5-Ingredient Broccoli Slaw Recipe - The Real Food Dietitians (2024)

Looking for an easy salad recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to make? You’ve come to the right place! This Ranch Broccoli Slaw Recipe is made with 5 simple ingredients, and is dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo and Whole30-friendly.

5-Ingredient Broccoli Slaw is perfect for summer potlucks, picnics cookouts, a bbq, and holiday gatherings.

You can also serve this coleslaw-like recipe as a quick and easy side dish to go along with really any meal.

Stacie has been making this Broccoli Slaw Recipe well before The Real Food Dietitians blog existed. It’s a recipe she and her mom have been making for years, modified to be made with real, whole food ingredients. The salad is incredibly easy to make and always a favorite. Crisp broccoli slaw mix, toasted almonds, dried cranberries and a creamy dressing come together to create this crunchy, broccoli salad recipe.

Ingredients to make this Broccoli Slaw Salad

Only 5 ingredients are needed to make this recipe! if you choose to make a homemade dressing for this slaw then you’ll need a few more simple ingredients.

• Bag of broccoli slaw – typically found in the bagged produce section of the grocery store, it’s made with the broccoli stalks/broccoli stems that are cut into matchsticks with a food processor, julienned or shredded carrots, and red cabbage. You can also substitute coleslaw if broccoli slaw mix is not available at your grocery store.
• Dried cranberries – may substitute raisins, dried cherries, or chopped dates
• Almonds – chopped, sliced or slivered. Sunflower seeds also work great for a nut-free option
• Red onion – may substitute yellow or green onions
• Ranch dressing or dressing of choice – try our dairy-free ranch or healthy homemade ranch. May substitute with your favorite creamy dressing or vinaigrette
• Salt and black pepper
• Optional: sliced green onions and/or chopped fresh herbs to mix in or to garnish like parsley, cilantro, chives, or basil

What about the dressing ingredients? The great thing about this recipe is that you can use any slaw dressing or creamy dressing. Our favorite dressing to use in this recipe is our dairy-free ranch.

Try one of these dressings to toss the salad in:

• Dairy-free Ranch Dressing
• Healthy Homemade Ranch Dressing
• Citrus Vinaigrette with Thyme
• Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.

How to make broccoli slaw recipe

The prep time for this salad is just few minutes. Easy recipes like this one makes eating real food and healthful meals possible. This recipe comes together fast taking a total time of less than 10 minutes.

Simply combine all of the ingredients in a large bowls and toss to combine well. We like to let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving to really allow the ingredients to soak up the creamy dressing. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

For serving size and the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition analysis, listing calories (kcals), protein, carbohydrates/carb, fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and more per serving.

Simple swaps and substitutions

While the recipe is perfect as it is, it’s also very versatile in that you can make it your own with what you have on hand or what sounds best to you. This Creamy Ranch Broccoli Slaw recipe is a true winner and we have a feeling it will soon become a go-to recipe of yours, too after you give it a try! Here are a few simple swap suggestions:

• Swap cabbage or coleslaw for the broccoli slaw.
• Swap any nuts or seed of choice for the slivered almonds. Use sunflower seeds for nut-free.
• Swap raisins or chopped dates for the dried cranberries.
• Use your favorite store-bought slaw dressing or any creamy dressing of choice. We like Primal Kitchen store-bought and you can get 20% off with code REALFOOD20. Our favorite dressing to make this salad with is our popular Dairy-free Ranch Dressing
• Add additional veggies you have kickin’ around in your fridge.
• Add fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, chives, or parsley to change up the flavor profile.
• Add feta cheese or crumbled goat cheese.
• Don’t care for red onion, simply omit them.
• Add a tablespoon apple cider vinegar, dijon, or lemon juice for a little zip

Follow the recipe as is or you can be your own recipe developer and use the recipe as a guideline! If you do create your own, let us know in the comments below how you changed this recipe. We love hearing of new recipes our community comes up with!

Broccoli Slaw: what is it, what are the Nutrition benefits, how to use it? We answer all of those questions and more below

Make it Dairy-free

To make this broccoli slaw salad recipe dairy-free, be sure to use a dairy-free dressing.

Make it Nut-Free

To make this recipe nut-free. Use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in place of the almond.

What to serve with Creamy Broccoli Slaw

Grilled Steak Kebabs

Crockpot Pulled Pork with Honey-Mustard BBQ Sauce

Grilled Honey Garlic Pork Chops with Honey Mustard Sauce

Healthy Sloppy Joes (Easy Stovetop Recipe)

More Recipes with Broccoli Slaw

DIY Sweet Kale Salad Kit

Creamy Broccoli Slaw

Asian Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Thai-Inspired Peanut Quinoa Salad

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