Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad w/ Honey-Citrus Dressing

I like to break this salad into four simple components:

1. Salad Base: Burssels sprouts & Arugula

Obviously brussels sprouts are the star ingredient here, and for this reason, I like to start with fresh, whole brussels sprouts and I don’t mind doing my own slicing or shredding. Pick good brussels sprouts that are bright green in color and feel firm and tightly packed.

It’s always a good idea to remove outer leaves that don’t look the best. Then, trim and rinse the brussels sprouts before slicing. More on how to shred brussels sprouts for this salad below.

Some people use kale or spinach to support brussels sprouts in a salad like this. Those are two okay options, but I much prefer using a large handful of baby arugula, adding that exciting peppery flavor!

2. More Fresh Ingredients for Crunch and Flavor

Building on our gorgeous salad base, we add more colorful fresh ingredients for crunch and flavor. Bell peppers are a great option here, I used a red bell pepper sliced into thin sticks. I debated between red onions and shallots here, but opted for shallots as they are sweeter and less intense in flavor.

Although I used just one large Gala apple, also thinly sliced, it was plenty sweet, fresh, and crisp. If you’d like a bit of a tart finish, use Granny Smith apple instead. But do not omit the apples from this recipe though!

3. Fun Additions: Nuts, Dried Fruit, and Cheese

I call this part “fun additions” because you can really play around, adding things you really enjoy! I love walnut hearts, so that’s what I chose for a nutty accent. You can also use almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts.

For dried fruit, I used a handful of cranberries and raisins. Another dried fruit such as figs or apricots will work well, just be sure to cut them up into small bits. The crumbled feta cheese is optional, but I really think you can’t go wrong with a little creamy feta, adding just enough of a salty bite to balance the sweet and citrus. You can omit the feta for a vegan option or you can try something like goat cheese, if feta is too strong for your taste.

4. Bright Honey Citrus Dressing

What pulls this all together is an easy but super bright honey citrus dressing. It starts with good extra virgin olive oil; I used Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil.

For the citrus component, I used juice of 1 lemon and a little bit of apple cider vinegar. There is enough tang here to tame the raw brussels sprouts.  And I actually use only 1 tablespoon of honey, but if you like your dressing on the sweeter side, you can add more. To me, one minced garlic clove was needed here to amp up the flavor of the dressing.

This salad is fairly easy to make, but probably the one involved step is preparing and cutting the brussels sprouts. Whichever method you choose, begin by trimming the stem and removing any bad leaves. From here, I like to give the brussels sprouts a rinse and pat them dry very well.  You do not need to remove the core of these baby cabbages.

There are three simple ways you can cut brussels sprouts for this salad:

1. Using a Food Processor 

Probably the quickest option for how to shred brussels sprouts is the food processor fitted with the slicing attachment. Drop the trimmed brussels sprouts in and pulse a few times until the brussels sprouts are sliced to your liking. If needed, do this bit in batches.

2. Using a sharp knife

It does take about 15 minutes or so to cut 1 lb brussels sprouts using a knife, but it’s not necessarly hard to do. Start by cutting the brussels sprouts into halves. Turn them cut-side down on your cutting board, this gives you better leverage. Then simply slice into thin shreds/slices.

3 . Using a Mandoline Food Slicer 

Like with other veggies, a mandoline slicer (affiliate link) can help you get as thin slices as you need out of your brussels sprouts. But because brussels sprouts are too small, make sure to keep your fingers safe (use the guard piece that comes with your mandolin slicer or stick a fork to the root-end of the sprout and hold it from there). Position the brussel sprout against the mandolin and shave. (I don’t use this method very much myself, it seemed more involved).