Sweet and tangy with a wonderful crunch, this festive Holiday Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad makes a great addition to your holiday meals. It’s loaded with sweet pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, fresh citrus and toasted pecans, and then drizzled with a sweet, homemade maple balsamic salad dressing!
Table of Contents
- Holiday Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
- Brussel Sprout Salad Ingredients
- How To Make Holiday Brussel Sprout Salad
- How to Toast Pecans
- Recipe Tips
- How Many Pomegranates Will I Need?
- How Do I Seed a Pomegranate?
- What Apples Do I Need?
- How Do You Slice Brussel Sprouts?
- How to Store Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
- What To Serve With Salad
- Get the Recipe
Holiday Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
This Holiday Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad is a delicious and festive holiday salad that is a gorgeous mix of red and green! It’s sweet from the maple syrup and tangy from the fresh citrus with hidden bites of sweet apple and pear. Each bite has a wonderful added crunch from the pumpkin seeds and toasted pecans. Finish it off with our favorite homemade Maple Balsamic Dressing and some bright red pomegranate arils to add a festive splash of color.
Made with various fruits including cranberries and pomegranate, toasted pecans, and fresh shaved brussel sprouts, this salad is totally customizable. If you don’t like grapefruit, you can use an orange or you can leave it out altogether. If you want more pomegranate seeds, go for it!
If there’s one thing you need around the holidays, it’s a good holiday salad to pair with your holiday meals. And, as luck would have it, this shaved brussel sprout salad is the perfect holiday salad. I promise everyone will be impressed when you unveil this stunning salad!
Brussel Sprout Salad Ingredients
You will want to get fresh ingredients for this recipe. The fresher, the better. Get out your shopping list and jot these items down:
- Brussel Sprouts: You can shave your own with a mandolin (or knife!) or purchase already shaved Brussels sprouts.
- Fresh Fruit: I like to use a fresh pear, apple, grapefruit and pomegranate arils!
- Dried Cranberries: Dried cherries are also delicious.
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Pecans: I like to use toasted pecans, but candied pecans are also a delicious addition.
- Cheese: Cheese is optional, but a little shaved parmesan is delicious on top. Other cheese options that would be taste: goat cheese, blue cheese or feta cheese.
- Maple Balsamic Dressing: a sweet and tangy homemade salad dressing that pairs perfectly with this festive shaved Brussel sprout salad!
How To Make Holiday Brussel Sprout Salad
This salad is super quick and easy to make. If you didn’t buy toasted pecans, be sure to scroll to the end of the recipe and do that first.
Prepare the brussel sprouts: Begin by timing off the end of each brussel sprout and slicing them into thin shreds. You can do this with a mandolin or using a sharp knife. Be careful whichever option you use!
Cut the fruit: Core and chop your apple and pear. You will want to cut those into thin slices as well.
Toss fruit, sprouts, and dressing: Put your shaved brussel sprouts, apple, and pear in a large bowl and toss with ¼ cup of maple balsamic dressing.
Transfer salad: Transfer your salad to a serving bowl or a platter. I love the look of adding the salad to a festive platter so you can see all the colors of the fresh fruit.
Add toppings: Then, top your salad with grapefruit segments, pomegranate arils, dried cranberries, roasted pecans, parmesan cheese and pumpkin seeds.
Add more dressing: Finally, add a little more maple balsamic dressing and serve.
How to Toast Pecans
Toasting your pecans is optional, but I recommend it because it brings out so much more flavor! You can do it in the oven or even on the stovetop.
Oven: To toast them, arrange your pecans in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake them in the oven at 350℉ for 6 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant.
Stovetop: In a large skillet on the stove, heat pecans over medium heat until fragrant, stirring often, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Buy shaved brussel sprouts. If you are in a hurry, you can purchase already shaved brussel sprouts in the fresh produce section of your local grocery store. I like to shave my own because they are a little fresher.
- Prepare ahead of time. If you want to get things ready to go, you can shave your brussel sprouts up to 2-days in advance. Just keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Toss apples in lemon juice. You can keep your apples from turning brown by tossing them with a little lemon juice. Do this if you plan to cut them ahead of time.
- Use large brussel sprouts. Larger brussel sprouts are preferred for this recipe because that means less of them to deal with per pound.
How Many Pomegranates Will I Need?
For this recipe, you need ½ cup of pomegranate seeds or arils. One pomegranate should produce enough seeds for this recipe or you can purchase pomegranate arils ready to use in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store.
How Do I Seed a Pomegranate?
I prefer to seed my pomegranates underwater. Here’s how you seed it with this method:
- Fill a bowl with cool water. Then, score the pomegranate around the center and pull the pomegranate in half.
- Take half of the pomegranate and hold it under the water in the bowl.
- Break it into large pieces and pop out the seeds. Let the seeds fall to the bottom of the bowl.
- Pick out the floating pieces of membrane. Then, drain the pomegranate seeds with a colander.
- Pick out any remaining membrane.
- Repeat with the second half of the pomegranate.
What Apples Do I Need?
You can use whatever apples you prefer! I like to use honeycrisp apples for their sweet flavor, color, and perfectly crisp texture. Pink ladies or Granny Smith apples are ideal if you want more of a tart option.
How Do You Slice Brussel Sprouts?
I used a mandolin to slice my brussel sprouts, but you can use a sharp knife to slice up the brussel sprouts as well. You want them to be really thin like the cabbage in coleslaw. Here’s how you do it:
- Use the sharp knife to cut the stem off.
- Peel any browning leaves.
- Cut the sprout in half from top to bottom.
- Lay the two halves flat side down and slice them as thin as possible.
How to Store Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
If your shaved brussel sprouts are fresh, you can store your salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-days. I highly recommend not adding the salad dressing until you are ready to serve it.
What To Serve With Salad
This salad pairs beautifully with your Christmas dinner. Looking for some ideas that go with this delicious shaved brussel sprout salad? Here are some of my favorites:
- Grilled Chicken Breasts
- Juicy Pan Fried Pork Chops
- Crockpot Turkey Breasts
- Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Stuffing
Holiday Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh Brussel sprouts
- 1 pear, cored and chopped
- 1 apple, cored and chopped
- 1 cup grapefruit sections
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup pecans halves, toasted
- ⅓ cup shaved parmesan cheese, optional
- ⅓ cup Maple Balsamic Dressing, divided
Instructions
- Prepare the Brussel sprouts by trimming off the end of each Brussel sprout and slicing them thinly into shreds. (I used a mandolin , but a sharp knife will give you the same results. If using a knife keep slices thin.
- In a large bowl, toss together shaved Brussels sprouts, apple and pear with 1/4 cup maple balsamic dressing.
- Transfer salad to a serving bowl or plater and top with grapefruit segments, pomegranate arils, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, roasted pecans and parmesan cheese.
- Drizzle a little more maple balsamic dressing over the top before serving, if desired! Serve immediately!
Notes
- On a baking sheet, arrange pecans in an even layer and toast them in the oven at 350°F for about 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant.
- Let cool before adding to salad. Toasting is optional, but I recommend toasting your pecans because this easy step brings out more flavor in the pecans.
