Broccoli, Bacon and Mandarin Orange Salad
A colorful salad served chilled with fresh broccoli, bacon, cashews, onion and mandarin oranges with a lightly sweet homemade dressing.
When I’m at a grocery store, I like to check out the service deli case to see what kind of premade salads they sell.
These salads are the ones that are sold by the pound (or less) behind a big glass case and generally are located by the deli meats and cheeses that can be sliced and purchased by the pound.
The premade salad sections have sure come a long way from when just potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw were available.
Recently I bought a small container of broccoli salad to try, and it was really good.
I actually had my doubts because the broccoli was raw, and I wasn’t sure if it would have a lot of flavor.
But it had great flavor.
So, this recipe is my rendition of that scrumptious broccoli salad.
The fresh ingredients are mixed together with homemade dressing that’s slightly sweet and more on the liquid side.
It’s best not to store this salad in the refrigerator for more than a couple hours or the cashews and bacon may become soggy.
It just needs to be gently mixed again before serving so that the delicious dressing lightly coats all of the ingredients.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Salad – broccoli, red onion, real bacon bits, whole cashews, mandarin oranges and dressing
Dressing – mayonnaise…
…rice vinegar, sugar and juice from the canned mandarin oranges (if the liquid in the can of mandarin oranges is not juice, then substitute with apple juice or milk)
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
For the Salad:
Cut the broccoli into small florets.
To a large bowl,
add the broccoli…
…chopped red onion
…and…
real bacon bits.
Set aside.
Drain the liquid from the can of mandarin oranges and reserve the liquid if it’s fruit juice.
It the liquid in the can of mandarin oranges is not fruit juice, discard the liquid.
Set the mandarin oranges aside (it’s best if these are added at the very end).
To the bowl, add whole cashews and set aside while making the dressing.
TIP – Although I added the mandarin oranges to the bowl in the picture above, for best results I’d recommend setting the mandarin oranges aside at this point.
It’s best to add them after mixing the dressing in with the other ingredients.
This should prevent the mandarin oranges from breaking apart.
For the Dressing:
To a small bowl, add mayonnaise.
If the liquid in the can of mandarin oranges is a fruit juice, add 2 tablespoons of the juice to the bowl with the mayonnaise.
If the liquid isn’t fruit juice discard it and add 2 tablespoons of apple juice or milk to the mayonnaise instead.
To the bowl, add rice vinegar…
…and sugar.
Whisk together.
For Serving:
To the large bowl with the broccoli mixture…
…add the dressing.
Gently mix to coat the ingredients with the dressing.
Lastly, to the bowl, add the mandarin oranges and gently mix them into the salad making sure that they stay whole and don’t break into pieces.
Serve right away or…
…store in the refrigerator for a short while and serve chilled.
It’s best not to store this salad in the refrigerator for more than a couple hours or the cashews and bacon may get soggy.
If stored in the refrigerator, before serving gently mix the ingredients again just a little so that the dressing coats all of the ingredients.
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Broccoli, Bacon and Mandarin Orange Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 cups (heaping) fresh broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup real bacon bits
- 1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges
- 1/4 cup whole cashews (roasted)
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon juice from the mandarin orange can If the liquid in the can is not a juice; substitute with apple juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Instructions
For the Salad:
- In a large bowl add the broccoli florets, chopped red onion, bacon bits and cashews. Set aside.
- If the liquid in the can of mandarin oranges is a fruit juice; drain the mandarin oranges and reserve the juice. If it's not a fruit juice, drain the mandarin oranges and discard the liquid.
- Set the mandarin oranges aside.
For the Dressing:
- To a small bowl, add mayonnaise and fruit juice from the can of mandarin oranges (if it's not a fruit juice, add apple juice or milk as a substitute).
- To the small bowl, add rice vinegar and sugar. Whisk together.
For Serving:
- To the large bowl with the broccoli mixture, add the dressing. Gently mix to coat the ingredients with the dressing.
- To the bowl, add the mandarin oranges and gently mix them into the salad making sure that they stay whole and don’t break into pieces.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature. It's best not to store this salad in the refrigerator for more than a couple hours or the cashews and bacon may get soggy.
- If serving this salad chilled, gently stir it again just before serving.
Notes
TIPS:
- For best results add the mandarin oranges to the salad at the very end after mixing the dressing in with the other ingredients. This should prevent the mandarin oranges from breaking apart.
- It's best not to store this salad in the refrigerator for more than a couple hours or the cashews and bacon may get soggy.
Recipes Made with Broccoli
Here are more recipes with broccoli you may like “Smoked Sausage, Pasta and Vegetable One-Skillet Meal“, “Chicken, Pasta and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce” and “Fresh Spring Rolls with Chicken and Vegetables“.
Comfort Food Recipes
Comfort Food Recipes you may like:
Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes) with Pecans and Marshmallows
Candied Sweet Potatoes (Canned Yams), with Walnuts and Marshmallows
Baked Herb and Parmesan Potato Slices
Biscoff Cookie Butter Blondie Brownies
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
Easy Skillet Smoked Sausage with Caramelized Barbecue Sauce
Salad Recipes
More Salad Recipes You May Like:
Fruit Salad with Shredded Coconut
This recipe is only for 3 servings. Do I simply double/triple/quadruple ingredients to increase size of salad?
Hi there and thank you for your message. Yes, to increase the number of servings, in multiples of 3, either double (6 servings), triple (9 servings) or quadruple (12 servings) the amount of each ingredient used.
I pinned this recipe recently & just got around to making it for tonights dinner! the only thing I did was had a 3 or 4 slices bacon I had baked, instead of the bacon bits. I must say I really enjoyed it, & will sure be making it again. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Christine, so glad you liked it and I’m sure your baked bacon made it even better. Thank you for letting me know. Have a great week!
This not only looks delicious, but it looks like sunshine on a plate!
Wow this looks like a salad even I would eat. Love mandarins and a huge fan of broccoli. I must try this one.
Hi Kim, thank you for stopping by!
I just got some mandarin oranges recently for a salad but was not really sure how I would build the salad. Now I will not have to search or wonder any more-bingo the salad is right here. Great ingredients and it is really well rounded. The dressing looks like a must as well. Thanks for posting this!
Hi Tina, thank you!