This Brussels sprout salad is made with shredded Brussels sprouts, apples, pomegranate, bacon, pecans and feta cheese, all tossed in a sweet and savory dressing. The ultimate fall and winter salad that’s full of flavor and texture.
I love great salad recipes, and some of my favorites include Waldorf salad, chicken pasta salad, ahi tuna salad, Asian cucumber salad and Tuscan kale salad. This shaved Brussels sprouts salad is perfect for the cold weather months and is filling, healthy and perfect as a light meal or side dish for a holiday dinner.
I love bacon roasted Brussels sprouts, but did you know they also make a great salad? I had no idea that Brussels sprout salad was a thing until I saw it on the menu at a local restaurant. The Brussels sprouts are shredded to make a lettuce-like base which is topped with a variety of fresh ingredients for added crunch.
Enjoy this salad for everyday dinner or for festive Thanksgiving or Christmas meals. You can serve this salad with holiday favorites like honey glazed ham, green beans almondine and sweet potato souffle.
Table of Contents
Brussels Sprout Salad Ingredients
To make this brussels sprouts salad, you will need raw Brussels sprouts, apple, feta cheese, pecans, pomegranate arils and bacon. The dressing consists of shallot, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and black pepper. See the recipe card below for amounts and details.
- Brussels Sprouts: Look for bright green sprouts. Larger sprouts can be easier to cut. Avoid sprouts with dark spots or a lot of damaged leaves.
- Apples: Choose your favorite apples. I like red or pink apples for color contrast. I often choose pink lady, gala or fuji apples.
- Pomegranate Seeds: You can remove pomegranate seeds from pomegranates yourself or you can buy containers of pomegranate arils that are ready to eat in the produce section of your supermarket.
- Feta Cheese: Choose a block of feta cheese that will easily crumble. You can then crumble the feta cheese with a knife or by hand.
- Bacon: You will want cooked and diced bacon for this recipe. Simply use cooking shears to cut the bacon into small squares and cook it in a pan until crispy.
How Do You Make Brussels Sprouts Salad?
To make this brussels sprouts salad first prepare the sprouts. Wash the sprouts and pat them dry. Remove any damaged or brown leaves and slice a small amount of the stem off. Next, cut your sprouts in half and shred them. Place them in a large bowl along with diced apples, crumbled feta cheese, pecans, pomegranate seeds and cooked, diced bacon.
Put the olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallots, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a jar. Cover the jar and shake to combine the dressing. Pour the dressing over the sprouts mixture. Toss gently to combine, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
- To save on prep time, you can buy pre-cooked bacon.
- Feel free to prepare the homemade dressing up to 5 days in advance. Store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- No red wine vinegar on hand? Try fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar as substitutes!
- I like to buy a block of feta and cut it up for this salad. You can use pre-crumbled feta that comes in a tub, but that is often coated in anti caking agents and just doesn’t taste quite as fresh as the block variety.
- You can also whisk the dressing together in a small bowl.
- This salad pairs well with main course options such as Cajun turkey, rib eye steak, smoked tri tip and honey baked ham.
Quick Tip
You can shred your sprouts up to 2 days before you plan to make the salad.
Recipe FAQs
To shred your sprouts, first cut off the root ends, then halve each sprout lengthwise. From there, you can either use a food processor to shred your Brussels sprouts, or use a knife to cut thin slices crosswise until you hit the stem end. You can also use a mandoline. Some stores also sell pre-shredded Brussels sprouts, so check your produce aisle.
Yes it is perfectly fine to eat raw Brussels sprouts in salad! Raw sprouts have a firm texture, which means it may not be pleasant to bite into one whole. That’s why it is you need to thinly slice the sprouts before you put them in salad.
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Flavor Variations
This brussels sprout salad is great as-is, but you can easily change some of the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Greens: While this salad is designed with Brussels sprouts in mind, you can also use broccoli slaw, shredded cabbage or mixed greens.
- Fruit: Feel free to swap out the apples for pears and the pomegranate seeds for dried cranberries.
- Cheese: No feta cheese on hand? Try using shaved parmesan, blue cheese or goat cheese instead.
- Protein: Make this salad a main course by adding grilled chicken breast, grilled turkey breast or sirloin steak.
- Toppings: For extra flavor, swap out the regular pecans for candied pecans. You can also substitute in other nuts and seeds such as candied walnuts, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, roasted pumpkin seeds or pistachios.
- Savory: For a more savory version of this salad omit the pomegranate and apples. Add sliced red onion and grated parmesan cheese.
I love to serve Brussels sprouts salad as a unique side dish for Thanksgiving. Everyone always expects a standard green salad and people are delighted to find this colorful and festive concoction instead. If you’ve never tried Brussels sprout salad before, this is definitely the recipe to start with. It’s got the perfect combination of earthy, salty and sweet. I can’t get enough of it!
More Fall Side Dishes
Brussels Sprout Salad Video
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Brussels Sprout Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
- 1 cup diced apple
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled or cubed
- 1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/2 cup bacon cooked and crumbled
For the dressing
- 1 tablespoon shallot minced
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the ends off the Brussels sprouts then cut them in half lengthwise. Thinly slice each Brussels sprout crosswise to cut into shreds.
- Place the shredded Brussels sprouts in a bowl along with the apple, feta cheese, pecans, pomegranate arils and bacon.
- Place the shallot, olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper in a jar. Shake to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss to combine, then serve.
Notes
- To save on prep time, you can buy pre-cooked bacon. Also, if you don’t want to take the time to pick all of the arils out of a whole pomegranate, you can buy containers of pomegranate seeds that are ready to go in your produce section.
- If you can’t find pomegranate seeds, substitute dried cranberries instead.
- I typically use Pink Lady apples in this salad. Other great options include Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Gala or Fuji apples.
This salad is so delicious and was a big hit at Christmas.
I make this dressing in batches and use it on everything!
Great salad. It will make you a Brussel sprout lover!