe Variations

For Fall and Winter Holidays:

• add toasted pumpkin seeds
• add dried cranberries
• add leftover turkey to make this salad into a main meal
• add candied nuts

For the Spring Holidays:

• add shredded carrots
• add chopped pecans
• add leftover Easter ham to make this keto broccoli salad into a main meal

For an Asian-inspired take:

• add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce or coconut aminos
• add some chopped cashews or peanuts
• add sliced scallions

Tips for making the BEST Broccoli Salad Recipe:

• To save time, you can easily make the dressing the day before and store it in the fridge
• Also, using pre-cut broccoli in a bag as well as pre-cooked bacon bits can keep this recipe super simple
• Use ALL the parts of the broccoli, including the stems, as it adds a nice crunch to the salad
• If you are topping the keto salad with Microwave-Fried onions, you can make the onions a week ahead and then stored them in the fridge until ready to use
• If you can't find real bacon crumbles, simply cook 4-6 pieces of bacon and crumble them into the salad (you can follow these instructions by Food.com)
• Make sure that you mix the salad together early enough to allow for the dressing to soak into the broccoli before serving
• IF you don't want to quickly steam the broccoli, you can omit this step.
• I personally LOVE adding 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the dressing for a slight umami taste

More Keto Salad Recipes

• Keto Winter Salad with Roasted Squash and Tahini Dressing
• Healthy Keto Roasted Vegetable Pepperoni Salad - Easy Sheet Pan Recipe
• Healthy Crunchy Roasted Brussels Sprout Salad - Keto and Vegan
• Roasted Cauliflower Tomato Salad - Keto & Plant-Based
• Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad - Keto

Print