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:
- I don’t want to admit the season that shall not be named is most likely here to stay [sob]
- Thanksgiving should get the attention it deserves!
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:Â Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad.
Watch How to Make It!
Make once and I promise it’ll become an annual tradition!
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 (they’re 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:
- Shred the brussels sprouts up to two days ahead of time then store in a gallon Ziplock bag with all the air pressed out.
- Chop the pecans up to two days ahead of time then store in an airtight container.
- Prepare then refrigerate the vinaigrette 1-3 days ahead of time.
Prepare just before serving:Â
- Chop the pears.
- Pan fry the shallots.
- Add all ingredients into a serving bowl then dress and toss to combine.
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
- Maple-Bourbon Pecan Salad
- Everyday Kale Salad
- Wild Rice Harvest Bowls
- Apple, Cranberry, Almond Salad
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Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
Description
Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad is a crispy, crunchy, healthy, gluten free salad recipe that's full of fresh fall flavors!
Ingredients
- 12oz brussels sprouts, tough outer leaves pulled away
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup Fisher Naturals Pecan Halves, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbles
- 1 pear, chopped
- 2 jumbo shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- For the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (not pancake syrup)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Using a very sharp knife, thinly shred brussels sprouts while holding onto the core end then discard cores and add shredded sprouts to a large bowl with dried cranberries, chopped pecans, gorgonzola cheese, and chopped pears. Set aside.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the shallots then fry until light golden brown (NOT dark brown) 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scoop onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain then repeat with remaining shallots. Sprinkle with salt then let cool slightly.
- Add ingredients for Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette together in a jar then shake to combine. Pour over salad then toss to coat. Add fried shallots then toss to combine, and then serve.
Notes
- I recommend shredding your own brussels sprouts vs buying pre-shredded to make sure you can shave them very, very thin!
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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Terese 11.25.2015
Going to try this recipe tomorrow for Thanksgiving, looks AMAZING!
Do you think I could sub goat cheese and almonds for Gorgonzola and pecans? Just wondering if that combo would taste ok?
Also, does it matter what kind of pear I use? I am by no means a cook at all!
Thanks!
Kristin 11.25.2015
Totally! I hope you love it!
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Jessica 11.24.2015
I was going to do roasted brussels for Thanksgiving, but now I think I am going to change it up and do this salad instead. It looks delicious! Love the idea of adding some maple to the balsamic dressing.
Marie 11.23.2015
Is there another cheese you would recommend instead of gorgonzola. I am not a gorgonzola fan… Or just leave the cheese out?
Kristin 11.24.2015
I would use chevre or feta!
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Peggy 11.19.2015
We had this today at our Charming Chicks luncheon. Fantastic salad! I will make it for Thanksgiving. Thank you!
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Toni 11.15.2015
I made this tonight and at one point just started eating right out of the bowl! Even my reluctant vegetable-eating husband said he was taking the leftovers for his lunch. I did make an oops and used Worcestershire sauce instead of balsamic vinegar, but it actually tasted pretty great :-)
Kristin 11.17.2015
Haha, totally guilty of that too! ;)
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Lizzie 11.10.2015
Just made this tonight. YUM! I used my food processor to shred the Brussels and I used blood orange infused olive oil in the dressing.
Gorgonzola lover 11.09.2015
Fantastic salad!! I got everything at Trader Joes, using their bag of Cruciferous Crunch Collection (kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, green & red cabbage). No way was I going to slice up brussel sprouts when this was readily available! I followed the recipe exactly except I used Agave syrup instead of maple in the dressing. Next time I will add more dried cranberries & Gorgonzola just because I love them. I didn’t think the pears added much to the salad, so I may leave them out. So Super DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe!
Cindy @ Cookies and Chemistry 11.06.2015
Oh my goodness that looks so good! Are the brussels sprouts firm and hard to eat?
Kristin 11.09.2015
Nope, they’re really crunchy but not hard to eat if you shred them thin enough!
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