Oil-Free Crunchy Apple Broccoli Salad
This bright, healthy salad is the perfect option when you’re looking for a side dish or an impressive salad to take to a potluck dinner. It’s chock full of everyone’s favorites; broccoli, apples, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.
Ingredients
1 lb broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 apples, sliced into matchsticks or diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/8 cup maple syrup, or a little more as you adjust to your taste
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions:
Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice apples into small matchsticks or into a small dice. Mince garlic. Slice onion.
Place broccoli in boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes until bright and just barely tender. While you wait for the water to boil, prepare another bowl filled with water and ice. Keep this nearby!
With a slotted spoon, remove broccoli and immediately plunge into the ice water and shock it, this will halt the cooking process and keep the broccoli super bright green and still crunchy. Once the broccoli is completely cool, drain it from the ice water and pat dry with a paper towel.
In a large bowl, whisk together garlic, vinegar, and maple syrup. Taste and make adjustments as needed with maple syrup if you like it a little sweeter.
Add broccoli to the bowl and toss with dressing. Add apples, red onion, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries. Toss to coat.
Serves 4
