Two of the most common questions we hear are:
Can I get the recipe for Joan’s Broccoli Madness? And Is Joan a real person?
The answer to both is YES!
A little background. My name is Joan Scharff and I am the executive director of brand and menu strategy for GFR. As part of my job (and what we’ve put together in my 19 years with GFR), we love creating new recipes to bring to our Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants.
The recipe for Joan’s Broccoli Madness is one I had from a friend and brought to GFR six years ago. I played around with the ingredients a bit to incorporate my own style and after adding it to our menu, Joan’s Broccoli Madness quickly became a guest favorite.
We’ve kept it in the restaurant ever since and just recently, we’ve started selling Joan’s Broccoli Madness kits in select warehouse stores on the West Coast (and hopefully soon nationwide).
We rarely make this recipe public, but right before Super Bowl we thought it’d make a great side dish for the big game!
Here’s the recipe…
Serves 6-8.
1 bunch uncooked broccoli*
½ cup crumbled cooked bacon
½ cup cashews
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup chopped red onions
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl.
In a second bowl, beat dressing ingredients together gently until smooth.
Toss the salad with the dressing approximately 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld. Serve on chilled salad dishes.
*The broccoli is a loose guideline: often people have to make it a few times before they get it just the way they like it.
© 2009 Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
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Even though you’ll make this at home like I have (usually for pot lucks), I STILL go to Souplantation and get this dish without fail!I Can’t stay away from that place! love it! And the recipe is exact! thanks for sharing!
Love the broccoli salad,thank u 4 the recipe.
thank you – thank you – thank you! Love it!
I bought the packaged salad fixings at Costco last Friday and my husband loved it. I have found other recipes for broccoli salad and they were pretty good but never matched what I had at Sweet Tomatoes. With the recipe, now I can make it more often. Thanks.
By the way, how about the recipe or packaged salad fixings for your Chinese Chicken Wonton Salad. That is my all time ultimate favorite salad at Sweet Tomatoes.
Thank you for the recipe because everytime I have a craving for this salad and go to Costco
to purchase it, they are always out of it. I was told it was very popular and a big seller, that’s why they were always sold out. Unfortunately, there is not a SoupPlantation in my area.
Now I can enjoy making my own. Thank you again.
Maybe call Costco before your trip and see if they are in stock. We are glad to hear you enjoy Joan’s Broccoli Madness.
Thanks for the recipie!!! I love this salad. I get a HUGE plate of it anytime I go to ST!!
Thank you, thank you. I love this salad, now I can make it at home. I could never get the dressing right.
One of my favorite salads at Sweet Tomatoes!!! I would love to see the new salad recipe for Our Hawaiian Crunch Salad. Thanks so much. Hubby and I enjoy the food at Sweet Tomatoes.
2 years after the blog was posted and I am so glad I found this. I bought this at Costco but the recipe looks so easy I’d rather make it myself. thank you so much for sharing!!!
I love this salad!! I would love to know how you make your reduced fat creamy cucumber dressing. I haven’t seen it for a while and its the only dressing I have ever liked. Please share, Kristie
Thank you!!! I am so excited and can’t wait to make it tonight! I ate at Sweet Tomatoes yesterday and a different tasty broccoli salad was offered. That was good but my husband and I both love this. Thanks again!
Went to Souplantation in La Mesa today, hoping for a heapin’ helpin’ of Joan’s Broccoli Madness. But it had been replaced by some variation of JBM with lemon added (and a less-catchy new name). It was not good. Honestly, I hated it. Bring back JOAN’S!!!!
Nick,
thank you for your feedback. Joan’s Broccoli Madness will return. We are testing a new broccoli salad to see which one people go mad for. The original Joan’s will return on December 17.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. This is the best salad.
I love the new Sweet & Tangy Lemon Broccoli Madness (broccoli/craisin/lemon salad). It is absolutely fantastic and everyone seemed to be loving it the days i have had it there. The nice thing about it is that it doesn’t contain bacon or any meat so that everyone can enjoy it. Keep serving this marvelous salad.
This is the best salad, EVER! I was so thrilled when I found a Broccoli Madness Salad kit in my local Costco. Having the recipe is even better. Even my husband likes this!!!
Ruth
Hi I love the joan’s brocolli salad. I was just wondering how many calories are in one serving.
Sandra-
Take a look at our nutrition guide on out site and it will give you all the calories for every dish at Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes.
Joan’s Broccoli Madness (Non-Vegetarian) 1/2 cup 180 calories
the full content is at:
http://www.souplantation.com/nutritionguide/nutrition.aspx?category_id=2&category_name=Prepared_Salads
I practically lived on this salad when I was in Orlando for 3 months. Back home in NY and there is no Sweet Tomato anywhere near here and was sincerely missing this salad. Now I can make it myself. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love this stuff!
I LOVE the Broccoli Salad that I buy at CostCo — it’s in a sweet tomato package. I have to ask about the dressing though. The packets look to have a bit of a red swirl of color in the dressing. The recipe above wouldn’t have anything red. Are you hiding a secret ingredient from us Joan? : ))))
Thanks much!
Hope you come up with more salads to sell.
I love your new broccoli madness with the lemon dressing, NOT the Joans with the bacon. It dosent seem to be on the menu at all lately. Would you kindly offer that recipe for us to make at home since it seems to be discontinued at the restaurants? Thank you in advance.
We will possibly be serving the Lemon Broccoli Madness in April during our Lemon Month. We will check if Chef Mike will share the recipe. Stay tuned!
Since you no longer list the broccoli madness that came with a lemon sauce/dressing and NO BACON, I would love to have that recipe. For a while you had alternated that with the Joans madness which many of us cannot/wouldnt eat. It was a wonderful salad and so many of us really enjoyed it. Thank you in advance for your reply.
Am curious to try to make this with Splenda instead of sugar or maybe half and half. I know it is pretty sweet but I love it…I may have to try it!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe. I have three children, all of which are girls ages 8, 11 & 15 and all they ask is to buy the Joan’s Broccoli Madness Salad from Costco. Unfortunately, they come in one or two servings only and my girls asked for more. Thank you for sharing this healthy recipe that kids would love. We love to go Souplantation in California and have been loyal customers for over a decade. Again, Thank you!
Great!
I’m a vegetarian so I’ll make it without the bacon and use Stevia in place of the sugar. I’ll taste along the way for the right sweetness. I love this stuff though. My favorite salad.
I love this salad, didn’t know SP made it, a friend gave me the recipe and will be making it again this weekend. I don’t use raisins, however, they are not my fave and I use dried cranberries from either Sprouts or Trader Joe’s instead. Next time at Soup Plantation, if it’s there, I will try it.
When will there be a soup plantation in grand rapids mi?’
When is theregoing to be a soup PLANTATION/SWEET TOMATO IN GRAND RAPIDS MI?
In the past I had lunch at least once a week in at SP Laguna Niguel, CA. I moved to Central New York 4 years ago. The nearest ST or Soup Plantation is in Chicago IL! Imagine my excitement at seeing Sweet Tomatoes while on winter vacation in Sarasota FL!!! I hope you can bring Sweet Tomatoes to Syracuse NY soon. In the meantime I will make Joan’s salad for potluck. I have been recommending Sweet Tomatoes to all my friends here in Florida.
Hi Janell – we don’t currently have expansion plans but thanks for liking us enough to want one in your area!
Is there a special mayo that you use?
Hi June. Nope, any mayo will do!
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