Broccoli Salad

A low FODMAP broccoli salad of florets, bacon, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, cheddar, and scallion greens in a maple mayonnaise dressing.

Prep 20 min

Cook 10 min

Serves 6

Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups (about 450 g) broccoli florets, heads only, thick stalks trimmed away (see portion note below)
• 6 slices bacon, plain-cured (check the label for garlic or onion)
• 1/3 cup (about 50 g) unsalted sunflower seeds, raw or roasted (about 8 g per serving)
• 6 tablespoons (about 45 g) dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 3 scallion green tops, thinly sliced (green part only, no white bulb)
• 1/2 cup (about 55 g) shredded sharp cheddar (optional)

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup (about 120 g) plain mayonnaise (check the label for garlic or onion)
• 1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or 1 tablespoon white sugar)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus black pepper to taste

Portion note: keep broccoli to 3/4 cup of heads per serving, dried cranberries to 1 tablespoon, and sunflower seeds to about 1 tablespoon. All three are low FODMAP at those amounts and climb higher above them. Look up any ingredient in the FODMAP Foods app to see how its rating changes with portion size.

Instructions

Cook the bacon

1. Lay the bacon in a cold skillet and set it over medium heat. Cook, turning once or twice, until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and cool, then crumble or chop into bite-size pieces.

Make the dressing

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, garlic-infused oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard until smooth.
2. Season with the salt and several grinds of black pepper. Taste and adjust the vinegar or maple syrup so the dressing lands between tangy and lightly sweet.

Toss and chill

1. Cut any large florets so every piece is roughly bite-size, favoring the heads over thick stalk sections. Add the broccoli, sunflower seeds, cranberries, scallion greens, and cheddar (if using) to the bowl with the dressing.
2. Toss until everything is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the broccoli softens slightly and the flavors settle.
3. Stir in the crumbled bacon just before serving so it stays crisp. Give the salad one more toss and taste for salt and pepper.

Tips & Substitutions

• Keep it dairy-free. Leave out the cheddar and the salad is naturally dairy-free. Parmesan is low in lactose but is still dairy, so leave it out too.
• Swap the seeds. Pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a good low-FODMAP stand-in for sunflower seeds. Skip cashews and pistachios, which are high-FODMAP.
• Soften the crunch. For a less raw bite, blanch the florets for 60 seconds in boiling water, then plunge them into ice water and pat dry before dressing.
• Sweeten your way. Maple syrup or plain white sugar both work. Honey is low FODMAP only at about 1 teaspoon per serving and agave is high FODMAP, so skip both, along with polyol-based sugar-free syrups.
• Make it a meal. Fold in chopped cooked chicken or extra bacon for a main-dish portion. Keep any added sauces or marinades free of onion and garlic bulb.
• Mind the mayo. Many bottled mayonnaise and bacon products slip in garlic or onion powder, so scan the ingredient list or choose a plain version.

Why This Works

• Broccoli heads over stalks. Broccoli heads are low FODMAP at 3/4 cup, while stalks carry more excess fructose, a FODMAP, so the salad uses mostly heads.
• Garlic flavor without the fructans. Fructans do not dissolve into oil, so garlic-infused oil delivers the savory depth of garlic without the FODMAPs that come from the bulb itself.
• Onion taste from green tops. The green tops of scallions are low-FODMAP, so they stand in for the raw onion in a classic broccoli salad while the high-fructan white bulb stays out.
• Cranberries in check. Dried cranberries are low-FODMAP at 1 tablespoon, so measuring them per serving keeps the fructose and fructan load in range while still giving the salad its sweet-tart pop.

Storage

Keep the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; the broccoli softens a little each day. For the best texture, store the crumbled bacon separately and stir it in just before serving. This salad does not freeze well, since the mayonnaise dressing tends to split once thawed. If it looks dry after a day, loosen it with a small spoonful of extra mayonnaise before serving.