Welcome to #CranberryWeek, hosted by Caroline’s Cooking and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. We’ll be sharing cranberry-inspired creations all week long in celebration of national cranberry day. Search #CranberryWeek to keep up to date and follow the #CranberryWeek Pinterest board for more cranberry inspiration.
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here! Over the past few weeks I’ve been working hard with my brother, sister-in-law, and husband to create a winning Thanksgiving menu. My brother and his wife are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time ever so it’s a pretty big deal. I’m so excited to enjoy our meal and will be sharing photos on Instagram and Facebook so make sure to follow along!
When we started planning the menu the one thing we worried about was oven space. While I had several side dishes that had to go in the oven I wanted to come up with one that was a raw side dish so we wouldn’t have to cook it. Plus, I feel like a lot of dishes at Thanksgiving are soft and a crunchy side side would be welcomed.
I wanted to do a broccoli salad but I’m not a huge fan of broccoli salad that is loaded with mayonnaise and has a ton of cheese. It turns an otherwise healthy side dish into a calorie laden dish. It also covers the flavor of the actually broccoli. So I came up with a broccoli salad that is much lighter in both flavor and calories.
My Broccoli Salad with Cranberries is the perfect holiday side dish. While we are having it tonight for Thanksgiving I think it would be fun for Christmas as well because it’s red and green. I started with broccoli and red onion. Then I made a sauce of mayonnaise, sour cream, and spices. I combined everything in a bowl and tossed it along with almonds, the dried cranberries, and just a bit of cheese.
It turned out really delicious. The cranberries add just a hint of sweetness and color to the salad. The cheese adds a touch of sharpness and the almonds add an additional crunch. It’s a fresh side dish that is great alongside a heavy meal.
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- ⅓ c. light mayonnaise
- ¼ c. light sour cream
- 1 T. vinegar
- 1 T. honey
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. black pepper
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 6 c. broccoli florets, chopped
- ⅓ c. slivered almonds, toasted
- ⅓ c. dried cranberries
- ¼ c. finely shredded cheddar cheese
- Soak the red onion in cold water for 5 minutes then drain.
- In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic. Mix well.
- Add in the onion, broccoli, almonds, cranberries, and cheese. Mix well until combined.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving or overnight.
Check out all the other cranberry recipes being shared today:
- Apple-Ginger Cranberry Sauce from Palatable Pastime
- Broccoli Salad with Cranberries from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Cranberry Blondies from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Cranberry Caipirinha from Caroline’s Cooking
- Cranberry Oat Smoothie from Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Graavilõhe from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Cranberry Walnut Macaron with Orange Buttercream from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Warm Cranberry Spread from Family Around The Table
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Heather, I’m a huge fan of broccoli salads and make it two ways, one way similar to this. The tart-sweet cranberries are such a great thing to play off the slight bitterness of raw broccoli. And I think you’re right about it being a perfect no-cook side dish. I don’t care for salad with a traditional turkey dinner, but this is more side dish than salad in my book and goes beautifully. CommentLuv was hanging up the process, so I’ll just put the link here.
http://www.delightfulrepast.com/2016/11/afternoon-tea-party-tips-le-creuset.html
HezziD says
I’ll definitely take a look! I agree that the cranberries totally make this the perfect Thanksgiving side dish.
Cindy says
What a great idea for a side. I usually make some sort of salad. This is a keeper!
Christie says
The crunch, the sweet, the flavors! I love everything about this salad!
Caroline says
A nice simple combination, but I’m sure tasty sweet-savory mix.