Broccoli Salad With Peanuts and Tahini-Lime Dressing

Broccoli Salad With Peanuts and Tahini-Lime Dressing
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
20 minutes, plus 15 minutes’ marinating
Rating
4(2,831)
Notes
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Broccoli stalks, often overlooked or tossed in favor of the florets, take center-stage in this summer picnic salad. While many broccoli slaws are made with mayonnaise-based dressings, this one is inspired by the bright flavors of Thai cuisine, and uses sesame oil, lime juice, salted peanuts, scallions and a dash of hot sauce for heat. (Garnish the slaw with fresh Thai basil, if you like.) Tossed with a creamy vegan tahini-lime dressing, the broccoli softens just enough to lose that raw broccoli flavor without giving up any of its satisfying crunch. A food processor or Mandoline makes quick work of the stems, but with a little bit of patience, a good knife does the trick, too. Finally, this salad is best the day it’s made, though its components can be prepared in advance to save time.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 2pounds broccoli (see Tip)
  • ¾cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts (3 to 5 scallions)
  • ½cup lightly salted peanuts, finely chopped
  • cup tahini
  • ¼cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
  • ¼cup toasted sesame oil
  • 2tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 2teaspoons honey or agave
  • 1garlic clove, finely grated
  • A few dashes of hot sauce, plus more to taste
  • cup chopped fresh cilantro or mint
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

225 calories; 17 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 310 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Trim the broccoli stalks and peel them to remove the tough outer layer. Cut off the florets, leaving as much of the stalk as possible intact, and set the florets aside. Using the shredding or julienne blade of a food processor, a mandoline or a sharp knife, julienne the stems and place them in a large bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Finely chop or julienne the florets and add them to the bowl, along with the scallions and peanuts.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the tahini, lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic and hot sauce and whisk until smooth. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss thoroughly to coat. Set aside at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, to allow the broccoli to soften slightly.

  4. Step 4

    Just before serving, add the fresh herbs and toss well. (You can refrigerate for up to 8 hours before serving.)

Tip
  • When shopping, avoid broccoli “crowns.” For this salad, you want plenty of stems, too.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,831 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Just came to say that the Ginger Lime chicken that everyone is raving about calls for the zest of 2 limes, and this recipe calls for the juice of 2 limes (and I have 2 limes in my fridge). Win win!

This is an easy, delicious recipe. I made it exactly as written. I was in a time-crunch, so I bought a few bags of broccoli slaw (12 oz each) and then cut small florets from one broccoli crown. This recipe makes more than enough dressing for that much slaw. Will definitely put it into my summer side salad rotation.

I had a lot of cauliflower so i used it instead of broccoli. Delicious....

Would love to see more vegan recipes like this. Or at least substitutions to make a recipe vegan.

Made this pretty much as written, but substituted toasted pine nuts for the peanuts. It was delicious! One note though, raw broccoli and probably other cruciferous vegetables can be challenging for sensitive stomachs. If I make it again, I'll steam the broccoli first, chill it and then enjoy both eating it and not having discomfort afterwards.

I added shredded roast chicken and it became a perfect light summer dinner!

This is delicious. I didn't have peanuts, so I added a heaping tablespoonful of natural peanut butter, and then crumbled up and added some crisp bacon slices. I would make this again.

The dressing is to die for! I could see serving the dressing/sauce with steak (sesame sauce) or on rice.

Lovely salad, I substituted peanuts with toasted hazelnuts

My stomach turns at the thought of Broccoli salad.. a lot of recipes call for cheddar cheese, bacon, some dried fruit..Blech! I now have a broccoli salad recipe to believe in. Love it! I had only one lime so used 1/2 lemon juice. Also used Sriracha for the hot sauce.

I don't like the broccoli florets or crowns, and much prefer the juicier stalks. However, they are so difficult to find these days! They've all been lopped off at the farm and made into broccoli slaw by big producers I think. Broccoli stalks are amazing browned in my cast iron pan too.

I found this a little under salted but salt plus a little rice vinegar and fish sauce brightened this up considerably. Definitely would make again.

I used broccolini, not broccoli I had concern about using it raw so I par boiled it for about 1-2 minutes after I had already julienned it and into a quick ice bath. Was great

This was tasty but not amazing. To make it more of a meal, I added some grated carrots and served it over cold rice noodles, which complemented it nicely.

Used a processor and also got slaw instead of julienne, but fine. Liked it better when I kicked up both the siracha and the agave, doubled them. Used mint. Non boring broccoli dish.

Dispense with traditional broccoli - use BROCCOLINI instead ~ it is widely available; the younger, smaller stems are a lot less work and are much more DELICIOUS! Just choose the smallest and YOUNGEST stem-ends from the group being offered on the shelf, and you’re GOOD TO GO! Note: NO FLOWERS! ….. the same as Broccoli Rabe.

A good recipe, but: prep time is significantly longer than stated, the tamari or soy sauce choice makes a significant difference, recommend lightly par boiling the broccoli first.

Shred broccolini not too much dressing

Very nice - did not add scallions

This was so good. I used half the sesame oil per others’ recommendations and added more lime. I also used extra veggies because it was a clean out the fridge situation- kale, cabbage and a few carrot shreds in addition to the broccoli. Allowing time to soften is a must. I’ll definitely make it again!

It being summer and the zucchini is a bit more plentiful than broccoli in the garden, I added some julienned zucchini to bulk up the recipe. I omitted the peanuts because it seemed a bit like “gilding the lily.” All told, a very delicious salad. Yum!

Sesame oil is really for finishing and not as a base oil. With a full quarter cup, it an oily mouth feel that was not enjoyable. I might sub in a neutral oil and increase the tahini to compensate (the latter also to make the dressing less thin). The dressing didn’t really flavor the julienned stalks, and overall it was missing something to make it less mud. The fresh cilantro and mint were a nice touch.

I use prepped broccoli slaw to save time, and it's super.

This was good when initially made, but I wouldn't store it in the fridge very long before serving. We had some leftovers and kept in the fridge overnight, but by the next day it tasted terrible to the point I had to toss it - very dry and flavor lost. Perhaps I could have made more dressing and added it but I wasn't prepared to try that. Also, I'm a pretty accomplished home cook with decent knife skills, and this took me way longer than 20 minutes to prepare using a mandoline and a good knife.

Good I liked the crunchiness from the peanuts Didn’t add hot sauce, can also try it with. Cauliflower

This was so much better than I was expecting! The julienne shape was a nice touch. I added a little red onion to give it some color, but next time I’ll try radish. Enjoy :)

This was easy and delicious. I didn't have any peanuts so used cashews instead and I think those worked very well and did not change the spirit of the recipe.

This was delicious made with crunchy peanut butter, salt, lime juice, red pepper and garlic scapes. What flavors! Totally out of this world. Making it again tomorrow!

I think this is much better if you blanch, chill and dry the broccoli after julienning.

Not a broccoli fan. Keep trying. This got me a bit closer especially for raw.

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