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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.
After all I finally managed to get fresh Brussels sprouts.
This was THE HIT of this weekend’s lunch (in Portugal we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but I’m decided to celebrate it in my home, with “my persons” – it’s such a beautiful tradition!).
Thank you so much!! Once again!
Sofia
Thank you Sofia! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
delicious! a huge hit at thanksgiving dinner
Thank you Morgan! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious! As another person mentioned, I am also not fond of the seeds in pomegranates. I substituted pomegranate flavored dried Cranraisins. Delicious!!
Oh that is so great! I am so glad you enjoyed this Tammy! xTieghan
Delicious, made it for after holiday dinner, was a real hit!
I love that! Thank you Chris! xTieghan
Made this for thanksgiving and it was a hit!
Thank you Natalie! xTieghan
Made this to go with our Thanksgiving Meal, DELICIOUS!!!
Thank you Kristie! xTieghan
Can you please tell me if this will still taste great if I omit any cheese? Does the flavor get compromised? I am having a guest that must abstain from dairy. Thank you-love all your recipes!
Hey Ann! The salad will still be great without the cheese. I would double the dressing and add more as needed for additional flavor. OR you can use goat cheese too. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Hi, Tieghan!
I know this may sound a very silly question, but… Any ideas on what to use as an alternative to Brussels sprouts? I bought everything for this salad and now I can’t find fresh Brussels sprouts anywhere. Only those awful frozen ones. ?
Thank you and sorry!
Hey Sofia!! I would use finely chopped Tuscan or curly kale. I think that will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
I’m planning on making this with thanksgiving dinner. It looks so bright and fresh! I canned homemade peach butter and pear butter this year. Could I use one of those in place of the apple butter/fig? If so which flavor do you think would compliment best?
Thanks!!
Hey Amy! I think the pear butter will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Could you make this dressing ahead of time to travel with?
HI! Yes! You can make ahead then just toss the salad once you arrive. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Hi! Looks wonderful. IS there a way to cook the Brussel sprouts a bit before assembling salad? Raw Brussels sprouts are a little hard on me. How would you do so?
Hey Jill! Just cook the sprouts in a large skillet with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes, until they are broken down a bit. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This along with the spinach and artichoke mac and cheese will for sure be on my Thanksgiving table this year!
YES! I hope everyone loves this Tiffany! Thank you! xTieghan
Can you make this ahead of time and refrigerate till time to serve and just serve it cold?
Hey Kelly! Sure that will work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
if you make this salad the night before…do you dress it then, or wait until just before serving
Hey Sandi! I would dress the salad the following day. You can dress it 3-4 hours ahead of time. I have found that to work well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Just seeing the photo of this amazing salad again makes my heart happy! I made this last Thanksgiving along with 500 things I figured I could handle all at once and in all of the chaos, I’m pretty sure I had some of the basics of this pre prepped (besides the bacon, etc).
Seriously, this is one of the most delicious, perfect combination of flavors without being too much, or trying to hard. I had some seriously picky and “simple food” eaters at the table crinkling their noses and attempting to hide their disdain at it bc “I don’t like brussel sprouts, or nuts, or whatever”. Ha!! It was loved by all. And I made a second batch just so I could eat it the next day. It was by far my favorite dish I think. (I also made that chai cake which was delicious but the oven time was off perhaps bc of elevation?) Anyway, this one should go on a best of list!
YES!! Love when you can prove them all wrong haha! I am so glad you and everyone else loved this salad, Elizabeth! Thank you so much! xTieghan