Coleslaw is a must at every BBQ, but why not give it a green veggie boost by adding some broccoli to it? This Broccoli Slaw with lemon dressing has a nice crunch to it and all the creaminess that you know and love in a coleslaw, but with a healthier zesty twist. Broccoli slaw is an easy side dish that goes great with chicken and fish and you can prep it ahead of time.
I am making it my mission this summer to find as many different ways to make coleslaw as I possibly can. Mexican Coleslaw might just be my favorite, but make sure you try our Best Ever Coleslaw and Crunchy Asian Slaw too! You can never have too much coleslaw at a BBQ, right? Really budget friendly to make, lots of texture and color!
If you haven't tried coleslaw with broccoli before, then you are missing out! This is one of our favorite ways to make sure that a BBQ or picnic has plenty of color in it, and it balances out all those heavy burgers and sausages.
It's crunchy, with a lovely tangy and creamy lemon dressing. Delicious! Not need to buy a bag of coleslaw mix, as this is really easy.
This broccoli slaw recipe is ready in just 5 minutes and it can be even quicker if you use a grater attachment on a food processor. You can make this the night before and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Make sure to give it a good stir before serving.
If you are looking for more broccoli recipes to try, then why not try our creamy Broccoli and Stilton Soup, crispy Roasted Broccoli Salad, comforting Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake, speedy Quick Broccoli Pasta or super simple Microwave Broccoli?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Broccoli - The star of this dish. To make this the best it possible can be, then try to choose the perfect broccoli. Choose a broccoli head with tight, green florets and firm stalks. Your broccoli should feel heavy for its size. Avoid broccoli with dried out or browning stem ends or yellowing florets.
- Shallots and spring onions (scallions) - These add some extra crunch to the slaw.
- Red cabbage - We used red cabbage in this recipe for a pop of colour, but there is no reason why you couldn't use white cabbage, or use a mixture of the two.
- Carrots - We used standard orange carrots, which makes this a budget friendly side dish. However, you could use purple or yellow carrots to mix things up a little.
- Yogurt - We used fat free Greek yogurt. You could use full fat if you wanted something a bit creamier.
- Mayo - As well as the yogurt to make it creamy, we added a little bit of mayo for extra creaminess and to make it feel a little more indulgent. You could just use yogurt though if you wanted to keep it lighter.
- Vinegar - We used apple cider vinegar, but you could use a red wine vinegar instead. We love coleslaw that has a vinegar bite to it. If you don't you can always leave it out.
- Lemon - Some lemon juice really lightens it all up and adds lots of freshness to the broccoli slaw and we think this broccoli slaw with lemon dressing is just the BEST!
- Mustard - A tablespoon of Dijon mustard gives it a nice punch of flavour. You can leave this out if you prefer, or even swap it to wholegrain mustard.
- Honey - This adds a touch of sweetness to the broccoli colelsawand helps to balance out the tartness from the Greek yogurt.
Variations
These kinds of salads are really easy to adapt, so feel free to use it as a fridge raid salad add a few different veggies. You could add bell peppers, or shredded courgette for some extra greens. We also like to mix shredded apple in too, as it adds some sweetness.
Add some extra crunch with some flaked almonds just before serving, and dried cranberries add a nice sweetness to it too. We added some pine nuts.
This isn't missing meat, but if you want to take this to the next level then make this Air Fry Bacon and chop it up and mix it in.
This is a delicious vegetable packed side dish. However, if you wanted to turn it into more of a filling main meal, then you could add some chicken or salmon to it. Why not try leftovers from out Best Ever Roast Chicken or add our Lemon and Rosemary Salmon to it
How To Make Broccoli Slaw - Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: Cut the broccoli florets off of the stalk and cut into small pieces. Using a peeler of sharp knife, remove the outer part of the stalk and discard. Use a coarse box grater to grate the stalk.
- Step 2: Mix together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Step 3: Add all the vegetables to a large bowl and drizzle over the dressing.
- Step 4: Mix well.
Broccoli Slaw Dressing
A salad is all about the dressing, right?
This creamy dressing is made with a Greek yogurt and mayo mix to keep it lighter (although you could swap that for just mayo or sour cream if you want something a little more indulgent). Then some apple cider vinegar, lemon, mustard and honey added.
You could swap the honey for maple syrup and use a plant based yogurt if you wanted to make this vegan.
This is a light and zesty broccoli slaw with lemon dressing, so make sure you go heavy on the lemon juice to keep it nice and fresh.
Serving Suggestions
Slaw with broccoli is such a great BBQ side, so it goes with all your BBQ favourites. Here are some things that is goes really well with:
- Marinated Chicken Skewers
- Peri Peri Chicken
- Vegetable and Halloumi Kebabs
- Cajun Chicken Burgers.
- Greek Chicken Skewers
- Honey and Lime Chicken
- Hidden Vegetable Beef Burgers
- Oven Baked Chicken Wings
Tops To Make The BEST Broccoli Slaw
- Make sure you finely dice the shallots so that they are not too overpowering.
- Instead of chopping all your own vegetables, you could buy a bag of pre-shredded slaw mix, which makes this a much faster recipe.
- You can swap the Greek yogurt for sour cream or mayo if you want a more indulgent salad.
- Try adding some shredded apple for extra sweetness.
- You can make this salad vegan by swapping honey for maple syrup and using a plant based yogurt.
- Pecans and sunflower seeds sprinkled on top before serving add a lovely crunch.
- Give this slaw a protein boost by adding some cooked quinoa.
- Whilst you can eat this broccoli slaw with lemon dressing right away, it is best if you leave it to marinate for an hour or so in the fridge as the vegetables will soften a little.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the size of the head of your broccoli. Ours was fairly large, so we cut florets off and then quartered each of them. If you were using a smaller head of broccoli, then you might just need to halve them. It depends on how chunky you want your broccoli in this slaw. You can also chop or shred up the stalk too, meaning that nothing goes to waste.
Yes, this is a great salad to make in advance, and it will save you some time if you are prepping it for a BBQ. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Store it in the fridge in an air tight container or a covered bowl for maximum freshness. If you are adding bacon, then do that just before serving.
More Salad Recipes
If you’ve tried this Broccoli Slaw recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Broccoli Slaw with Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
For the slaw:
- 1 head Broccoli - small
- 2 Shallots
- 0.25 Red cabbage
- 2 Carrot - small
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoon 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 0.5 Lemon - (juice only)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 1 pinch Ground black pepper
To serve (optional):
- 2 Spring onion (Scallion) - thinly sliced
- Pine nuts
Instructions
- Cut 1 head Broccoli into small pieces. Using a peeler of sharp knife, remove the outer part of the stalk and discard. Use a coarse box grater to grate the stalk.
- Mix together 2 tablespoon 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoon Mayonnaise, 2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar, juice of 0.5 Lemon, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon Honey and 1 pinch Sea salt.
- Add 2 Shallots, 0.25 Red cabbage, 2 Spring onion (Scallion) and 2 Carrot to a large bowl and drizzle over the dressing.
- Mix well and top with Pine nuts (optional).
Recipe Tips
- Make sure you finely dice the shallots so that they are not too overpowering.
- Instead of chopping all your own vegetables, you could buy a bag of pre-shredded slaw mix, which makes this a much faster recipe.
- You can swap the Greek yogurt for sour cream or mayo if you want a more indulgent salad.
- Try adding some shredded apple for extra sweetness.
- You can make this salad vegan by swapping honey for maple syrup and using a plant based yogurt.
- Pecans and sunflower seeds sprinkled on top before serving add a lovely crunch.
- Give this slaw a protein boost by adding some cooked quinoa.
- Whilst you can eat this broccoli slaw with lemon dressing right away, it is best if you leave it to marinate for an hour or so in the fridge as the vegetables will soften a little.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
The London Mum says
Oh I love broccoli, and it's one of the only vegetables my son likes, so this would make a great dish to get him eating some other vegetables too!
Bella and Dawn at Dear Mummy Blog says
We love Broccoli but never thought about preparing it in the way! Looks delicious and perfect for summer eating!
Alison Rost says
I think broccoli goes really well in a coleslaw recipe and it's definitely going to be a hit! I can't wait to try and make this during gatherings this season!
Kelly says
Yeah, slaws in general aren't as much of a thing here as they are in North America. I love them and would definitely give this a go as it would be super easy to make vegan for me.
Helen at Casa Costello says
Oh wow, aren't the natural colours of this so beautiful? We are loving experimenting with various salads and slaws so will definitely put this on the list.
Melanie says
This makes it feel like summer. An ideal side to have at the bbq x
MissPond says
Ooooh this looks wonderful! I’m all for broccoli :) I’ll be giving this a go!
Irene says
I have made this to go with lunch today and I was very simple to make. I just had a sneaky little taste and it’s lovely. I like the hint of sweetness from the honey.
Beth says
That looks like such a great coleslaw. What do you think about some raw cauliflower in it too?
Rhian Westbury says
For some reason I'm still trying to get myself to like brocolli as I don't at the moment but I know my mum would lov this x
Angela Ricardo Bethea says
Oh, This Brocolli Slaw looks really delicious and healthy. I would love to try this recipe later in our launch. My mother-in-law would love this for sure.
Kristina Maggiora says
Oh damn this looks delicious ; I love slow, gonna give this recipe a try :)
Laura Dove says
Oh what a great idea! We love coldslaw but have never had it like this, what a great way to pack in some iron!
MELANIE EDJOURIAN says
Oh wow what a great idea. I#m always trying to bulk up my veg intake and i love slaw so this might help.
Sarah Bailey says
This sounds like a delicious slaw, I have to admit broccoli has to be one of my favourite vegetables so I am always up for using it as an ingredient.