Brussels Sprout Chopped Salad with Pears, Gorgonzola, and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette is an incredibly flavorful yet nutritious salad recipe – perfect for those of us who love salads that are loaded with goodies!
Oy! This brussels sprout chopped salad tastes like bacon.
I’ve never wanted to be a Brussels sprout so badly in my life.
Just look at what’s going on in that dang bowl.
I know what you’re thinking: Brussels sprouts, Julia…how can I feel anything about this, skinamarinky dinky dinky, skinamarinky doo?
Just give ‘er one bite and you’ll be drawn to it like a fly to a bug zapper, like Taylor Swift to…herself, like a magnet…to another magnet.
It’s filled with all the goodies, like bacon, pears, maple-candied pecans, and blue cheese.
Plus the warm maple-bacon vinaigrette…how could life get any better??
Why are all salads not drenched in bacon fat?
This is what you ask yourself after you’ve eaten an entire pound of shaved Brussels sprouts because they were doused in what can only be described as liquid heaven.
Look at all the chopping that went into this chopped salad. It’s a thing of beauty.
Can You Make Salad with Brussel Sprouts?:
As sure as the sky is blue, you can!
Have you ever enjoyed your Brussels sprouts raw in a brussels sprout chopped salad??
They’re really quite edible, especially when they’re lubed up in bacon fat.
Thinly sliced Brussels sprouts make for a crunchy and spunky salad.
This one includes bacon, pears, gorgonzola cheese, the most amazing vinaigrette made from bacon drippings, and maple toasted pecans.
You can also add things like kale and cabbage for a mix of greenery textures. But as it stands, the salad covers all the textures and flavors, just like a great salad should.
Fall is rapidly approaching, which means we need to put on our hibernation layer. Meaning, we need to bulk up. Meaning, we need bacon.
99.2% of the time, bacon fat’s a real nuisance.
You put your fatty pork strips in your skillet, watch them snap and crinkle, enjoy them crispy critters on your egg mc. muffin, and when all’s said and done, you look at your pan like, “well what am I supposed to do now?”
Not this time, my babies. This time, you pour that liquid heaven into a glass and drink it turn it into salad dressing.
I added cinnamon, cider vinegar, and pure maple syrup to the bacon vinaigrette, which made the dressing even more warm and inviting.
I also candied the pecans in maple syrup and cinnamon, so when the whole salad comes together, it tastes like leaves falling off the tree. And bacon. Mostly bacon.
My drippings bring all the boys to the yard. < – Sorry.
Resistance is futile.
Brussels Sprout Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts trimmed and thinly sliced
- 4 slices bacon cooked and chopped*
- 1 ripe bosc pear chopped
- 2/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
For the Maple-Candied Pecans:
- ½ cup raw pecans
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
For the Warm Maple-Bacon Dressing:
- ¼ cup liquid bacon drippings
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Prepare the Warm Maple-Bacon Dressing:
- Cook the bacon on a skillet over medium heat until it reaches desired done-ness (I like mine crispy).
- Place the strips of bacon on a cutting board, chop, and set aside.
- Pour the bacon fat into a measuring cup. Reserve ¼ cup of the fat, and discard any remaining.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the measuring cup and whisk well until combined (for a creamy consistency, add everything to small blender and blend until smooth). Set aside until ready to use.
Prepare the Candied Pecans:
- Add all of the ingredients for the candied pecans to a small skillet and heat over medium for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring consistently, until the nuts have become toasted and sticky. Note: don’t walk away from the nuts because they burn easily.
Prepare the Brussels Sprouts Chopped Salad:
- Rinse the Brussels sprouts well. Chop off the rough end, and thinly slice them from tip to tail.
- Add all ingredients for the salad to a large serving bowl. Pour desired amount of maple-bacon dressing over the salad, and toss well until everything is coated.
- Serve with your favorite entrée and enjoy!
I wouldn’t mind getting cozy in that there bowl either. Oh, and that knife–my favorite. I love Wusthof! I’ve had that very knife for close to 13 years, and it’s just as good today as it was when my husband first gave it to me for Valentine’s Day 13 years ago. Can you tell I’m a dedicated foodie? I got a knife for V-Day. If that’s not romantic, I don’t know what is.
Bacon AND blue cheese?! Sounds so good to me right now! You’re going to convince a lot of people to love brussels sprouts with those ingredients! 🙂
This salad is what dreams are made of!
Couldn’t have said it better myself 😉 xo
It’s 7:45 in the morning and I want this for breakfast! Just gorgeous and so many delicious fall flavors. Yum!
Sprouts AND bacon AND blue cheese….this is totally my jam! Love this salad so much!
bacon vinaigrette?! YUM!! Also, I love the addition of sweet pears! This salad looks perfect!
Seriously, Millie. It’s a revelation! xo
Switch out the blue cheese for feta and I’m in for this one. I actually had raw Brussels sprouts in a salad at a brewpub – it was a Brussels sprouts and kale salad with Caesar dressing and grilled chicken. I’ve tried once to duplicated it, but the Caesar dressing needs work. I’ll be getting to work on that in a few weeks. In the meantime I appreciate having another salad recipe with raw Brussels sprouts.
Oooh, brussels sprouts + kale Caesar sounds like quite the swanky salad – I wish our brewpubs served food like that! I’ve never had success with Caesar dressing either, but it’s always good to have something to work toward 😉
Subbing feta for blue cheese sounds like a great idea – hope you enjoy!
Ju, this salad looks AWESOME! I totally love all the ingredients in there!! So YUMMY!
Thanks, girly. It’s pretty fab if I do say so, myself 😉
You’re killin’ me smalls! This looks so freakin’ delicious that I want to forget all about the fact that I don’t eat bacon. Maybe I can just sneak one little bite? 😉
I’m telling you – one bite, and you’ll be addicted. BUT: I have full faith that we could track down a quality slab of bacon, so we could totes recreate this in a Sarah-friendly way!!! Fo sho! Or we could replace the bacon for coconut bacon – that’s always delish in my book 🙂
Fancay new knife!!! Be careful with it!!! I loooooove raw brussels. Only way to eat them in my book!
Hells to the YES, I’m so glad you like raw brussels! We should hang. And the knife…I’ve already nicked myself three times with it and feel pretty lucky I haven’t done more damage. Fingers crossed I don’t…lose a finger 😉
This scream fall and I could not love it more!
Love the sweet and spice thang goin on! Oh Fall, I guess I’m okay with you.
I never thought a salad would make me weak in the knees, but… HOT DAMN. I need this.
Bacon fat lube. Now that just sounds wrong and right all at the same time!
Ok, now I see all the bacon love in perspective… this looks awesome. I always thought you had to eat sprouts cooked – why? This is so smart!
thanks for the inspiring recipe! i made for my family last night and got rave reviews. will be adding it to my thanksgiving menu. Short on time, I used a 12 oz pkg of shredded B sprouts. two thoughts: 1) i added dried cranberries which everyone agreed were a great addition and 2) everyone wanted a little more dressing (maybe bc I used more sprouts?) so I may double next time (which means cooking more bacon, but that’s never an issue!). :))
A really must have salad for daily. Truly appreciate the way you made it. I am waiting for more such yummy recipes in future too.