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This shredded brussels sprout bacon salad has quickly become one of my favorites. It’s quick, festive, and so delicious. Shredded brussels sprouts, nutty manchego cheese, toasted hazelnuts, and juicy pomegranates, all tossed with a warm cider vinaigrette that’s sweet and tangy. Every bite of this salad is bursting with flavor. Great as a light lunch, served alongside your favorite dinner, or at your next holiday gathering!
Happiest Thursday! Hope you’re all having a great week. It’s been a busy, cold and snowy week here. With all the snow we’ve been getting, the resorts actually opened ahead of schedule yesterday.
I’ve been madly working away on recipe testing, fun holiday content, and staying warm in the kitchen with lots of baking. All good things! And today I’m SO excited to share this salad, from my Thanksgiving menu, with you all.
No matter what the occasion, no dinner party is complete without a colorful salad, especially Thanksgiving. With all the turkey, gravy, potatoes, and rolls, something light and colorful is a must on every Thanksgiving dinner table.
One of the questions I’m often asked is what to serve for dinner parties. For me, what I serve always depends on the season. But there’s one thing that’s always on my dinner party menu.
Yes, salad.
My go-to salad is normally something full of leafy greens, a mix of vegetables, pomegranates, maybe persimmons, and a simple balsamic dressing. This year however, I knew I wanted to create a shredded brussels sprouts salad to throw everyone a curve ball. It’s something I’ve never done, but always wanted to do. I wasn’t sure how much I’d be into it, because roasted brussels sprouts will forever be my favorite…but you guys? Trust me when I say that this salad is beyond good. It’s so simple, so beautiful, full of texture, and incredibly delicious.
When I set out to make this, I knew I needed to keep it simple, but flavorful. There’s so much going on with the Thanksgiving meal that I wanted the salad to be able to compliment everything.
Enter this shredded brussels sprout salad.
It all starts with a heck of a lot of brussels sprouts. Like a lot. If you’re cutting your brussels sprouts by hand, like me, this will be the hardest part of making this salad. If you’re smart, and live near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, then you might want to pick up a bag of pre-shredded brussels sprouts, and save yourself a good 15 minutes or so of chopping time.
Tip? Be that smart person and buy the pre-shredded brussels sprouts. I know it might be fresher to cut the sprouts yourself, but thinly slicing all those brussels spouts takes time. And well, no one has that kind of time, especially on Thanksgiving.
Ok. Moving along.
Once you have your brussels sprouts shredded and in a bowl, add the manchego cheese, toasted hazelnuts, and a good amount of juicy pomegranate arils. Then crisp up some bacon and you’ll have your salad.
Next make the warm cider vinaigrette and pour it over the salad.
The warm vinaigrette takes the bitterness out of the raw brussels sprouts by beginning to cook them just ever so slightly. It adds a sweet, tanginess that compliments the brussels sprouts very nicely.
The pomegranates add a freshness of color, and a burst of juicy flavor with every bite. Plus, they’re my favorite fruit to put in salads. I love them…as if you couldn’t tell from my many, many pomegranate filled recipes.
And the bacon? Well, it adds a saltiness that keeps everyone coming back for seconds.
One of the best parts to this recipe?
You can prep this salad a few hours ahead of time to make things easier. Personally, I love serving the salad just after it has been tossed with the hot vinaigrette so that the salad is a little warm. But that’s just me, I love warm food. Serve the salad up whichever way you’ll enjoy it most.
I’m already looking forward to enjoying this salad again in just a couple of weeks on Thanksgiving Day. Are you guys getting excited? Don’t forget to check out my 2018 menu!! I’ll be sharing a new dessert tomorrow that’s my favorite of the month. Very excited.
If you make this salad please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
watch the how to video:
Shredded Brussels Sprout Bacon Salad and Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 715 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 cups shredded brussels sprouts (about one 12 ounce bag)
- 1 1/2 cups grated manchego or parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups pomegranate arils
- 6 thick cut slices bacon, chopped
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon apple butter or fig preserves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
- kosher salt and black pepper
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- 1. In a large salad bowl, combine the shredded brussels sprouts, cheese, hazelnuts, and pomegranate arils.2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain onto a paper towel. Wipe the skillet clean.3. To make the vinaigrette. Heat the olive oil in the same skillet used to cook the bacon over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shallots, cook until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly. Add the apple cider vinegar, apple butter, thyme, and orange zest. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. 4. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, tossing to combine. Top the salad with bacon. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I made this and kept the pomegranate arils and cheeses out, stir fried and , added the left out items on top. when served. It was fab veggies hot dish.
Thank you so much Leslie! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
Made this and loved it! Nice switch up from kale or spinach. Definitely adding to my Christmas menu. Beautiful and festive.
Thank you so much Kara! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
this is SO good! My husband used to hate brussel sprouts but I’ve introduced him to shredded ones and loves them now (of course paired w/bacon). Thanks for always making amazing recipes!
Thank you so much Jess!
I made this salad for Thanksgiving and it was fabulous! Planning on making it again for Christmas!
Thank you Sue! I am so glad this turned out so well for you!
Just WOW!!! I made this for my boyfriend’s family for Thanksgiving and it was the best dish on the table. Since we traveled to their houses I did not have my usual tools so I bought pre-shredded Brussels. I opted for Manchego cheese, hazelnuts and fig jam over the apple butter, which I think it made the “dressing” perfectly gooey and viscous. We are vegetarian so the bacon was on the side but I loved this salad so much. Thanks Tieghan!!!
I am so glad you loved this Jessica! Thank you so much!
Oh my goodness – This was a full-meal salad! I had intended to include this salad with my Thanksgiving menu, but am so ‘thankful’ that I saved it for the post leftover weekend! The only change I made was substituting white cheddar (tiny cubes) for the parmesan because that’s what I had on hand. Delish! Husband said it belongs on the A-list! Thanks Tieghan!
Thank you so much Sue! I am so glad you enjoyed this!
This has been a hit at two events so far this Thanksgiving for me! Thanks for this delicious new way to eat Brussels Sprouts! PS– do you ever share the details of your serving pieces? The ceramic bowl in these pictures is gorgeous!
Hi Rebecca! Yes of course I do! If you check out the shop page on my site you can find almost everything I use! I am so glad you loved this recipe, thank you!
Is the 1 1/2 cups of cheese correct? We added the full amount of Parmesan and it overpowered the rest of the salad. I don’t see cheese in your photo, but ours was completely coated. I will make this again because it’s a beautiful salad and I loved all of the other flavors together, but I’ll limit the amount of cheese to 1/4 cup or less.
Hey Allison! The amount of cheese is correct. Did you use the correct amount of brussels sprouts? Maybe you had a little less? Please let me know if you have any other questions. Glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
I made this dish for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I used my food processors to shred the sprouts which was super fast. I was really surprised but the pomegranate made the dish! Thanks for another wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much Jennifer! I am so glad you loved this recipe!
What if you cant find apple butter or fig preserves?
Hi Alix! I recommend using 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
This sounds really delicious, and I am sure the bacon kicks it up a notch…but has anyone tried it without the bacon or with turkey bacon? Serving to some who keep kosher so pork bacon is a no-no. But don’t want to skip the bacon or sub if the bacon is what makes the salad.
Hey April! YOu can omit the bacon. Not a big deal. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
In order to serve it “warm” as you suggest, could you make everything ahead of time and then warm up the dressing right before serving?
Yes, I would just warm the dressing and then toss with the salad. That works really well! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
This looks great – Can you pre-prepare the dressing?
HI! Yes, you can make the dressing ahead and then warm in the microwave or on the stove. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
What do you recommend for the toasted hazelnuts? Do you toast them yourself on the stove? Or can you buy them already toasted? I’d prefer the latter. 🙂
Hi! You can toast them yourself on the stove over medium heat in a dry skillet for 3-5 minutes or you can by them already toasted at the store. Either option is just fine! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I am making this salad for an event. Can I make the dressing a few days early and then heat ? Will it lose flavor. Thanks for the great recipes
Hi Stephanie! You can make the dressing 4 days ahead of time and then reheat. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan