Fresh Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped apple, and feta cheese. Tie everything together with a citrusy maple cinnamon dressing for an amazing, colorful, nutritious salad!
I shared this simple Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash back in November, 2016 and it has been a reader favorite ever since!
Loaded with goodies like thinly sliced raw brussels sprouts, pomegranate arils (also known as pomegranate seeds), fresh sweet crisp apple, pumpkin seeds and tangy feta cheese, this amazing brussel sprout salad recipe is truly a flavor fest!
If this is the first time you have seen raw brussel sprouts used in a salad, never fear! It is a great way to enjoy the cruciferous vegetable while maintaining its crunchy texture.
Ideal for anything from regular weeknight meals to holiday entertaining, this simple colorful impressive salad is sure to wow all who try it.
The feverishly delicious Maple Cinnamon Vinaigrette is what ties everything together so delightfully. I highly recommend you try it on several other salad recipes as well!
Add any of your favorite goodies like avocado, blueberries, walnuts, or dried cranberries to customize this shaved brussels sprouts salad to your heartโs delight!
Letโs discuss the fresh ingredients for this delicious salad.
Ingredients for Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad:
Brussel Sprouts: The star of the show! Raw brussel sprouts are thinly sliced to take the place of lettuce in this healthy cruciferous vegetable salad. No need to blanch or saute the brussel sprouts ahead of time, although you certainly can for a less crunchy, softer consistency.
Butternut Squash: Delicious creamy butternut squash gets chopped and roasted to golden brown perfection.
Pomegranate Arils (Pomegranate Seeds): Fresh tangy, sweet pomegranate seeds add a pop of color and a burst of flavor to this salad. Pro Tip: you can often find pomegranate seeds in the produce section of the grocery store already removed and packaged so that you donโt have to take the time to remove them yourself.
If you donโt have access to fresh pomegranates or if you want to save time, replace the pomegranate seeds with dried cranberries.
Pumpkin Seeds: Raw pumpkin seeds add that nutty flavor and lovely crunch to this salad. For a nice toasty flavor, use toasted or roasted pumpkin seeds rather than raw.
Apple: Sweet, crisp, tangy apple adds all sorts of pomp and circumstance to this healthy brussel sprouts salad. I like using a sweet apple like Gala apples or Fuji apples, but honey crisp, Granny Smith Apples, and pink lady apples work too.
Feta Cheese: Creamy feta cheese adds little bursts of tanginess to round out the full experience.
Dressing Ingredients:
Olive Oil: Used to roast the butternut squash and in the salad dressing, extra virgin olive oil provides the much needed fat to bring flavor and richness to this shredded brussels sprouts salad.
Lemon Juice (or Balsamic Vinegar or Rice Vinegar): Bringing tang to the dressing for a well-rounded flavor, I love using fresh lemon juice, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or rice vinegar. All are great options so you can pick which you use according to your personal preference.
Maple Syrup: Adding subtle sweetness to offset the savoriness of the dressing, pure maple syrup brings that perfect compliment to the dish. Skip it if you prefer cooking without added sugar.
Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon generates that warm fall vibe to really bring something special to the dish.
Sea Salt: Add kosher salt according to your personal taste. If the salad tastes at all bland, that just means it needs a little salt until the flavors shine through. You can also add a pinch of black pepper or 1 to 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard if you like it.
Thinking of swapping out some ingredients? Here are some recipe adaptations to consider.
Optional Changes or Additions:
- Replace the butternut squash with sweet potato or a different winter squash such as kabocha squash or acorn squash.
- Omit the feta cheese to make it vegan
- Substitute goat cheese, grated parmesan cheese, blue cheese, or gorgonzola for the feta.
- Use roasted or candied nuts, such as maple-toasted walnuts, pine nuts, or pecans.
- Substitute pecans, almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds for the pumpkin seeds.
- Add chopped crispy bacon and/or use bacon drippings instead of oil in the dressing.
- Toss in some dried cranberries for more sweetness and tang.
- Make it a complete meal by adding leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken or your protein of choice. White beans, chickpeas, and black beans are great too!
- Just add avocado!
- Add 1/3 cup of thinly sliced red onions for some added zing.
- Swap the cinnamon dressing for a homemade honey mustard dressing if you have one you love.
Now that we have all the basics down, letโs make it!
How to Make Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad:
Prepare the Dressing:
Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small blender (such as a NutriBullet or Magic Bullet) and blend until completely smooth. Store in a sealed container such as a mason jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Note: If you donโt own a small blender, you can easily whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Just be sure to give the dressing a good stir before pouring it over the salad to be sure all of the ingredients are well-combined.
Prepare the Salad:
Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.
Spread the butternut squash over a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Use your hands to coat the squash in oil. Sprinkle the squash with sea salt and a dash of cinnamon if desired.
Roast butternut squash for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring half-way through, or until squash is golden-brown and cooked through. Once the butternut squash has finished roasting, set it aside to cool to room temperature.
While squash is roasting, thinly slice all of the Brussels sprouts. Hold the Brussels sprouts by the stem (the root end) on a cutting board, and use a sharp knife to carefully chop (or shave) them into thin slices. Discard the hard stems. Note: if you have a food processor, you can use the shredding blade (also known as the slicing attachment or shredding disc) to shave the brussel sprouts much quicker.
Add the shaved Brussels sprouts to a large bowl (or serving bowl), along with the roasted butternut squash, apple, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, and pumpkin seeds. Toss in desired amount of dressing until everything is well coated. Taste for flavor and add sea salt to taste.
Serve alongside your main entrรฉe.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Advance Prep:
Looking for some meal prep tips? If you want to make this salad ahead of time, you can easily roast the butternut squash and/or make the dressing up to 4 days in advance.
The salad itself is hearty and saves well, so you could prepare the whole salad 1 day ahead of time and simply toss the dressing in just before serving it.
Iโve had several readers tell me this shaved brussels sprout salad recipe is on their Thanksgiving table every year, so you know itโs a great addition to any holiday meal.
And there you have it! A vibrant, crunchy salad that is loaded with various flavors for a wildly entertaining perfect side dish or main dish.
Love brussel sprouts? Also try my Creamy Brussel Sprout Casserole!
If youโre looking for more healthy sides, also check out these reader favorites!
More Healthy Recipes for Side Dishes:
- Healthy Green Bean Casserole
- Healthy Paleo Sweet Potato Souffle
- Creamy Cauliflower Casserole
- Maple Roasted Butternut Squash and Beets
- My Go-To Balsamic Roasted Vegetables
- Apple Cider Glazed Roasted Carrots with Rosemary
- Dairy-Free Creamed Spinach
- Instant Pot Artichokes
A refreshing salad and quite possibly your new favorite brussels sprout recipe for your holiday table or any time of year!
Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients
Brussels Sprout Salad:
- 1ยฝ pounds Brussels sprouts trimmed and shaved
- 2 cups butternut squash peeled and chopped
- 1 large fuji apple peeled cored, and chopped
- 2/3 cup pomegranate seeds arils
- 2/3 cup feta cheese crumbles
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
Citrus Maple-Cinnamon Dressing:
- ยผ cup olive oil
- ยผ cup fresh lemon juice*
- 1 1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- ยผ tsp ground cinnamon
- ยผ tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare the Dressing:
- Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small blender (such as a NutriBullet or Magic Bullet) and blend until completely smooth. Store in a sealed container such as a mason jar in the refrigerator until ready to use. Note: If you donโt own a small blender, you can easily whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Just be sure to give the dressing a good stir before pouring it over the salad to be sure all of the ingredients are well-combined.
Prepare the Salad:
- Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.
- Spread the butternut squash over a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Use your hands to coat the squash in oil. Sprinkle the squash with sea salt and a dash of cinnamon if desired.
- Roast butternut squash for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring half-way through, or until squash is golden-brown and cooked through. Once the butternut squash has finished roasting, set it aside to cool to room temperature.
- While squash is roasting, thinly slice all of the Brussels sprouts. Hold the Brussels sprouts by the stem (the root end) on a cutting board, and use a sharp knife to carefully chop (or shave) them into thin slices. Discard the hard stems. Note: if you have a food processor, you can use the shredding blade (also known as the slicing attachment or shredding disc) to shave the brussel sprouts much quicker.ย
- Add the shaved Brussels sprouts to a large bowl (or serving bowl), along with the roasted butternut squash, apple, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, and pumpkin seeds. Toss in desired amount of dressing until everything is well coated. Taste for flavor and add sea salt to taste.
- Serve alongside your main dish, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Original Recipe Published November 23, 2016. I made minimal changes to the recipe to make it even better and updated the text to provide more relevant information.
This salad looks incredible! Iโve been searching for the perfect fall salad to bring to a family dinner and this is the one Iโm going with. Just one question – would it be weird if I added a shallot or two? I love shallots in a salad but not sure if this would taste weird here. Thanks!
Hi Janet! I’m betting a shallot would be amazing in the salad! I would probably start with one and taste the salad before adding another. I hope you love it! xo
Absolutely my new favorite fall salad made twice this year
I’m so happy to hear it, Felicia! Thanks for the sweet note!
Has anyone put this together the day before? Iโd like to have it made in advance!
Hi Mary Anne! I haven’t tried it myself, but because the salad ingredients themselves are so hearty, I think the recipe is a good candidate for making ahead of time. The one caveat is I wouldn’t add the dressing until just before serving the salad so that it doesn’t get too soggy. Hope that helps! xoxo
Thank you. Julia, fir this fabulous recipe! I know t
hat it will be delicious!!!
My pleasure! I’m so happy to hear you like the idea of the salad!
I’m thinking about lightly roasting the sprouts and pumpkin seeds?
YUM! Toasted or roasted pumpkin seeds would be amazing in this salad! ๐
I wouldn’t have thought of putting butternut squash together with brussels sprouts but I tried your recipe and it tastes great. Thank you.
I made it! Absolutely delicious and the Brussels sprout haters in our family gobbled it down. It’s the cinnamon in the dressing that is the secret ingredient!
I’m so happy you and your family enjoy it, Linda! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xo
I am grateful that you (and many others) write these wonderful blogs with equally (or better) wonderful recipes which show up in my email without my having to do anything (except a one time signup). I am grateful that while I know you make money from the blog (somehow) it doesn’t actually cost me anything to get these wonderful recipes.
That being said, and I do hate to be picky, but if you could give a suggestion of the number of servings that would be terrific.
I hope that you and yours have a wonder holiday season.
hmmm. booze? better reรซvaluate…
Just made this to take to a Thanksgiving potluck at work tomorrow, and oh my gosh it is so good! Lots of potatoes, stuffy and mac and cheese, so I wanted to make some green and fresh, but still autumnal. This fits the bill perfectly! I think this will be on our table for Thanksgiving dinner next week, too. Thanks!
Love a good salad! I feel salads are all about presentation and the dressing!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out soon because I love everything in it!
If I may, however, point out a few typos ๐
1) Fuji apple (not fugi)
2) Brussels sprouts (not brussel). It is named after the city in Belgium, Brussels
3) Direction 5 states, “…butternur squash, apple…”
Thank you.
Mmmmโฆ Mmmmmโฆ. Mmmmmโฆ Well, our menu IS already set, but I think Iโll have to try this one on the weekendโฆ whatโs not to love about goat cheese? I may even do this for our annual Christmas Eve open house! Thanks!!
I so love the mayan seeds accents of the salad! It really looks gorgeously delicious! Perfect for thanksgiving indeed! Happy thanksgiving everyone!
I am a crunch lover and this salad looks amazing. Good story too. It’s good to try and step back for a while. It can be so hard to forget some of the simple things. I like your list of what you’re grateful for too. Happy thanksgiving!
I having been reading your posts for a while now, and this is the first time I was moved to comment… I think during this season, especially this year with all the unrest and disappointing politics, we really do need to look inside and outside of ourselves to find the contentedness your mom spoke of. I will be incorporating some of your eloquent words into my Thanksgiving toast tomorrow and happily remind my family and friends of all the things we have to be grateful for. Thank you for the inspiration! And thank you for this gorgeous recipe… my salad has already been planned for tomorrow, but I tend to be the “salad girl” at Christmas too and think this is perfect!
The recipes look delicious; but it would be nice to have the nutritional information included – please?
@Jan Boardman, Scroll down, it’s there.
Your mom is the fucking Dali Lama. Seriously though, that’s the best thing she could have said to you in that moment because it’s so true. I’m going to remind myself of that the next time I feel unrest. Thank you for sharing that tidbit with us, love. And thank you for sharing this gorgeous salad. I’m grateful that we have such beautiful and delicious produce to eat! ๐
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! xo