Sweet Tomatoes' Broccoli Salad

According to my blog stats, one of the most frequent searches that lead people to my blog is the  Sweet Tomatoes’ broccoli salad recipe I posted right before Memorial Day two years ago  so I thought I would post the recipe again and participate in the Home May’d Recipe party going on over at Southern Hospitality.

In the past year, I have made this recipe many times.  It’s quick, easy and it always gets rave reviews. 

Here’s my original post from May 2009…

I have a delicious recipe to share with you this week.  If you are going to, or hosting,  a Memorial Day get-together this weekend, it would make a wonderful side dish to add to the menu!

First, a little history about this recipe …

Here in Florida, we have a restaurant chain called Sweet Tomatoes.  These restaurants  are also in approximately 14 other states so some of you may have eaten at one.  (You can go  here and type in your zip code to see if there is one close to you. )

For those of you who have never been to a  Sweet Tomatoes restaurant, it is an all-you-can-eat salad buffet featuring fresh vegetables, salads, made-from-scratch soups, muffins and breads, and hot pastas.

One of my favorite salads is their broccoli salad, which I am told is called “Joan’s Broccoli Madness,” so recently  I went searching the web for a copycat recipe.

The list of ingredients is fairly simple:  fresh uncooked  broccoli, red onion, bacon, cashews, raisins, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar and sugar.

Because it was more economical than buying a box of raisins and a can of cashews, I elected to use a pre-mixed Trail Mix instead.  It contained the cashews and raisins  the recipe called for but there was also a variety other nuts and seeds in it, which I liked.  When I make this salad in the future, I will definitely use the Trail Mix again but I also want to add some golden raisins. 

Chopped broccoli, red onions, crispy crumbled bacon and the trail mix…

Mix in the dressing, chill and enjoy. 

Mmmmmm…..

At first, I thought this recipe might be rather labor intensive with all the chopping.  However,  I had everything all chopped up in minutes…even before my bacon was done cooking in the microwave.   It truly took minimal effort to make this broccoli salad and it was just as yummy as what Sweet Tomatoes serves.  It has definitely earned a spot in my file of favorite recipes!

I’ll be making it this weekend.    Be sure to let me know if you try it!

JOAN'S BROCCOLI MADNESS SALAD

Serves 6 to 8

FOR THE SALAD:

1 bunch fresh, raw broccoli, washed and cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup (4 to 5 strips) cooked bacon, crumbled

1/2 cup dry roasted cashews **

1/3 cup raisins **

1/4 cup fresh red onion, finely chopped

FOR THE DRESSING:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Place the salad ingredients into a large bowl and gently toss till mixed.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. 

Add dressing to salad, mix well, and chill. 

**Note:  in place of  cashews and raisins, I substituted  about 1/2 package of “Nuts, Seeds & Raisins”  Trail Mix by Planters.