A ton of people have used the recent snowfall as an excuse to decorate for Christmas early, but I’m holding out as long as possible because: Ok, I can’t promise a Costco holiday planter won’t somehow find it’s way onto my front porch before Thursday, but that’s it! Besides, we should be focusing our attention and efforts on what will undoubtedly become your new favorite holiday side dish ever: Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad. Make once and I promise it’ll become an annual tradition!
Watch How to Make It
Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with ALL the Fixins’
File this fall-themed Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad under “better than you can possibly imagine“. It’s like taking a Peloton class from Jess King. Oh wait no, that’s harder than you can possibly imagine. Hurts so (mostly) good. Anyway, you can pick out and taste every single ingredient in this flavor and texture-packed Thanksgiving-friendly side dish, and the combination of fresh, savory, sweet, creamy, and crunchy is simply divine. You will remember this salad LONG after taking your last bite!
What’s Inside
Shredded brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, fresh pear, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and crispy shallots (the STAR of the salad!) are drizzled with the easiest Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette to create a flavorful and healthy fall salad that you’ll go back for more and more and more of. It is beyond delicious.
Can You Eat Raw Brussels Sprouts?
Yes, you can eat raw brussels sprouts! Brussels sprouts are in the cruciferous vegetable family with broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, and are completely fine to eat raw. I prefer to thinly slice each sprout with a sharp chef’s knife, vs purchasing a bag of pre-shredded sprouts because the bagged slices are a little too thick to eat raw (those are great for pan-seared brussels sprouts recipes or roasted brussels sprouts recipes). You can basically shave the brussels sprouts using a knife rendering them super easy to eat raw in this salad.
How to Prepare Ahead of Time
This shredded brussels sprouts salad is great to make for Thanksgiving on account of its warming fall flavors, and it also can be partially made ahead of time which is nice when you’ve got a bunch of different dishes cooking on the stove or baking in the oven on the actual holiday. Here’s a a breakdown of what you can prepare or make ahead of time, vs what’s best to prepare just before serving: Make/prepare ahead of time: Prepare just before serving:
How to Make Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
Start by shredding raw brussels sprouts. Peel back the outer leaves of each sprout then hold onto the stem and use a sharp knife to shave them as thinly as possible. Again, it’s tempting to use a bag of pre-shredded brussels sprouts for this dish, but they’re a touch too thick for a raw salad in my opinion. Hand shredding gets them much thinner!
Add the shredded sprouts to a large bowl with dried cranberries, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, chopped ripe pear, and pecans that have been roughly chopped.
Next, pan fry jumbo shallots sliced into rings – no breading required! Once fried, shallot rings are a FANTASTIC replacement for french fried onions on top of casseroles and in salads. You really can pick out the caramelized onion flavor amongst all the other ingredients in this dish. So, so delicious.
After slicing and separating the rings of the shallots, heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. I always test a slice of shallot first to see if the oil is hot enough. If the slice starts sizzling right away, the oil is ready.
Add half the shallots to the hot oil then saute and stir occasionally until light golden brown, NOT dark brown which tastes bitter. Each batch should take 2-3 minutes.
Scoop the fried shallots onto a paper towel lined plate to drain then sprinkle with salt. Repeat the fry » salt process with the remaining shallots.
Last step is to mix up the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette that ties the whole salad together. It is incredible! To a jar with a tight fitting lid add the following ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar Pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup) Dijon mustard Salt and pepper
Shake to combine then pour over the salad, toss to combine, add the fried shallots, and then toss again.
Fresh, decadent, crunchy, creamy — ALL. THE. THINGS! I know you are going to adore this texture and flavor packed Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad! Enjoy, enjoy!
More Fabulous Fall Salads
Jennifer Aniston Salad Apple Orchard Salad Steak Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Maple-Bourbon Pecan Salad Everyday Kale Salad Wild Rice Harvest Bowls Apple, Cranberry, Almond Salad
Like this recipe? Share it with friends!
