Hi 30Days friends! I’m Kristin and I blog at Yellow Bliss Road where I share simple and fresh family friendly recipes and creative free printables. If you are looking for new recipes to add to your weekly meal plan, I’ve got lots for you to try, like one of these 75 different chicken recipes! If you’re in need of a little organization in your life, I can help – check out the annual Day, Blog and Menu Planners in my SHOP (on sale right now!). I’ve also got a brand new School Year Organizer that’s offered as a FREEBIE and includes all kinds of printables to keep your school year organized.
I love cold salads in the summer. In this recipe, Sweet Broccoli Salad gets a makeover by adding tender pasta and a lightened up Greek Yogurt dressing. It’s the perfect cold side dish for any time of the year!
Have you tried Joan’s Broccoli Madness Salad from Costco? It’s a make-at-home version of the famous Broccoli Salad from Souplantation and it’s delicious! Crunchy broccoli, cashews, bacon, onion and a sweet and creamy dressing. We picked a package up on our last big Costco trip and devoured it at dinner time.
Looking at the ingredients (just mayo, sugar and vinegar – yikes!) it was obvious that if I wanted to keep on enjoying this salad I was going to need to come up with a lighter version.
Greek yogurt based dressings are my go-to when I’m trying to lighten things up, like this Hawaiian Macaroni Salad or this Crunchy Chicken Asian Style Salad. For this broccoli salad I knew I needed the creaminess of the mayo so I chose to replace just half of it with the Greek yogurt. Instead of sugar I used honey, and the kept the apple cider vinegar for a little acid.
While the broccoli salad is great on it’s own I wanted to make it a heartier salad so I added some grapes and bowtie pasta. The grapes also help to give a little more sweetness since you’re leaving out the sugar. My son is allergic to cashews so I swapped them out for some dry roasted sunflower seeds but you could use any nuts you like. They really do give a nice added crunch. You could also add a little chopped up bacon if you miss that flavor.
This was really a fun and deliciously different salad and a nice detour from our regular green dinner salad. It’s great for summer picnics or barbecues, or potlucks and parties any time of the year.
Lightened Up Creamy Broccoli & Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- ½ - ¾ lb broccoli about 2 small heads, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 c red grapes sliced in half
- 2-3 tbsp onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- ¼ c dried cranberries
- 1 ½ c dry farfalle (butterfly) pasta cooked according to package directions
Dressing
- ½ c Greek yogurt
- ⅓ c mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Stir together remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over broccoli mix and stir until completely coated.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with sunflower seeds if desired.
Nutrition
For more delicious recipes, here are some favorites:
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken (perfect for any recipe!)
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