Lightened Up Broccoli Pasta Salad

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 up a package 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. 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.

More Salads We Love

• Favorite Potato Salad
• Lightened Up Egg Salad
• Broccoli Salad
• Teriyaki Chicken Salad
• Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

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Lightened Up Broccoli Pasta Salad

5

Kristin Maxwell

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!

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

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Course Side

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 259kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

!Salad

• ▢ ½ – 3/4 pound broccoli about 2 small heads, cut into bite sized pieces
• ▢ 1 cup red grapes sliced in half
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped onions
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
• ▢ 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups dry farfalle butterfly pasta, cooked according to package directions

!Dressing

• ▢ 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• ▢ 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons 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.

Notes

Greek yogurt lightens up the dish but you can also use sour cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 259kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 7gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 119mgPotassium: 442mgFiber: 4gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 616IUVitamin C: 85mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

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