Crunchy Raw Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Dressing
This raw vegetable salad combines small broccoli and cauliflower florets with carrots, radishes and zucchini in a lemon, olive oil and basil dressing. It is a crunchy side for grilled food or a cold lunch spread, with parsley added at the end. The key is to dry the vegetables and cut them small enough for one bite, so the dressing coats them instead of pooling beneath oversized pieces.
I make it this way because the different cuts give every vegetable a useful place in the bowl. The florets catch the sauce, thin carrot slices stay easy to chew, and zucchini brings a softer bite without cooking. This is based on my YouTube video, with a few adjustments since publication, including prepared vegetable weights and clearer guidance on how much dressing to add.
{VIDEO}
A raw salad with a sharp, herb-filled dressing
Nothing is blanched. The broccoli stays deep green, the cauliflower remains firm, and the radishes keep their peppery snap. This differs from a creamy broccoli salad or a broccoli gratin with sauce, where heat changes the texture completely.
The dressing is also quite specific. In the video, I start with roughly 3â…“ fl oz of lemon juice and add oil until the jug holds about 10 fl oz in total. That means roughly 6â…” fl oz of oil, or two parts oil to one part lemon. In the imperial recipe below, 7 tablespoons lemon juice and 14 tablespoons oil keep that same ratio.
This gives a bright dressing rather than a mild one. For a separate basic sauce, the quick lemon vinaigrette is useful, while a classic vinaigrette explains another everyday dressing approach. Here, fresh basil is blended into the sauce and chopped parsley stays on the vegetables.
Vegetables, herbs and prepared weights
For eight side portions, use 12 oz broccoli florets, 12 oz cauliflower florets, 7 oz trimmed carrots, 5 oz trimmed radishes and 9 oz trimmed zucchini. These are prepared weights, with the thick central broccoli and cauliflower stalks removed. They standardize the video’s unweighed vegetable selection rather than claiming exact measurements from the filming.
Choose firm heads with tight florets. Small rainbow carrots and different-coloured radishes make a lively plate, but ordinary orange carrots and red radishes work just as well. Use a small, firm zucchini with tender skin; the green-skinned vegetable in this recipe is zucchini, not cucumber.
The sauce needs 7 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 0.2 oz basil leaves, 1 small peeled garlic clove, 1 teaspoon fine salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Have extra salt and pepper available for the final taste. Lemon yield varies, so measure the juice instead of relying on a fixed number of lemons.
Set aside ½ oz curly parsley leaves to chop separately. The orange flower in the finished presentation is an optional edible nasturtium. Use a flower sold or grown for eating, or leave it off; the salad does not depend on it.
Build the bowl in three stages
1. Make the florets genuinely bite-size
Wash the vegetables and herbs under cool running water, then drain and dry them thoroughly. Water held between the florets can dilute the dressing. Use a clean board and a large, dry mixing bowl.
Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into small florets, roughly ½–¾ inch across, splitting thick little stems lengthwise. A floret should fit comfortably on a fork with another piece of vegetable. If it needs to be cut again on the plate, it is too big for this version.
Keep sound central stalks for another preparation rather than chopping them thickly into the salad. In the video, I reserve them for soup. Peeled broccoli stalk can go into a simple broccoli soup, where it has time to soften.
2. Slice the carrots, radishes and zucchini
Cut small radishes into wedges and slice larger ones more thinly. Scrub or peel the carrots as needed, then cut them on a diagonal about â…› inch thick. A thick raw carrot coin can dominate a bite even when the rest of the vegetables are cut properly.
Cut the zucchini lengthwise into narrow sections, then across on a diagonal about ¼ inch thick. Keep the tender skin. Add everything to the florets, lifting from the bottom once to distribute the colours.
What I look for here is an even mix of sizes, not identical shapes. The carrots should be thinner than the zucchini because they are firmer. Radishes can keep a little chunkiness, provided the wedges are comfortable to eat raw.
3. Blend the sauce and toss thoroughly
Put the measured lemon juice, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper into a tall jug that safely accommodates an immersion blender. Keep the blade submerged and blend briefly until the garlic and basil are finely dispersed and the sauce looks cloudy and combined. A slim jug can be easier than a wide bowl for this amount.
Finely chop the parsley and scatter it over the vegetables. Reblend or whisk the dressing if it has separated, then pour in about two-thirds. Toss from the bottom with tongs or two large spoons, turning the florets so their undersides get coated too. Add more dressing only as needed.
The vegetables should glisten, with herbs tucked into the florets. They should not swim in liquid. Taste a piece of broccoli together with a carrot slice before adding more seasoning. The raw garlic should support the herbs rather than overwhelm them.
Serve immediately for the firmest bite. Spoon onto a platter in a loose mound and add the optional edible flower. No waiting period is needed for the recipe to work.
Substitutions and adjustments
Regular carrots replace rainbow carrots by prepared weight, and red radishes replace mixed colours. A different colour changes the appearance more than the method. If one head yields fewer florets, weigh the usable pieces before making up the balance with the other cruciferous vegetable.
A mild olive oil lets the basil and lemon remain clear. An assertively bitter oil can make a sharp dressing feel harsher. If the finished bite is too tart for your taste, whisk a little more oil into the reserved dressing, then add it sparingly. Sugar and mustard are not required ingredients in the filmed sauce.
If you want tender cooked florets, that is a separate variation: blanch briefly, chill, drain and dry thoroughly before dressing. Do not mix warm, wet broccoli into this raw version. For another cold salad with a different bite, try crunchy red endive salad or grated carrot salad with mustard dressing.
Questions about raw texture and storage
Will the lemon cook the broccoli?
No. It seasons the surface and the dressed vegetables may soften somewhat with time, but this is not a substitute for cooking. Choose small, tender florets if you enjoy the raw crunch. Waiting longer will not reliably fix pieces that were cut too large.
Why did the dressing separate?
There is no mustard, egg or mayonnaise to stabilize it. Brief blending makes a temporary emulsion, and separation is normal. Whisk or blend again just before pouring so the first vegetables do not get mostly oil and the last ones mostly lemon juice.
Can I prepare it ahead?
Keep the dry cut vegetables and the dressing in separate covered containers in the refrigerator. Toss close to serving. Refrigerate finished salad and unused dressing promptly, within 2 hours or sooner in hot conditions, and keep at 40°F or below. Use within 2 days for this version. The fresh garlic dressing belongs in the refrigerator, even though it contains lemon.
Does a vegetable salad mean a very low-calorie dish?
The vegetables provide fibre and varied textures, but olive oil supplies most of this recipe’s calories. The approximate 250 calories per side portion assumes the entire dressing batch is used for eight servings. Using only enough to coat will change that figure. This is a vegetable side, not a protein-rich main course.
What to serve alongside
Serve the lemony vegetables with cedar-plank grilled salmon or grilled chicken with lemon and herbs. Both make it easy to keep the salad cold while the main dish cooks.
For a more substantial spread, add potato and egg salad with mustard vinaigrette or a small portion of three-bean salad. If you prefer tomatoes and feta to raw florets, a chunky Greek salad gives you another cold vegetable option.
Crunchy Raw Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
- 12 oz raw broccoli florets prepared weight
- 12 oz raw cauliflower florets prepared weight
- 7 oz carrots trimmed and scrubbed or peeled
- 5 oz radishes trimmed
- 9 oz small zucchini trimmed
- 7 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 0.2 oz fresh basil leaves
- 1 small garlic clove peeled
- 1 teaspoon fine salt then to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper then to taste
- ½ oz curly parsley leaves finely chopped
- 1 edible food-grade nasturtium flower optional garnish
Instructions
- Wash the vegetables and herbs under cool running water, drain and dry thoroughly. Use a large dry bowl.
- Cut broccoli and cauliflower into ½–¾ inch florets, splitting thick little stems. Reserve the large central stalks for another use. Cut radishes into small wedges, carrots into â…› inch diagonal slices and zucchini into narrow lengthwise sections, then ¼ inch diagonal slices. Combine the vegetables.
- In a tall jug suitable for an immersion blender, combine lemon juice, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend briefly with the blade submerged until finely dispersed and cloudy.
- Scatter chopped parsley over the vegetables. Reblend or whisk the dressing if separated. Add about two-thirds, toss thoroughly from the bottom and add more only as needed to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Plate, add the optional edible nasturtium and serve promptly. Refrigerate salad and unused dressing within 2 hours or sooner in hot conditions; keep at 40°F or below and use within 2 days.
