This shaved brussels sprout salad is full of fall-inspired ingredients like apples, pecans and cranberries tossed in a simple lemon vinaigrette. It's an easy, show-stopping side salad that's perfect for your dinner table or holiday menu.
About The Recipe
Even if you don't love brussel sprouts, you'll love this salad. And if you do love brussel sprouts — then this will be your new favorite recipe 🙂
This beauty of this salad is that it's simple, fresh, and marinated in a deliciously bright dressing. The fall-inspired flavors complement one another, and the texture is amazingly crunchy.
The flavors of this salad come alive as it sits and marinates. You'll want to let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving it.
And best of all: shaved brussels sprout salad is a no brainer side dish for the holidays or potlucks because it's easy, impressive, and can be made ahead of time. You can make this recipe and then leave it in your fridge overnight (or longer) until it's ready to serve.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:
- Brussels sprouts
- Apple
- Dried cranberries
- Parmesan
- Pecans
- Red onion
Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Maple syrup
- Dijon
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Shred your brussels sprouts
Trim off the root end, remove any tough outer leaves, and then thinly chop your brussels sprouts. You can do this with a knife, mandolin, or food processor.
TIP: you can also buy a bag of pre-shredded brussels sprouts to save time. You'll need about 6 cups shaved sprouts.
Step 2: Mix the dressing
In a small bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients.
Step 3: Make the salad
Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl, drizzle the dressing on top and toss to coat.
Feel free to taste and season with additional salt, pepper, syrup (for sweetness), apple cider vinegar (for tangy-ness), etc.
Step 4: Marinate
Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes covered in the fridge before serving.
As the salad sits, the flavors grow stronger and the brussels sprout leaves become less tough. You can also make your salad a day ahead of time and let it marinate overnight.
This salad makes about 8 servings as a side salad and is best served cold.
Ingredient Notes
Apple: honeycrisp, gala or any red apple can be used for this recipe. Use 1 large apple or 2 small ones.
Pecans: almonds or pine nuts are tasty as substitutes for pecans in this salad. Using nuts in this salad gives it a nice, hearty crunch.
Maple syrup: swap this out for honey if you prefer. I chose maple syrup to maximize the fall-inspired flavors in this recipe.
About The Dressing
This salad is tossed in a light, sweet lemon vinaigrette. It's super simple to make with only 5 ingredients and adds so much bright, fresh flavor to the brussels sprouts.
Before serving your salad, make sure to let it marinate in the dressing for at least 10 minutes. This is essential! It ramps up the flavor of the salad and dull the earthiness of the brussels sprouts.
How to Cut Brussels Sprouts for Salad
Here's the easiest way to shave brussels sprouts for this salad:
- Remove any tough or wilted outer leaves from your brussel sprout.
- Trim off the white root end.
- Thinly slice the brussel sprouts. I like to slice them crosswise, slicing off the root and then continuing to slice off small, thin circles.
It's best to use a sharp knife for this to get truly thin, shaved slices of sprouts. Here's my recommended knife that I've loved for years: Chef's Knife.
You could also use a food processor or mandolin to shave your brussels sprouts. Here's a couple tips for each:
Food processor:
Pulse your sprouts until they are thinly chopped. Be careful not to over-chop the sprouts until they are too small or pulverized.
Recommended food processor: click here.
Mandoline:
This will give you nice, even and thinly shaved sprouts. Use your mandoline on the thinnest setting. To keep your fingers safe, stick a fork in the root end of the sprout and use it to push the sprout across the blade.
Recommended Mandoline: click here.
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days. This recipe is tasty as leftovers! The flavors get stronger as it sits in the fridge.
How to Make It Ahead of Time
This is an easy recipe to make ahead of time. You can make the recipe exactly as it's written and then store it in the fridge overnight until you're ready to serve it the next day.
You could also prepare your shaved brussels sprouts up to 2 days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to make this salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! The base of this recipe is shave (thinly sliced brussels sprouts) that are raw. Because they are chopped thinly and marinated the dressing, they are both tasty and easy to digest raw.
Yes, you can shred your brussels sprouts up to 2 days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to use them. I find that if I do this farther ahead of time they tend to start to wilt.
Once you've mixed your salad with the dressing, let it marinate for at least 10 minutes. To marinate your salad, cover it and let it sit in the fridge. You can marinate your brussels sprout salad up to 24 hours before serving.
Similar Recipes
For more fall-inspired salads, check out these popular favorites:
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment at the bottom of this page. And if you share a photo on social media, I'd love to see it! You can tag me on: Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
PrintShaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings (as a side) 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This shaved brussels sprout salad is full of fall-inspired ingredients like apples, pecans and cranberries tossed in a simple lemon vinaigrette. It's an easy, show-stopping side salad that's perfect for your dinner table or holiday menu.
Ingredients
- 1 lb brussels sprouts*
- 1 large honeycrisp apple, chopped (or gala apple)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup red onion
Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Shred your brussels sprouts: trim off the root end, remove any tough outer leaves, and then thinly chop your brussels sprouts. You can do this with a knife, mandolin, or food processor.
- Mix the dressing: in a small bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients.
- Make the salad: add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl, drizzle the dressing on top and toss to coat.
- Marinate: let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes covered in the fridge before serving.
Notes
*You can also buy a bag of pre-shredded brussels sprouts. You'll need about 6 cups total.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Side Dish, Salad
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛th of recipe
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 218mg
- Fat: 10.3g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Carbohydrates: 17.1g
- Fiber: 6.7g
- Protein: 5.3g
- Cholesterol: 2mg
Keywords: brussels sprout, apple, cranberry, brussel sprout, pecans, lemon vinaigrette, fall, thanksgiving, christmas, side salad, holiday, autumn, healthy, shaved, chopped
Joan Breckwoldt
This is my absolute FAVORITE salad of any salad ever! It is so good and easy to make, especially with that chopper you recommended. I make this salad at least once a week and it lasts me 3 days. Thank you! Joan
★★★★★