Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad

This shaved Brussel sprout salad is tangy, crunchy and flavorful! A healthy addition to weeknight dinners, Thanksgiving, or your lunch meal prep!

This salad uses raw Brussels sprouts in a way that actually makes them delicious. It’s all about texture: crisp sprouts, chewy cherries, juicy pear, creamy feta, and toasty nuts. Every bite is vibrant and never falls flat!

This and my chopped kale salad both balance out richer dishes beautifully. I put this shaved brussels sprout salad in my Thanksgiving line up, and even my 2-year-old son ate it. Total skeptic crowd, converted! It balanced all the fatty, heavy dinner staples like scalloped potatoes or baked mac and cheese. It also played very nicely with the cranberry chutney and was a wonderful crunchy addition to leftover turkey sandwiches from the roasted herb turkey!

Professional Tips

• Slice your brussels smart to stay safe You will need to make 1–2 cuts against the blade while holding the sprout in your fingertips, to create a flat edge. Then switch to the heel of your hand, slowing down as you get closer to the opposite side. I use the heel of my hand because it hurts less if you cut it and you can get it flatter and keep it out of the way of the blade for longer. You can also buy them pre-shredded, shred them with a box grater, or shred in the food processor!
• Shave the brussels in advance to save time. If you’re wondering, can I shave Brussels sprouts ahead of time? Yes! You can slice the sprouts up to a week in advance. For Thanksgiving I sliced them two days ahead and stored them in a zip-top plastic baggie until Thanksgiving day.
• Let the lemon juice work its magic. I like to assemble this salad about 30 minutes prior to serving to allow time for the lemon to interact with the Brussels sprout enzymes and draw out the best flavor.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Brussels sprouts: Don’t stress about the actual weight of the Brussels. Just buy a bag or pick them from your garden (lucky!), shred them and make salad. Oftentimes the bags of shredded Brussels are 12 ounces but the bags of whole Brussels are 1 pound.
• Dried sweet or tart cherries
• Pomegranate seeds: I prefer fresh pomegranate seeds but you can also purchase the ones in the packages that are already removed from the fruit. 

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

• Swap out the cheese. If you’re out of feta cheese, or want to play with bolder flavors, you could use grated or shaved parmesan cheese or blue cheese crumbles instead. 
• Add in some extra fruit. Fruits add brightness and texture, balancing the richness of the nuts and cheese. For this salad, I’d go with sliced or diced honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced shallots, or low-sugar dried cranberries. 
• Vary up the chopped nuts. Crunch and salt are always welcome; you could switch in pecans, almonds, roasted and salted pistachios, or sunflower seeds! You could even use cashews.
• Drizzle in a touch of honey, apple cider vinegar, or dijon mustard. 

How to Make Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prep the Brussels sprouts. With a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the brussels sprouts and then either slice very thinly or shave on a mandolin. I start on one side of the sprouts, pressing it firmly with the heel of my hand and then shave until I reach the last few leaves on the opposite side. I set those to the side and then stack and slice them with a knife, so I don’t have any waste. (photo 1)

I slice most of the vegetables on a mandoline, which makes the prep super fast and all the slices an even thickness. If you are using a French mandolin, set it to the thinnest setting. If you are using a Japanese mandolin, you’ll need to play with the setting to get it to be about 1/8 inch, or your preferred thickness.

Step 2: Make the base salad. In a large mixing bowl, combine shaved Brussels sprouts, lemon juice, olive oil and a generous pinch of kosher salt along with a few grinds of black pepper. Mix well using tongs or 2 large salad forks. (photo 2)

You can also use your hands (like I do in my chopped kale salad) to work in the dressing, but make sure you don’t have any cuts. Or, you can pour your dressing in a small bowl to get a sense of what it tastes like on its own!

Step 3: Season and toss. Taste and add additional seasoning as desired. It will probably need a few more pinches of salt but I like to make my final determination after I add the feta, because the saltiness of feta varies widely by brand.

Step 4: Add mix-ins and adjust. Add crumbled feta, tart cherries, chopped walnuts and diced red pear. Toss to coat and taste once again for seasoning. (photo 3)

The lemon juice in the salad should be enough to keep the pears from browning as long as you chop them right before adding to the salad, but you could always toss them in a teaspoon of lemon juice for good measure.

Step 5: Let it rest before serving. (photo 4)

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed [something descriptive but not the keyword] recipe. Check out our other delicious filling salad recipes!