This Vegan Paleo Broccoli Cashew Salad is jazzed up with a curried cashew cream dressing. It’s a quick, easy and healthy side that’s always a crowd pleaser!
PIN Vegan Paleo Broccoli Cashew Salad
Oh, hey broccoli salad filled with innocent looking mini tree twins.
Why does your healthy, bright-green exterior need to be SO MISLEADING?
Are you confused? Do I have you HOOKED as to what on earth I am talking about? Yes?
The plan is working.
No? I’m going to ignore you. Just for right now though. Then I will continue loving you forever. <3
I bet you think I am talking about the association of broccoli salad being healthy because it’s, well, full of crunchy vegetal-friend goodness. And then you DOUSE it in ALL THE MAYO and it more resembles a sweet potato salad, and only resembles a shadow of what nutritious broccoli once was.
Too dramatic? Never.
Anywho. Not talking about that today. What I AM talking about is the days back in the Old Country (read: Canada) and the night of my birthday.
I don’t remember how old I was turning. I am 28 and all, you can’t except me to remember things anymore.
My mother made a MASSIVE BOWL (like bigger than my face kinda massive. Except my face is kind of small, so that’s not the most accurate description. Whatever. You get it) of my favorite broccoli salad recipe.
There is no kind of broccoli salad that I DON’T LIKE. Asian broccoli salad, Greek broccoli salad or this vegan paleo broccoli cashew salad. You make it, I want it. But Momma FFF? Hers was my FAV!
And, being “that kind of person” that falls in love with a food and then proceeds to eat it 100 times a day for all the evers (I’m looking at you cookie dough overnight oats and mango chicken with coconut cauliflower rice) I ate about ¾ of the bowl TO MYSELF. Like 3/4 of the WHOLE massive-size-of-face bowl. Not 3/4 of a singular-serving-sized-bowl
It’s my party. I can eat broccoli salad if I wannaaaaa.
See also: go big or GO HOME.
What I had not learned in my juvenile not-so-experienced life is that raw broccoli? It does not do happy things to tummies if eaten in a portion that was SUPPOSED to serve 8 people. Is it just me or are “proper” serving sizes SOSOSO misleading?
I mean, have you ever actually measured 1/2 cup of ice cream?
Pro tip: Don’t do it. Unless you want to CRY.
I woke in the middle of the night, and I had the worst stomach cramps ever. I thought I was DYING you guys. I woke up my mom and told her that I loved her and that this would be the last night she ever saw me again, because I thought I had some rare, over-night stomach tumor growing inside of me.
Fun fact: I was a TOTAL hypochondriac growing up. I’ve lost count of the number of “tumors” and cases of “spinal meningitis” I’ve had.
You know what she did? Laughed and told me that’s what I get for eating too much broccoli. AND WENT BACK TO BED.
ON MY BIRTHDAY. I can’t confirm or deny that I’m still a little bit scarred by the lack of LOVE and FUZZIES I got that night.
Hint: I am.
Now that I’ve told you my broccoli life story, I just want to discuss the fact that the dressing on this vegan paleo broccoli cashew salad is about 1 million times healthier AND, the creamy factor? It’s from out of control CRAZY TOWN.
Like the avocado smoothie bowl, I used Cashew Cream to make this salad healthy and Paleo-friendly. But, I took a few notes from the Indian Paleo Chicken Kebab Recipe and added a LITTLE curry kick because spice is kind of my life.
Don’t worry thought. It’s just a LITTLE kick. You’re tough STUFF and can handle it.
How to make Broccoli Salad
Broccoli salad is the easiest thing to make because it requires NO cooking.
- Chop up all your vegetables, making sure to cut your broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Mix everything, except your nuts and seeds, in a large bowl.
- Add in the dressing and mix well.
- Refrigerate for at LEAST 1 hour, but best at least 4 hours. Then the dressing can soak into the broccoli and make it just SO GOOD omg.
- Stir in the crunchy bits and SERVE!
Speaking of things to stir in, instead of raisins (because I think raisins are an abomination to the food world) I used dried cranberries for a little pop of sweetness, and some MORE cashews and sunflower seeds for some CRUNCHYCRUNCHYYUM texture goodness. Of course there’s bacon because what kind of broccoli salad is good without it.
Just kidding. This one is still TOTALLY good if you wanna leave them out and make it a vegetarian broccoli salad recipe!
However you make it, just don’t eat it all in ONE serving.
Learn from my poor life choices.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 3/4 Cup Roasted, Salted Cashews soaked in water overnight (105g)
- 5 1/2 Tbsp Water
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 4 tsp Yellow curry powder
- 2 1/2 tsp Honey (or agave for vegan)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Pinch of pepper
For the salad:
- 4 Cups Broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces (230g)
- 1/2 Cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 Cup Red onion, diced
- 1/4 Cup Dried unsweetened cranberries, roughly chopped (28g)
- 2 Slices Cooked Bacon, diced (omit for vegan)
- 2 Tbsp Sunflower seeds (15g)
- 2 Tbsp Roasted salted Cashews, chopped (12g)
Instructions
- Drain the cashews and place into a small food processor (mine is 3 cups.) Add the remaining dressing ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides often. This will take a few minutes so be patient.
- In a large bowl combine the broccoli, red onion, cilantro, bacon and cranberries. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Stir in the dressing until the salad is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to let the flavors develop.
- Just before serving, mix in the sunflower seeds and cashews and DEVOUR
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
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