Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Candied Pecans, Pears and Gorgonzola. This beautiful display of big bold flavors makes an impressive vegetable side dish for any special occasion.
After sharing my Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash back in 2016, I wanted to riff off of the original recipe and create an all new version.
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love roasted sweet potatoes, so I decided to go with a combination of roasted sweet potatoes, pear, candied pecans, gorgonzola cheese, and dried cranberries.
Now if any of those items sound less than appealing to you, don’t panic. I have a whole recipe adaptations section below where I provide all sorts of substitutions for ingredient swaps.
If you’re like me and you love the list of ingredients individually, you’ll most certainly go crazy over them together.
The salad is a marvelous combination of crunchy veggies, soft sweet potato, tangy dried cranberries, rich gorgonzola cheese, nutty and sweet candied pecans and rich gorgonzola. A simple balsamic vinaigrette ties it all together in the most marvelous marriage of colors and textures.
Enjoy it as a meal prep recipe any time of year for savor it for your next holiday meal.
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients list for this easy fall salad recipe. You can find them at any local grocery store!
Ingredients for Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad:
Raw Brussel Sprouts: One pound of raw brussels sprouts gets thinly slices into thin shreds to make this easy brussel sprout salad.
If this is the first time you’ve made salad with brussels sprouts, no worries.
The process is very easy and I include photos so you can see what it’s all supposed to look like. Save time by picking up a bag of pre-shredded brussels sprouts.
Sweet Potato: One sweet potato gets chopped up and roasted to perfection to add the coziest carb element to this healthy salad recipe.
If you’re a fan of sweet potatoes, you MUST try them in this application!
Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles: Are you a fan of gorgonzola or blue cheese? If so, you’ll love the salty, creamy element it brings to this simple brussel sprout salad.
Dried Cranberries: Bringing tangy sweet goodness, dried cranberries are one of my favorite additions in any salad.
Candied Pecans: raw pecan halves get toasted on the stove top in a little oil, pure maple syrup, and a pinch of cinnamon and salt to make sweet and salty crunchy delicious bites of joy.
Balsamic Vinaigrette: Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pure maple syrup, cinnamon and salt makes the simple yet delicious salad dressing.
If you’d rather use a different dressing, go for it! You can swap out the balsamic vinegar for apple cider vinegar.
Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of dijon mustard to the dressing and/or some black pepper if you’d like.
Looking for ways you can change up the ingredients for this brussel sprout salad recipe to customize this adventure? Here are some ideas.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Substitute walnuts for pecans or marcona almonds.
- Use feta cheese, parmesan cheese, or goat cheese instead of gorgonzola cheese.
- Roast any winter squash like acorn squash, kabocha squash, etc. in place of sweet potatoes.
- Swap the dried cranberries for raisins, dried blueberries, pomegranate seeds, or omit them altogether.
- Add raw or roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- If you aren’t a fan of raw brussels sprouts, you can sauté them in a large skillet to your desired doneness and turn this into a warm salad instead of a chilled salad.
- Skip the candying process for the pecans and use them raw or roasted if you’d prefer. You can also use store-bought candied pecans or walnuts.
- Cook up 4 to 6 strips of thick cut bacon to crispy perfection, chop them up, and add them in. If you’d like, you can even drizzle the bacon fat over the salad for a real wild ride.
- Rather than using a pear, toss in one large apple. Sweet apples like gala apples are amazing here!
- If you love onions in your salads, add ½ cup of thinly sliced red onion or one bunch of chopped green onions.
The next time you’re looking for a delicious vegetable side dish for holiday gatherings, whip out this magnificent brussels sprout salad recipe.
Now that we’ve covered the basics for this easy shaved brussels sprouts salad, let’s make it!
How to Make Shredded Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
Begin by making the dressing and roasting the sweet potato.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chop the sweet potato into bite sized cubes and transfer them to a large baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle with avocado oil (or olive oil) and sprinkle with sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until the potatoes are coated with oil and salt.
Bake on the center rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are golden brown and cooked through, stirring once after 15 minutes.
Once the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool.
You can prepare the rest of the recipe while the sweet potatoes are cooling to room temperature.
Add all of the ingredients for the balsamic dressing to a small bowl and whisk well until everything is combined. Set the dressing aside until ready to use.
If you’re making the candied pecans, follow the instructions to prepare them. This can be done while the sweet potato is roasting or you can make them up to 1 week in advance.
Rinse the brussel sprouts well under cool water, pat them dry with a paper towel, then transfer them to a cutting board. Hold the brussel sprouts by the stem (the root end), and use a sharp knife to carefully shave them into thin slices.
Discard the hard stems.
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.
You can also grate them using a box grater or mandoline slicer. Just watch your fingers!
Transfer the shredded sprouts to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the salad ingredients (roasted sweet potato, candied pecans, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, and chopped pear). Toss everything together until it is well combined.
Pour the dressing into the large bowl and toss everything together until the ingredients are coated with dressing.
Taste the salad for flavor and sprinkle it with sea salt to your personal taste. You can also drizzle in some extra balsamic vinegar or some lemon juice or add more gorgonzola cheese.
Serve alongside your main dish for a full meal and enjoy!
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The salad becomes even more flavorful the next day and the couple days following prep as the dressing soaks into the raw sprouts.
If you’re making this shaved brussel sprouts salad for a weekday meal, add your favorite protein such as rotisserie chicken, steak, or shrimp for a hearty fall salad.
This hearty salad recipe saves well in comparison to a classic green salad. Because brussel sprouts are sturdier than lettuce, there is less wilting that goes on. For this reason, there is no need to worry if you need to make the salad several hours or even a day ahead of time.
There you have it! The latest and greatest side dish to enjoy during the holiday season! Whip it up for your Thanksgiving table or your Christmas feast and enjoy it throughout the year.
If you’re looking for more impressive salad recipes for fall and winter, check out these gems.
More Healthy Salad Recipes:
- Pear Apple Avocado Spinach Salad with Candied Walnuts Feta and Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Apple Broccoli Salad with Walnuts
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Salad with Cinnamon Balsamic Dressing
- Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
A great way to bring color, nutrients, and deliciousness to your holiday table, this easy brussels sprout salad is a great addition to the dinner table.
May all your salads be rowdy!
Equipment
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potato:
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 to 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- Pinch sea salt
Brussel Sprout Salad:
- 1 pound brussel sprouts, shaved into thin strips
- 1 large pear, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese*
- ⅔ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup candied pecans
Cinnamon Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chop the sweet potato into bite sized cubes and transfer them to a large baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle with avocado oil (or olive oil) and sprinkle with sea salt. Use your hands to toss everything together until the potatoes are coated with oil and salt.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are golden brown and cooked through, stirring once after 15 minutes. Once the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool. You can prepare the rest of the recipe while the sweet potatoes are cooling to room temperature.
- Add all of the ingredients for the balsamic dressing to a small bowl and whisk well until everything is combined. Set the dressing aside until ready to use.
- If you’re making the candied pecans, follow the instructions to prepare them. This can be done while the sweet potato is roasting or you can make them up to 1 week in advance.
- Rinse the brussel sprouts well under cool water, pat them dry with a paper towel, then transfer them to a cutting board. Hold the brussel sprouts by the stem (the root end), and use a sharp knife to carefully shave them into thin slices. Discard the hard stems. 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. You can also grate them using a box grater or mandoline slicer. Just watch your fingers!
- Transfer the shredded sprouts to a large mixing bowl along with the rest of the salad ingredients (roasted sweet potato, candied pecans, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, and chopped pear). Toss everything together until it is well combined.
- Pour the dressing into the large bowl and toss everything together until the ingredients are coated with dressing.
- Taste the salad for flavor and sprinkle it with sea salt to your personal taste. You can also drizzle in some extra balsamic vinegar or some lemon juice or add more gorgonzola cheese.
- Serve alongside your main dish for a full meal and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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