My quick and easy broccolini salad is the perfect weeknight side dish to pair with practically any main dish or meaty entree! It’s tossed with a delicious Asian-inspired dressing that elevates this dish to restaurant-quality!
Crunchy, sweet, and a little spicy – my broccolini salad will have you coming back for more!
Quick side salads are a must for my weeknight dinners – but sometimes I like to switch it up! This amazing broccolini salad is perfectly flavored and full of incredible flavors and textures!
The dressing is made of delicious Asian ingredients that blend to create a sweet, savory, and slightly spicy dressing you’re going to adore!
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This dish is so easy too! It takes about 10 minutes total to make this salad—so it’s on the table in no time! You’ll think this salad came straight out of a restaurant with how delicious it is!
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
It’s Packed Full of Flavor! The dressing for this salad is full of tons of delicious ingredients that coat the broccolini and other veggies to make a side dish that you’ll want to make weekly!
So Fast! This salad is just as fast as it is delicious! It takes just 10 minutes to cook up, so dinner is a breeze!
It’s Restaurant Quality! The flavors in the dressing elevate this to a restaurant quality level salad that’s sure to impress everyone!
🥘 Ingredients
There are a few ingredients here that may need to be purchased at an Asian grocery, like Sambal Oelek!
Broccolini Salad
- Broccolini—Also sometimes known as ‘Baby Broccoli’ or 'tenderstem broccoli,' you can usually find this in the fresh produce section of your grocery store. (See Tips & Notes)
- Mushrooms—You can use white button or cremini (baby bella) mushrooms for this recipe. You can also get pre-sliced or whole mushrooms! (See Tips & Recipe Notes)
- Carrots—You want the carrot to be washed and peeled for this recipe, then shaved into thin slices for this salad.
- Green Onion—The green onion gives this dish a fresh, oniony bite and beautiful color! It should be washed and thinly sliced for this recipe.
Sesame Soy Dressing
- Sesame Seeds—Sesame seeds give a nutty crunch and lots of nutty flavor to this dish! You can easily find these in the spice aisle of your grocery store, or at a local Asian grocery.
- Soy Sauce—Soy sauce adds that salty, savory base to the dressing! You can use reduced sodium soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari if you prefer.
- Rice Wine Vinegar—This vinegar is a neutral, slightly sweet vinegar that pairs well in this dish! If unable to find it, try using white vinegar.
- Avocado Oil—I love avocado oil because it’s heart-healthy and has a neutral flavor that doesn’t take away from the other flavors in this dish. If you prefer, you can use another neutral oil like sunflower, canola, or light olive oil.
- Sesame Oil—You should be able to find sesame oil in the Asian aisle of your grocery! It adds a nutty flavor to this dressing and is a terrific investment for other Asian recipes.
- Honey—You can use whatever honey you prefer or have on hand! I like a local, raw and unfiltered honey.
- Chili Paste (Sambal Oelek)—If you can’t find this chili paste in your grocery, you can try looking for it at a local Asian Grocery! (See FAQs for more on Sambal Oelek)
- Ground Ginger—This will add a little warmth and extra flavor the dressing! It’s optional but recommended!
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
My crisp, nutty broccolini salad is the best salad you’ll have! The dressing recipe yields 1 cup of dressing – you’ll probably have extra!
- Prep. Wash 12 ounces of broccolini, 1 carrot, and 1 green onion. Trim the ends of the broccolini and remove leaves as needed. Then, peel and shave 1 carrot with a vegetable peeler or mandolin, and slice 1 small green onion. Gently clean and slice 1 cup of mushrooms, if not already sliced. Set aside.
- Blanch the broccolini. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the broccolini, and blanch for 2 minutes. Once done, transfer the broccolini into an ice bath to quickly cool. Drain and set aside.
- Toast sesame seeds. Heat a small frying pan or skillet to medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds to toast. Watch the seeds closely as once they begin to toast, they will brown rapidly and can burn easily. Once toasted and fragrant, transfer to a small bowl.
- Make the dressing. In the small bowl with the toasted sesame seeds, combine the salad dressing ingredients. Add ¼ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup of rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of chili paste, and ½ teaspoon of ground ginger.
- Toss the salad. In a large bowl, combine the blanched broccolini with 1 cup of slice mushrooms, 1 shaved carrot, and 1 sliced green onion. Toss the salad ingredients together and either coat with ⅓ cup of the salad dressing or plate and drizzle the dressing onto individual portions.
This tasty, delectable, and fresh Broccolini salad is perfect when served with a piece of glazed teriyaki chicken or salmon. Try my easy, flavorful teriyaki chicken marinade! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
If you’re unable to find broccolini, you can use regular broccoli!
- Sometimes broccolini isn’t always easy to find. This recipe will also work with regular fresh broccoli florets, but I would recommend cutting them into smaller, even pieces before blanching.
When cleaning mushrooms, it’s important not to run them under water so they don’t get soggy!
- If using whole, unsliced mushrooms instead of pre-sliced, it’s best to take a damp paper towel and gently wipe off the dirt until clean. Then you’re ready to slice!
- Mushrooms absorb water easily, and since this is a fresh salad, you want them to stay crisp!
To shave a carrot, simply use a vegetable peeler!
- Start by lightly peeling the outside of the carrot with the peeler. Then, watching your fingers and moving your peeler away from you, peel thin strips of the carrot until the entire carrot is shaved.
- Your carrot can also be shaved using a mandolin! if you have one! If you have neither, you can cut thin julienne pieces of the carrot with a sharp knife.
Blanching the broccolini helps take away the raw flavor!
- Blanching is a quick boil, followed by an ice bath in a bowl full of cold, icy water. This will stop the cooking process, so the broccolini doesn’t have that raw flavor, but it’ll still be crisp and bright green!
🥡 Storing
This incredible, crisp broccolini salad is best up to 2 days in the fridge! Make sure you transfer the salad to an airtight container to keep it fresh. If you have extra salad dressing, that will store in an airtight container or mason jar for 2 to 3 weeks! You can use the dressing on any salad you love or make another batch of this broccolini salad!
When you’re ready to eat the broccolini salad again, simply take it out of the fridge and toss to mix the ingredients. You can also add a little more dressing if you prefer. You can eat it cold, or let it come up to room temperature!
❓ FAQ
Sambal Oelek is a slightly spicy, tangy chili paste originating from Indonesia. It has so much flavor and it’s not super spicy! I highly recommend using it for this recipe. If you’re unable to find it, you can substitute another Asian chili sauce, like sriracha.
Sure! If you want to make this salad more of a main course, try adding seared or grilled chicken, shrimp, or tofu! It would pair wonderfully with the salad! You can even add a grain like quinoa or Jasmine rice to bulk it up!
If you’d like a more pronounced ginger flavor, you could add a ½ teaspoon of ginger paste or fresh grated ginger to the salad dressing! Don’t add too much, though—you don’t want it to overwhelm the dressing!
📋 Recipe
Broccolini Salad
Ingredients
Broccolini Salad
- 12 oz broccolini (1-2 bunches, washed and trimmed)
- 1 cup mushrooms (washed and sliced - white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms)
- 1 small carrot (washed and peeled, then shaved for the salad)
- 1 green onion (washed and thinly sliced)
Sesame Soy Dressing
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chili paste (Sambal Oelek)
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the broccolini, trimming the ends and removing leaves as needed.12 oz broccolini
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the broccolini, and blanch for 2 minutes. Once done, transfer the broccolini into an ice bath to cool quickly. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a small frying pan or skillet to medium heat, then add the sesame seeds to toast. Watch the seeds closely as once they begin to toast, they will brown rapidly and can burn easily. Once toasted and fragrant, remove from the pan and transfer to a small bowl.2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- In the small bowl of toasted sesame seeds combine the salad dressing ingredients. Add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, avocado oil, sesame oil, honey, chili paste, and optional ground ginger. Whisk thoroughly.¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoon avocado oil, 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon chili paste, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- In a large bowl combine the blanched broccolini with sliced mushrooms, shaved carrot, and thinly sliced green onions. Toss the salad ingredients together and either coat with ⅓ cup of the salad dressing or plate and drizzle the dressing onto individual portions.1 cup mushrooms, 1 small carrot, 1 green onion
Notes
- Sesame soy dressing yields approximately 1 cup of dressing.
- Start with ⅓ cup for dressing the salad. Add more to taste.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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