Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad Recipe

This easy-to-prepare shaved Brussels sprout salad is jam-packed with apples, almonds, and pomegranate seeds in an apple cider vinaigrette. It’s the perfect first course to serve all winter long.

Looking for a healthy salad that will also fill you up? This Brussels sprout salad is loaded with nutrients and has an assortment of fresh toppings to ensure it is full of flavor, just like my Italian Salad and Beet Salad.

Brussels Sprout Salad

Brussels sprout salad is usually served in the fall and winter months, which are peak Brussels sprout season. Depending on your preferred ingredients, this salad can be tailored in a myriad of ways. I personally like to load it up with seasonal ingredients that, when combined, result in the perfect combination of flavors.

This Brussels sprout salad is easy to make, requires minimal cooking (only the hard-boiled eggs), and makes the perfect lunch, side dish, or main entree at your dinner table. In addition, the apple cider vinaigrette is a fantastic dressing that will work on any salad recipe.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Lemon – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is used in the vinaigrette.
• Vinegar – You can use apple cider or distilled white vinegar.
• Mayonnaise – Any good full-fat mayonnaise will work.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar, honey, or agave is suitable for dressing.
• Oil – Any neutral-flavored oil like avocado is good.
• Herbs – I used fresh thyme leaves, but you can substitute 1 to 1 for dry. In addition, other herbs to use are chervil, chives, or basil.
• Onions – Pickled red onions really bring this salad to life. However, thinly sliced red onions will also work.
• Brussels Sprouts — Fresh Brussels sprouts are the main component of the salad, and green cabbage is a last resort.
• Fennel – Freshly shaved fennel adds some balance of flavors to the dish.
• Fruit — I use a combination of dried cherries, pomegranate seeds, granny smith, and fuji apples. You can substitute any apple for this dish. Dried cranberries can also be used in place of the cherries.
• Nuts – Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or pecans will all work in this salad.
• Cheese – Any good blue or gorgonzola cheese is good. This can be a block or pre-crumbled.
• Eggs – You will need hard-boiled eggs for this recipe.

How to Make a Brussels Sprouts Salad

1. There are a few ways to do this, starting with a sharp chef’s knife, a mandolin, or a food processor. I prefer the mandolin because you can shave them relatively thin, making them take on a new texture and a slightly different flavor because of the cut. Run it back and forth on the mandolin, holding the root end of the Brussels sprout.
   
2. To make the pickled onions, submerge the sliced onions in red wine vinegar, salt, and sugar, whisked together, for 30 minutes.
3. Place some eggs in boiling water and hard boil them for 6 minutes. Cover and let stand for 6 minutes, then chill them in an ice bath.

3. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the lemon juice, apple cider, mayo, thyme, sugar, grape seed oil, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
4. Medium dice the apples and hold some pineapple juice so they don’t turn brown.

5. Extract the pomegranate seeds by slicing them and smacking the outside shell with a wooden spoon.
6. Thinly shave the fennel on a mandolin slicer and place it in a bowl of cold water so it doesn’t turn brown.

7. Assemble the salad with all of the assorted toppings on the top of the salad.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can absolutely make this up to 2 days ahead of time, and my recommendation is to keep the toppings separate before you are ready to serve it.

How to Store: this salad will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. It is best to keep this dressing separate from the salad ingredients.

chef notes + tips

• If you want protein, you can certainly add some cooked chicken breasts or grilled salmon.
• Mandolins are very sharp, so my rule of thumb when using one is: When you start getting nervous while slicing it, stop. It’s as simple as that.
• Coming from the same family as cabbage, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi, and just like all those, you can eat raw Brussels sprouts.
• When making this ahead of time, hold the sliced apples in pineapple juice to prevent them from turning brown.
• A vegetable peeler will also work if you do not have a mandolin.

More Salad Recipes

• Greek Salad
• Chef Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Classic Salad Nicoise Recipe
• Caesar Salad Recipe

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Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe

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5 from 10 votes

This shaved Brussels sprout salad is topped with apples and almonds in an apple cider vinaigrette, making it the perfect first course.

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the Dressing:

• juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ cup grapeseed oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:

• ½ pickled red onions recipe
• 2 pounds shaved Brussels sprouts
• ½ shaved fennel bulb
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 each medium diced granny smith and fuji apple
• ½ cup blue cheese
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• Optional Toppings: microgreens, pan-seared chicken breasts, pan-seared salmon

Instructions

• Dressing: Add the lemon juice, vinegar, mayonnaise, thyme, sugar and salt and pepper to a medium-size bowl.
• Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking until the dressing is emulsified.
• To Serve: Add the shaved Brussels sprouts to a very large serving bowl and sprinkle on the shaved fennel, dried cherries, almonds, apples, blue cheese, hard-boiled eggs, pomegranate seeds, and pickled onions,
• Serve with optional toppings and alongside the vinaigrette dressing.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can absolutely make this up to 2 days ahead of time, and my recommendation is to keep the toppings separate before you are ready to serve it.

How to Store: this salad will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. It is best to keep this dressing separate from the salad ingredients.

If you want protein, you can certainly add some cooked chicken breasts or grilled salmon.

Mandolins are very sharp, so my rule of thumb when using one is: When you start getting nervous while slicing it, stop. It’s as simple as that.

Coming from the same family as cabbage, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi, and just like all those, you can eat raw Brussels sprouts.

When making this ahead of time, hold the sliced apples in pineapple juice to prevent them from turning brown.

A vegetable peeler will also work if you do not have a mandolin.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 10gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 528mgPotassium: 498mgFiber: 6gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 1150IUVitamin C: 67mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 2mg

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Author: Chef Billy Parisi