Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

This Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette is the perfect bright spot to any comfort food meal!

This salad came about because I was in a rut with brussels sprouts. I pretty much just roast my them the same way every single time. It’s really good, but I haven’t posted it since it’s barely a recipe. I just lightly coat them in olive oil, sea salt, and garlic powder and roast until caramelized.

In fact they’re so good this way, I got into a habit of making them the same way for the last couple of years. So this year with the holidays coming up, I decided it was high time to get a little more creative!

I ended up with this brussels sprout salad which is all lemony and fresh, yet still very satisfying thanks to that bacon vinaigrette. Add in a light crunch from the walnuts, and you’ve got a salad that will keep you coming back for more.

How to turn brussels sprouts into shreds otherwise known as ‘shaved brussels sprouts’

1. The way I turn my brussels sprouts into shreds is the good old fashioned way with a sharp knife. Trim the ends and any bad leaves away, cut them in half. and simply cut them into as fine of shreds as you can. This is a lot easier with a sharp knife. And 10-15 minutes later, you have a heap of shaved brussels sprouts.
2. You can also use a mandolin slicer, but do take all precautions to not loose a finger! I find it easy enough to just use a chef’s knife that I don’t even bother to get out my mandolin.

Tip: Don’t add the walnuts too far in advance. Walnuts have the unfortunate tendency to turn everything they touch a weird purple/gray color over time.

This isn’t a problem as long as you serve the salad within the same day you toss it. But if you think you might have leftovers, keep the walnuts separate.

With that being said, here you can see I have walnuts mixed right into the bacon vinaigrette. But you can easily keep them separate and toss them in when you’re ready to serve.

Time Saving Tips: You can shred/shave the brussels sprouts 2-3 days ahead of time. Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also make the bacon vinaigrette ahead, but you’ll need to reheat it just before serving.

Fun variations:

• Add some chopped, fruit juice sweetened cranberries.
• Chopped Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples are delicious here too. Be sure and add the apples right before serving because they tend to turn brown.
• Change out the walnuts out for hazelnuts/pecans/or sliced almonds.
• Pomegranate arils add gorgeous color, great flavor, and look nice and festive too.

I hope you’ll enjoy this one with the holidays right around the corner! If you make this salad, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. And I always love hearing from you here and over on Instagram where you can tag me at #getinspiredeveryday with your photos of this Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette.

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