Try this delightful Broccoli Crunch Salad, a dairy-free dish bursting with flavour and textures. Learn how to make this nutrient-packed salad with a creamy avocado herb green dressing. Perfect for a quick lunch or a refreshing side.
Looking for a salad that will all but give you super-powers? This is the one!
Enjoy on its own or pair with some added protein for a satisfying lunch or dinner. In fact, the avocado herb dressing has so much flavour you can easily add any plain protein such as tinned fish or grilled chicken for a complete meal.
My meal prep shredded chicken is especially good for this one!
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💕 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Using sautéed broccoli “rice” adds a depth of flavour and hearty texture that makes this salad more satisfying, easier to digest, and less of a jaw-workout than other raw broccoli salads.
Dripping with a generous coating of thick, creamy, and flavoursome dressing, this salad rivals most pasta dishes in terms of sauce-factor! Plus, a wide variety of different crunchy textures keeps this veg-heavy, low carb salad interesting in every mouthful.
The recipe I have included is for a single serving of both salad and dressing. It may seem like a lot of dressing at first glance but trust me on this - I recommend using it all to enjoy the full effect of the saucy goodness which makes this such a satisfying combination when paired with low-starch veggies – this is not your average green salad!
I love to serve to serve this salad with gluten-free breaded fish or chicken, or some crispy baked chickpeas. This would also be great with some candida diet friendly bread or buckwheat crackers to make the most of all that dressing.
📋 Ingredients
- Broccoli: Finely chopped broccoli stems and florets create a broccoli "rice" base that's both tasty and unique.
- Courgette: served into ribbons
- Cucumber: for added crunch
- Radish: for more crunch and the pink contrasts beautifully with all the greens
- Mixed Salad Leaves: Fresh greens add vibrancy and crunch to the salad. Any mixture of salad leaves works here. You could also replace with just baby leaf spinach or romaine lettuce .
- Avocado Herb Green Dressing: Creamy (yet dairy-free) and full of fresh herbs such as basil and coriander, this dressing is the star of the show.
- Hemp seeds: an optional topping to add more healthy fats and protein
See recipe card for quantities.
🥣 Instructions
1. Cut off the broccoli stem - don't throw it away though! Finely chop the broccoli florets.
2. Next, cut away any of the tougher outer layers of the broccoli stem and finely chop.
3. Sauté the chopped florets and stem in coconut oil for 5 minutes until they're softened with crispy edges
4. In a blender, combine avocado, lemon juice, lemon zest, spring onion, fresh basil, fresh coriander, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt. Blend in short bursts, gradually adding water to reach your desired consistency. Avoid adding too much water.
5. Wash and chop the cucumber and radishes. Create courgette ribbons using a vegetable peeler. Arrange all the veggies alongside the warm broccoli "rice" in your serving dish.
6. Finally, pour over the creamy dressing. Mix thoroughly to coat all the vegetables. This salad is best enjoyed right away for maximum freshness and crunch.
Hint: In case you're wondering, this is what a "handful" of each of the herbs look like. Exact quantities don't matter, just a generous handful works 🙂
A handful of fresh coriander
A handful of fresh basil
💫 Substitutions
- Any salad leaves work for the base here; baby leaf spinach, romaine lettuce, rocket, watercress - choose your favourite.
- You can substitute for other fresh herbs, however, I would say that fresh herbs are an essential component of the dressing - don't skip these or try and substitute for dry here!
🥄 Equipment
You'll need a blender to make the creamy avocado herb green dressing.
🥡 Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 2-3 days for the best taste.
✨ Top Tip
Vary the chopping method for your vegetables for more interest - here I have combined chopped cucumber with courgette ribbons and thinly sliced radish to create a variety of textures.
❓FAQ
If making the salad ahead of time, store the dressing and salad separately and combine when serving to maintain the crunch.
More Salad Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Green Dream Broccoli Crunch Salad – Dairy Free & Vegan
Ingredients
- For the Salad:
- ½ head broccoli
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ¼ cucumber chopped
- ½ small courgette in ribbons
- 3 radishes thinly sliced
- 30 g Mixed salad leaves
- For the Avocado Herb Green Dressing:
- ½ Avocado
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice approx. ½ lemon
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 spring onion / scallion
- Handful of fresh basil
- Handful of fresh coriander
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5-6 tablespoon Water as needed to create the desired consistency
- Topping:
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds optional
Instructions
- Cut off the broccoli stem and set it aside. Finely chop the broccoli florets to create what resembles broccoli "rice." Trim any tough outer layers from the broccoli stem and very finely chop them to add to the rest of the broccoli rice.
- In a pan, heat a little coconut oil. Sauté the broccoli "rice" for around 5 minutes, until it's softened with crispy edges.
- Wash and chop the remaining salad ingredients. Use a vegetable peeler to create courgette ribbons and thinly slice the radishes. Arrange the cucumber, courgette, radishes, and mixed salad leaves in a serving dish alongside the still-warm broccoli "rice."
- In a small-capacity blender, combine the avocado, lemon juice, lemon zest, spring onion, fresh basil, fresh coriander, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and salt. Blend on high power in short bursts, gradually adding small amounts of water until you reach a thick pouring consistency. Avoid adding too much water.
- Pour the creamy dressing over the salad and mix well to coat all the vegetables.
- Serve and enjoy your Green Dream Broccoli Crunch Salad immediately for the best flavour and crunch.
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 2-3 days for the best taste.
Last step! If you make this recipe, will you do me a huge favour and leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review letting me know what you thought? It really helps! Thanks for your support!!
Disclaimer: Nutritional info is approximate and for general guidance only. Unit conversions are automatically generated and may not be accurate.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!