Broccoli Almond Slaw
Raw broccoli and carrot shredded fine, tossed in a light honey-mustard yogurt dressing and finished with toasted almonds.
Ingredients & method
Method
Amounts inside the steps follow the servings dial, so you never have to hold the arithmetic in your head.
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Shred the broccoli
Trim the tough stalk ends and finely shred or chop 500 g Broccoli (florets and stems) with a knife or the shredding disc of a food processor.
Fine, even shreds give every bite the same crunch and expose more surface area for the dressing to cling to.
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Toast the almonds
Dry-toast the 50 g Almonds on a tawa or griddle over medium heat, tossing often, until golden and fragrant. Cool, then roughly chop or slice.
Toasting draws out the almonds' natural oils and deepens their flavour, so they don't taste flat against the raw vegetables.
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Prep the carrot and onion
Grate the 100 g Carrot and thinly slice the 50 g Red onion.
Thin cuts soften just enough in the dressing to lose their raw bite without turning mushy.
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Make the dressing
In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 tbsp Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp Olive oil, 2 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 tsp Honey until smooth. Season with Salt to taste and Black pepper to taste.
A yogurt-based dressing clings to shredded vegetables far better than a thin vinaigrette, so nothing pools at the bottom of the bowl.
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Toss it together
Add the shredded 500 g Broccoli (florets and stems), 100 g Carrot and 50 g Red onion to the dressing and toss until every strand is coated.
Tossing while the vegetables are still cold and crisp keeps the slaw crunchy instead of wilted.
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Chill and finish
Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, then scatter the toasted 50 g Almonds over the top just before serving.
A short chill lets the flavours meld, and adding the almonds last keeps them from softening in the dressing.
About
Coleslaw traces back to the Dutch koolsla of the 1770s — shredded cabbage tossed with butter, vinegar and oil, brought to America by Dutch settlers and anglicised into "cole slaw" over the centuries that followed.
Broccoli itself is older still, bred from wild cabbage by farmers in the northern Mediterranean around the sixth century BCE and carried to the rest of Europe and eventually America by Italian growers. Broccoli slaw is the newer, crunchier cousin of the cabbage original: raw broccoli stems and florets, too fibrous to waste, are shredded fine so they eat like a salad instead of a vegetable side. It caught on in American delis and salad bars from the 1980s onward, riding the same wave of interest in broccoli's nutrition that also popularised broccoli-cheddar soup.
This version keeps the crunch but swaps the classic mayonnaise for a lighter yogurt dressing, and adds toasted almonds for bite and a faint nuttiness that plain broccoli slaw usually gets from sunflower seeds or bacon bits.
Cook’s notes
Toast the almonds a day ahead and store airtight — they lose their crunch fast once damp.
If broccoli stems taste bitter to you, peel the tough outer layer before shredding; the inside is sweeter and just as crisp.
Making this ahead of a party? Keep the dressing separate and toss just before serving so the slaw doesn't turn watery.
Health benefits
Broccoli is one of the richer vegetable sources of vitamin C and vitamin K, and it contains sulforaphane, a compound from the cabbage family that has been studied for its antioxidant activity.
Almonds add vitamin E, magnesium and unsaturated fat, which also helps the body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the broccoli.
Left raw and dressed lightly, this slaw keeps its fibre largely intact, which makes it a filling, low-calorie way to bulk up a plate.
General information about the ingredients, not advice about you. Nothing here is a medical or dietary recommendation, and no dish treats or prevents any condition. If you are managing a health condition, pregnant, or on a prescribed diet, ask a doctor or a dietitian.
Cons & who should be cautious
Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous family, whose natural compounds (goitrogens) can interfere with thyroid hormone uptake in very large, regular raw quantities — a concern mainly for people with an existing thyroid condition, and not for occasional servings.
Raw cruciferous vegetables and honey-sweetened dressings can trigger bloating or gas in people sensitive to FODMAPs or with IBS; cooking the broccoli lightly first can help if that's a concern.
This recipe contains tree nuts and dairy, so it isn't suitable for nut or dairy allergies, and the vitamin K in broccoli is worth flagging to anyone on blood-thinning medication like warfarin, since intake is usually advised to stay consistent.
Not a complete allergen declaration. Ingredient lists describe what we used and cannot account for cross-contamination or what your particular brand contains, so check the packaging of everything you cook with.
Nutrition facts (estimated)
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