Anytime is a good time for an easy raw broccoli salad, especially one that takes 15 minutes to make and no cooking is involved! Sweet Tomatoes is known for the Sweet Tomatoes Joan’s Broccoli Madness Salad, and even if broccoli isn’t your go-to veggie, you’ll still love this cold, delicious salad. This is the best broccoli salad recipe you will try.
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Table of Contents
All about Sweet Tomatoes
Sweet Tomatoes was a beautiful family restaurant that did so much for kids and the community. It’s also known as Soup Plantation in southern California and other parts of the country. Unfortunately, on May 7, 2020, the company announced it would permanently close all locations.
It had a fantastic salad bar with many homemade soups, bread, salads, and more. This Broccoli Madness Salad was just one of their many salad options. Everything was made in-house and super fresh all day long.
What makes this broccoli salad recipe so good
This easy cold broccoli salad requires minimal cooking if you want a straightforward salad. Who doesn’t love a simple salad to put together?
This flavorful salad can also be assembled ahead of time and served later. It gets better the next day after making it. You’ll want to make this summer salad for a potluck and family meals.
Broccoli salad ingredients
This Sweet Tomatoes Joans Broccoli Madness Salad has these delicious ingredients:
- Fresh broccoli. You’ll use bite-sized florets for this recipe. The florets allow you to enjoy bite-size pieces of broccoli without being overwhelming.
- Diced red onions. Red onions give this dish a nice kick.
- Raisins. Any fresh raisins will work for this recipe.
- Cashews. The cashew salt gives this dish just the right amount of salty flavor. But if you have a nut allergy, you can leave the nuts out of this dish.
- Crispy Bacon Bits. Everything tastes better with bacon. You can make your bacon bits or use store-bought.
Broccoli salad dressing
This broccoli salad has a quick and easy dressing that can also be used for so many other recipes including coleslaw or a cold pasta salad. Here are the dressing ingredients:
- Mayonnaise
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vegetable oil
- Sugar
How to make broccoli salad
- Fry the bacon in a skillet until crispy. Drain and chop it into bits.
- Combine mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, and sugar in a small bowl.
- Beat with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Place the broccoli, cashews, raisins, bacon bits, and red onion in a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing into the bowl.
- Fold in the ingredients until evenly coated with the salad dressing.
- Refrigerate this tasty salad for at least 4 hours before serving.
Substitutions and variations
- If you’re not a broccoli fan, you can leave it out. Replace it with some mixed greens and enjoy it as a side salad.
- The cashews can be omitted if you have a nut allergy.
- To make this salad vegetarian, switch to a vegan mayonnaise and leave out the crispy bacon bits.
- You can lighten up the salad with low-fat Greek yogurt instead of mayo. Note that it will add some tang to the salad.
- To make this salad low-carb and keto-friendly, substitute an appropriate sugar substitute (like Swerve) for the sugar, leave out the raisins, and use pecans instead of cashews.
How to store
Keep the freshly made broccoli salad or any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
How long does broccoli salad last in the fridge?
This keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of days wonderfully. It is the ideal salad to make ahead of time.
More side salad recipes
This Broccoli Madness Salad is the perfect side dish for any meal. It’s especially great with chicken, beef, or fish. Here are a few similar recipes that are also delicious.
- Marinated Beet Salad
- German Hot Potato Salad
- Cold Spaghetti Salad Recipe
- Pasta Salad with Ranch Dressing and Bacon
- Pea Salad
- Cole Slaw
- Easy Homemade Potato Salad
- Broccoli Salad Recipe
- Dill Potato Salad
- Cucumber Onion Salad
Love Broccoli? Try these recipes
And there’s more! Take a look at my copycat restaurant salad recipes and the best side dishes recipes.
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Sweet Tomatoes Joan’s Broccoli Madness Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 pounds broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup cooked bacon bits
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
Instructions
- Place mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Beat with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add broccoli, cashews, raisins, bacon bits, and red onion.
- Fold in the ingredients until evenly coated with the salad dressing.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you’re not a broccoli fan, you can leave it out. Just replace it with some mixed greens and enjoy it as a side salad.
- The cashews can also be taken out if you have a nut allergy.
- To make this salad vegetarian, you can switch to vegan mayonnaise and leave out the crispy bacon bits.
- This keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of days wonderfully, so it is the ideal salad to make ahead of time.
This tastes exactly like Sweet Tomatoes broccoli salad. It is a great take along to a pot luck or gathering. I modified it once for the vegans in my family and it was still very good and SO healthy!
Could I pre steam the broccoli a little bit to make it not quite as hard, then cool in fridge before making salad, would it still workout well?
If you only steam it for a very short time. Blanching the broccoli would be another option if you wanted it not to be completely raw.
Just like Souplantation. Everyone loved this recipe!
So sad to see them close, but I love this salad, and now I can make it at home.
Any hints on how to use less sugar to make this recipe?
Start with adding half of the sugar and see if you like it.
My 7 year old son wolfs this down every time we go to Sweets. He doesn’t love the other stuff- so I made this solely with broccoli and the dressing. HE LOVES IT! So excited to continue making this!
We love Sweet Tomatoes and each time we visit I reserve one entire plate for Joan’s Broccoli Madness. At home, this recipe keeps me happy for several days and then it’s gone and I feel the need to return for more. Broccoli is a super food and this salad, while high in potassium, is still a very tasty part of my otherwise boring “kidney disease” diet. Healthy AND delicious. What more could you ask for?
Have taken many liberties with this basic recipe, adding raw mushrooms, baby corn, dried cranberries instead of raisins and omitting the salad oil. It is same, but different.
This recipe is 12/10, must have. I’m sad that Souplantation is no more so I’m glad I’ve come across this recipe. Currently on keto/low-carb so I subbed the sugar for Lakanto monkfruit (erythritol), the cashews for unsalted roasted pumpkin seeds, and omitted the dried fruit.
Thanks so much!! Since they closed all of the Sweet Tomatoes in Illinois I really miss this salad!!
I hope this recipe works well for you!
I LOVE this salad and eat it every time I go to Soup Plantation. I’m happy that you published it and I already made it and taste the same!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Delish! I made this for a family gathering and everyone loved it! Thanks for posting!
I have missed this place as I have moved to a very rural location. Thank you for the recipe, it is superb!
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thanks Stephanie,
great salad recipe
This sounds yummy and good on a hot summer day or any day for that matter. I am not fond of cashews in salad so thinking maybe walnuts would be a good option??
I am sure your salad will be great with whatever nut you put in the salad.
We are vegan now but I love this salad. Is there a way I can substitute the mayonnaise for something else without compromising flavor?
I think you can purchase ovo vegetarian mayonnaise. You could try using Baconnaise, it’s ovo vegetarian and would still give you the smoke flavor of bacon.
Hi! Quick suggestion — Just Mayo by Hampton Creek or Veganaise are great vegan mayo options! Also, many bacos — the salad topping bacon bits — are actually not meat and vegan!
Baconnaise contains egg yolk so is not actually vegan.
Thank you for clarifying that for me. I will change that term to ovo vegetarian.
I make this same recipe,but use sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Never any leftovers family gatherings!
Stephanie,
I have been known to drive across three states just to eat at Sweet Tomatoes, since there is not one near where I live. And when I go there, Joan’s Broccoli Madness Salad is one of my favorites. It is sooooo good.
Thanks for sharing their recipe with us.
I hope you give it a try!
It is also a nice add to a gin and tonic 😉
If you click on print recipe the recipe comes up and you can print or save it to your computer. Hope this helps you Tanya Campbell
I cant find the recipe….
I think so this recipe is great.
I will follow and make my family crazy 😀