Copycat Chicken Salad Chick Broccoli Salad
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Copycat recipes are how I keep a piece of home on the table from the Andes, and sometimes that means rebuilding a dish I’ve only read about. I’ve never had the broccoli salad at Chicken Salad Chick. The restaurant describes its dressing as sweet and tangy, and the people who eat there say the same thing, so this Chicken Salad Chick broccoli salad starts from that one detail. The dressing is sweet, not just tangy, and that’s why it gets apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar instead of a sharper vinegar on its own.
The rest of it I already knew. My mom made a broccoli salad all the time when I was growing up, with mayonnaise, vinegar, bacon, raisins, and sunflower seeds. The restaurant’s version is almost the same salad with the raisins and seeds swapped for cheese and a sweeter dressing. That’s why sunflower seeds and dried cranberries are in the variations below, if you want to put some of her version back. If raisins in a cold mayo salad were on your family’s table too, my carrot raisin salad comes from the same corner of the recipe box.
I make it with raw broccoli, cut small enough to scoop with a fork, and it waits in the fridge until the table’s ready. The batch makes four to six side servings and doubles cleanly for a bigger crowd. If it’s going on a spread of restaurant favorites, my Popeyes coleslaw copycat is a second cold side from a different menu. The rest of my copycat recipes are all in one place when you’re ready to plan the main.
How It Comes Together
The sweetness makes it a copycat. Broccoli, cheddar, and bacon make a good salad on their own. The dressing makes it taste like the restaurant’s, and it should read sweet first and tangy second. Taste it before it goes on. If it only tastes sharp, it’s not there yet.
Start with the broccoli, because the size of the cut decides how the whole salad eats. Big florets shed the dressing and are awkward on a fork, but small pieces hold it on every side, so cut them smaller than feels natural.
Make the dressing in its own bowl, and the order matters. The sugar goes into the vinegar first, and you whisk until you can’t see it anymore. Sugar dissolves in liquid, not in fat, so if it goes into the mayonnaise first, the dressing stays gritty. Once the sugar’s gone, whisk in the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
Scatter the cheddar and bacon over the broccoli before the dressing goes on, so it all gets coated in one stir. The 30-minute chill is where the flavors blend and the broccoli softens just slightly but keeps its crunch. Give it one more stir before serving, taste it, and add salt or a splash of vinegar if it needs it.
The printable recipe card below has the full ingredient list, measurements, and step-by-step instructions.
Ingredient Notes
Broccoli. Use fresh florets. Frozen broccoli turns soft and watery once it thaws, and this salad depends on the crunch. If you buy bagged florets, cut down the big ones.
Apple cider vinegar. It’s milder and a little fruity, which works with a sweet dressing, and it’s the vinegar the restaurant names for its own dressing. Red wine vinegar works in a pinch, but it’s sharper and pulls the salad away from the original.
Sugar. One tablespoon is enough to make the dressing read sweet without tasting sugary.
Mayonnaise. Duke’s is the brand copycat recipes for this salad name most often. It has no sugar in it, so all the sweetness here comes from the tablespoon you add.
Sharp cheddar. Copycat versions from people who eat at the restaurant use two cheeses, cheddar and mozzarella. This version is all sharp cheddar, which keeps a sharper edge against the sweet dressing. Shred it from the block if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents that read a little dry.
Substitutions and Variations
- Mozzarella: swap half the cheddar for shredded mozzarella to get the two-cheese mix most copycat versions describe.
- Colby Jack: a milder, creamier swap for the cheddar.
- Red wine vinegar: use it in place of apple cider vinegar for a sharper, less fruity tang.
- Sunflower seeds: add crunch and a slightly nutty flavor.
- Dried cranberries: sweet-tart pops that stand up to the cheddar.
- Freshly cooked bacon: cook 4 to 6 strips until crisp and crumble them in place of the bacon bits.
- Greek yogurt: replace part or all of the mayonnaise for a tangier, less rich dressing. It takes the salad further from the restaurant’s flavor.
What I’ve Learned Making This
I skip blanching. A 20-second blanch, a cold rinse, and a good dry will soften the raw bite, take the edge off any bitterness, and brighten the green. It won’t help the salad last longer on a potluck table, though. Only keeping it cold does that.
Go lighter on salt than you think. The cheddar and bacon bring plenty, and cold food tastes less seasoned than it is, so do your real salting after the chill.
It’s good right away, but the 30-minute rest is when the dressing and broccoli come together. An hour is better if you have it.
You can make it the day before. The dressing settles to the bottom overnight, so stir it well before it goes on the table.
How to Serve Chicken Salad Chick Broccoli Salad
At the restaurant, this is a side for their chicken salad, and that pairing works at home too. Put a scoop next to a simple homemade chicken salad with crackers or a croissant, or serve it with sandwiches and wraps for lunch.
For a cookout or potluck, it goes with grilled chicken, burgers, and pulled pork, and it sits well on the table next to a sweet retro side like frog eye salad. The dressing is mayonnaise, so it gets two hours at room temperature and no more. Setting the serving bowl inside a bigger bowl of ice keeps it cold during those two hours, but it doesn’t stretch the limit.
Chicken Salad Chick Broccoli Salad (Copycat)
Ingredients
- 3 cups broccoli florets cut into small bite-size pieces
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup bacon bits
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the broccoli into small, bite-size pieces, small enough to scoop easily with a fork, and add to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper until the dressing is smooth and creamy.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheddar and bacon bits over the broccoli.
- Pour the dressing over the top and stir until the broccoli is evenly coated and the cheese and bacon are distributed throughout.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors blend and the broccoli softens just slightly while staying crisp.
- Before serving, stir and taste. Add more salt or a splash of vinegar if you want it sharper.
