Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad Recipe

I love making this 30-minute shaved Brussels sprout salad year-round with a pile of raw sprouts dressed in apple cider vinaigrette. I load it up with diced apples, fennel, pomegranate seeds, eggs, and pickled red onion.

I usually pull this one out the first week of January, after 10 straight days of casseroles, prime rib, and whatever pie was still on the counter at midnight. Ha! This is the same family of salads I love alongside my classic Italian salad and beet salad when I want a dish that fills me up without making me want to lie down on the couch right after.

Brussels Sprout Salad

Brussels sprouts as a raw shaved salad caught on in American restaurants in the late 2000s, when chefs started running the heads across a mandoline and pairing the thin shave with apples, cured pork, and aged cheese instead of the usual roast.

The version I cook today is inspired from that line of restaurant salads and dresses it in apple cider vinaigrette instead of a creamy dressing. I love making this light salad as the first stop of my own detox week, I simply shave the sprouts thin, pickle the onions while the eggs sit in their ice bath, and let the apple cider vinaigrette do the talking.

If you want more protein on the plate, add a pan-seared chicken breast or a piece of grilled salmon on top. You can also skip the eggs, swap the dried cherries for cranberries, or pull the blue cheese if the table is not into it. The vinaigrette doubles as a house dressing for many of the salads in my salad recipes collection, so be sure to check those out as well.

I highly recommend making this after a heavy weekend, you will quickly understand why I cook it no matter the season.

Ingredients and Substitutions

This Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad bowl is built layer by layer. Here are all the ingredients I use to make it:

• Lemon – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is used in the vinaigrette.
• Vinegar – You can use apple cider or distilled white vinegar.
• Mayonnaise – Any good full-fat mayonnaise will work.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar, honey, or agave is suitable for dressing.
• Oil – Any neutral-flavored oil like avocado is good.
• Herbs – I use fresh thyme leaves, but you can substitute 1 to 1 for dry. In addition, other herbs to use are chervil, chives, or basil.
• Onions – Pickled red onions really bring this salad to life. However, thinly sliced red onions will also work.
• Brussels Sprouts – Fresh Brussels sprouts are the main component of the salad, and green cabbage is a last resort.
• Fennel – Freshly shaved fennel adds some balance of flavors to the dish.
• Fruit – I use a combination of dried cherries, pomegranate seeds, granny smith, and fuji apples. You can substitute any apple for this dish. Dried cranberries can also be used in place of the cherries.
• Nuts – Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or pecans will all work in this salad.
• Cheese – Any good blue or gorgonzola cheese is good. This can be a block or pre-crumbled.
• Eggs – You will need hard-boiled eggs for this recipe.

How to Make Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad 

Pickle red onion: I slice onion and whisk vinegar with sugar and salt in a small bowl until mostly combined. I drop the onions in, press them down, and park the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Hard-boil the eggs: Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Lower the eggs in, cook for 6 minutes, then transfer to an ice bath for another 6 minutes. I peel under cold running water and quarter them.

Cut the brussels: I trim the stem ends, hold a sprout by the root end, and run it across the mandoline.

Shave the fennel: I cut the stalks off the fennel bulb, halve it, and run it across the mandoline thin.

Whisk the vinaigrette: Combine lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, fresh thyme, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Drizzle the neutral oil in while whisking until the dressing thickens and turns one color. Taste and adjust salt and acid.

Dice the apples: I quarter the apples, cut the cores out, and dice into a quarter-inch cube. Toss the dice in a small bowl with a spoon of pineapple or lemon juice so the cut faces do not brown before the bowl goes together.

Free the pomegranate seeds: I cut the pomegranate clean in half through the equator. I hold one half over a wide cutting board cut-side down, fingers spread, and smack the back of the fruit with a heavy wooden spoon. The seeds rain out almost intact and the white pith mostly stays behind. I repeat with the other half.

Assemble: I pile the shaved sprouts in the bowl. Lay the fennel, apples, pomegranate seeds, toasted almonds, blue cheese crumbles, pickled onion, and hard-boiled eggs across the top.

Dress at the table: Finally, I pour the vinaigrette over the assembled bowl and toss thoroughly. I serve right away while the apples are crisp and the almonds are still toasted.

Serving Suggestions

I enjoy serving this Shaved Brussels sprout salad on a Saturday afternoon next to a pan-seared ribeye steak so the dressing cuts the steak fat. Sunday it sits on the table beside an easy roast chicken and a basket of warm sourdough bread, and the leftovers go straight into Monday lunch on top of more chicken.

Holiday season I bring the whole bowl to a friend’s table when somebody else has the roast turkey handled and a salad course is the move. I keep the vinaigrette in a cruet alongside a small pour of homemade balsamic vinaigrette so guests pick their own, and a slice of homemade apple pie closes the same meal once the dishes are cleared.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: Every ingredient holds well separately for up to 24 hours. I refrigerate each in its own container and assemble in 5 minutes when the table is set.

How to Store: Dressed leftovers hold in the fridge for 24 hours in an airtight container. The sprouts stay good past that point, but the apples soften and the almonds lose their crunch.

More Salad Recipes

• Greek Salad
• Chef Salad
• Cobb Salad
• Classic Salad Nicoise Recipe
• Caesar Salad Recipe