I love a cold, crunchy broccoli salad—but most of them either come loaded with sugar or chickpeas, or worse, both. When I first tried the original version of this recipe, it tasted great but gave me a sneaky glucose spike thanks to the chickpeas, dried cranberries, and maple-sweetened dressing. So I set out to rebuild it—keeping the flavor, ditching the carbs.
What I landed on is light, summery, and doesn’t mess with your macros. Blueberries give just enough natural sweetness, the crunch factor is off the charts, and the lemon poppyseed dressing still slaps—even without the syrup.
💡 Why This One Works So Well
You know how most “keto salads” are basically mayo, bacon, and cheese pretending to be vegetables? This isn’t that. This one’s actually fresh. The trick is balancing texture and brightness without loading up on sugar or starchy fillers. Here’s why it works:
- Blueberries: still in, just scaled for carbs
- Chickpeas: swapped for crunchy hemp hearts—tons of texture, nearly zero net carbs
- Dried cranberries: gone (sorry, they just don’t work here without tanking your day)
- Dressing: same vibe, no maple
You get a salad that tastes like summer, hits the sweet-savory mark, and still lets you feel like you’re doing keto on purpose.
🧾 What I Used (And Why It Worked)
- Broccoli (4–5 cups) – Raw, chopped small. Crunchy base with fiber to keep it filling.
- Fresh blueberries (1 cup max) – 8g net carbs per ½ cup, so go easy. Totally worth it for the pop of flavor.
- Diced cucumber (1 cup) – Refreshing, nearly zero net carbs. Bulks it up.
- Finely shredded carrot (¼ cup) – Optional, but a small amount adds color and just 1–2g net carbs total.
- Red onion (¼ cup) – Punch of flavor for almost no carbs. Raw is fine—just slice it thin.
- Toasted sunflower seeds (¼–⅓ cup) – Adds salty crunch, minimal carbs.
- Hemp hearts (¼ cup) – My chickpea replacement. Protein, fat, texture—zero spike.
- Lemon poppyseed dressing:
- Olive oil (½ cup) – Fat base, smooths everything out
- Lemon juice (⅓ cup) – Bright, tart, balances the fat
- Apple cider vinegar (1½ tbsp) – More tang, gut-friendly
- Dijon mustard (1 tbsp) – Emulsifier and flavor booster
- Liquid monk fruit or stevia (a few drops) – Sweetness without carbs
- Garlic (1–2 cloves, minced)
- Poppy seeds (½ tbsp)
- Salt + pepper (I do 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper)
🔁 Low-Carb Substitutions That Hold Up
| Original Ingredient | Keto-Friendly Swap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chickpeas | Hemp hearts | Crunchy, nutty, basically zero net carbs |
| Dried cranberries | Skip or sub 2 tsp pomegranate arils | Optional, but avoid sweetened dried fruit |
| Maple syrup (in dressing) | Monk fruit drops or liquid stevia | Start small—taste and adjust |
| Full blueberries (1½ cups) | 1 cup max | Keeps carbs under control |
⚠️ What Went Sideways (And Why)
| What Went Wrong | Why It Happens | How to Fix It |
|---|---|---|
| Too many blueberries | Carbs creep up fast | Cap it at 1 cup (or less if tighter keto) |
| Dressing too tart | No sweetener balance | Add monk fruit or stevia until it rounds out |
| Hemp hearts felt “mushy” | Left in dressing too long | Add them just before serving |
| Red onion overpowered | Too much raw onion | Slice thin and soak in cold water first |
👩🍳 How to Make It (Step-by-Step)
- Wash and dry your broccoli. Peel and chop stems if using. Aim for small bite-sized pieces—no jaw workouts needed.
- In a large bowl, combine broccoli, cucumber, onion, blueberries, shredded carrot (optional), sunflower seeds, and hemp hearts (save some for the end).
- Whisk up the dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, ACV, mustard, monk fruit/stevia, garlic, poppyseeds, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetness or acid.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Add hemp hearts last if prepping ahead.
- Chill 30 minutes if you can—it gets better.
- Portion into containers if tracking. I usually split this into 6 servings (~5–6g net carbs each depending on how generous you go on blueberries).
🧠 Tricks That Made This Work Better
- I keep pre-chopped broccoli in the fridge to make salads like this in 5 minutes flat.
- I toast my sunflower seeds in a dry skillet—way more flavor.
- I soak red onion slices in ice water for 10 mins before tossing—mellows the bite without losing flavor.
🧊 How I Store and Track It
- Keeps 4–5 days in the fridge (dressing and all).
- If you want to meal prep it: keep hemp hearts and seeds separate until just before eating so they stay crunchy.
- Net carbs: ~5–6g per serving depending on your blueberry scoop. Protein and fat hold steady thanks to seeds and oil.
❓ What I Googled Before Making This
Can I eat blueberries on keto?
Yes, in moderation. Stick to ¼–⅓ cup per serving and track it.
Is lemon poppyseed dressing keto?
Only if you ditch the sugar or syrup. Use monk fruit, stevia, or allulose instead.
Can I swap in another fruit?
Strawberries or raspberries work well and are even lower in carbs per serving.
Can I skip the sweetener?
You can, but the dressing may taste flat or too acidic without a little sweetness to balance the lemon.
✅ Nutrition Facts (Per Serving, ~1/6 of recipe)
Serving size: ~1 to 1¼ cups
| Nutrient | Amount per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 235 |
| Fat | 21g |
| • Saturated Fat | 3g |
| Protein | 5g |
| Total Carbs | 8g |
| • Fiber | 3g |
| Net Carbs | 5g |
| Sugar (natural from blueberries + carrot) | 3g |
| Sodium | ~250mg (depending on salt and sunflower seeds) |
| Vitamin C | 90% DV |
| Calcium | 5% DV |
| Iron | 8% DV |
Check out More Recipes:
- Low Carb Keto Broccoli Salad Monkfruit
- Low Carb Keto Broccoli Salad With Bacon
- Low Carb Keto Broccoli Salad
- Low Carb Keto Broccoli Pepperoni Salad
Low Carb Keto Broccoli Salad With Blueberries
Description
A fresh, crunchy keto salad with broccoli, blueberries, and a lemon poppyseed dressing—low in carbs, high in flavor, and totally picnic-worthy.
Ingredients
Instructions
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Liquid monk fruit or stevia, to taste
- 1–2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tbsp poppyseeds
- Salt + pepper (1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper)
Notes
- For best texture, add hemp hearts just before serving—too much time in the dressing makes them soft. To reduce carbs further, scale blueberries to ¾ cup.
