This warm broccoli salad with bacon and vinaigrette uses flavorful bacon drippings for the dressing, making it a zero-waste, savory side dish. Ideal for any meal!
A warm flavor-packed simple broccoli salad with crispy fried bacon, topped with a vinaigrette.
The vinaigrette is made with the bacon drippings, which adds depths of flavors to this salad.
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TL;DR
I like the taste of broccoli and cauliflower lukewarm at room temperature with a tangy vinaigrette dressing.
If you add a tiny amount of meat to that, such as in this recipe, crispy fried bacon, the salad turns into a flavorful side or stand-alone lunch meal.
In this recipe, I have done just that, but I went all no waste by using the precious bacon drippings in my dressing instead of oil.
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli — Fresh green florets. You can use the stems but cut off the fibrous parts. I keep my florets in lukewarm water with a dash of vinegar for 5 minutes, so that all impurities and insects, if any, come out. Then I just rinse them off with clear running water.
- Bacon — I prefer to use Streaky Bacon because it’s fattier so that I can collect enough drippings for the dressing. You can use Back bacon too.
- Vinegar — Your favorite vinegar. I like white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or homemade vinegars that are infused with herbs and spices.
- Salt & Black Pepper —
- Bacon Drippings — That you collect from the crispy cooked bacon. If you want to serve this salad cold, use oil instead because bacon drippings turn solid and white when cooled and that doesn’t look too good on the salad. But this salad is anyway better served warm.
- Chives — freshly chopped.
Alternatively, you can switch the broccoli with cauliflower too.
Process Overview
Step 1
Prep your broccoli florets and cook them either in salt water or steam.
Step 2
Place bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until crispy.
Crumble the warm bacon into smaller pieces and collect the bacon drippings.
Step 3
Prepare the vinaigrette dressing by mixing the vinegar with the salt and black pepper first.
Then add the bacon drippings (or oil if you prefer) and combine all the dressing ingredients.
Step 5
Assemble the salad by placing cooked broccoli with crunchy bacon pieces into a bowl.
Pour the dressing over that and mix it all together. Top with freshly chopped chives.
📖 Recipe
Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Vinaigrette
This warm broccoli salad with bacon and vinaigrette uses flavorful bacon drippings for the dressing, making it a zero-waste, savory side dish. Ideal for any meal!
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Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 446kcal
Instructions
-
Prep your broccoli. Cut into manageable florets and cut off fibrous stems. Place in a bowl with water and a dash of vinegar and submerge florets (to remove impurities and trapped insects).
1 Medium Broccoli
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Cook broccoli, either in boiling salt water or steam. Cook through or al dente, whichever you prefer. This can take about 20 minutes. Strain and pat dry (the stock can be frozen and used for a soup).
Salt Water
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In the meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread and place bacon slices over the paper.
4 Slices Bacon
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Roast bacon for about 13–15 minutes at 350℉/ 180℃, or until crispy and crunchy.
-
Leave to cool, and when it’s not all that hot anymore, crumble your bacon into smaller pieces. Collect the dripping separately.
-
Prepare the dressing by combining salt, pepper, and vinegar. Mix with a fork or shake in a dressing shaker. Then add the drippings (or oil, *see Notes) and combine your dressing ingredients once more.
1 Tablespoon Vinegar, ¼ Teaspoon Salt, ⅛ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, 2½ Tablespoon Bacon Dripping
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Place cooked, still warm broccoli florets and crunchy bacon pieces into a mixing bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette dressing over the salad.
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Top with freshly chopped chives, and serve warm/at room temperature.
Chives
Notes
You can switch the Bacon drippings with vegetable, sunflower, or canola oil.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Warm Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Vinaigrette
Amount Per Serving (2 g)
Calories 446
Calories from Fat 324
% Daily Value*
Fat 36g55%
Saturated Fat 13g65%
Trans Fat 0.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 5g
Monounsaturated Fat 16g
Cholesterol 46mg15%
Sodium 709mg30%
Potassium 1050mg30%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 8g32%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 1911IU38%
Vitamin C 271mg328%
Calcium 146mg15%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tips
The bacon can be cooked crispy in the oven or in a skillet.
You can switch the Bacon drippings with vegetable, sunflower, or canola oil. I prefer the bacon dripping because it is super flavorful, and they turn the dressing so much more exciting.
If you use the bacon drippings, it’s a no waste recipe. Bacon drippings turn solid and white when cooled, but as this salad is served warm, the drippings remain liquid. Don’t cool the salad if you use the drippings because it won’t look that pretty.
Tip: sprinkle some baking soda or baking powder into your boiling broccoli so that the florets retain their green color.
Serving
Serve the salad at room temperature warm. It’s best right after preparation, but because you don’t need to refrigerate it, you are free to keep it out for a few hours without it getting bad.
Therefore, you can serve this salad as a tailgating, potluck or cookout side dish as it can be left out for a longer time.
Just make sure to consume it completely, if the salad was left out at high temperatures for a longer period of time.
