Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon
A delicious Brussels sprouts slaw with meaty bacon lardons and some bright, fresh toppings. The creamy dressing uses rendered bacon fat as the base and is a perfect pair for the sprouts.
Coleslaw gets a modern update here using shaved Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage. The salad dressing is warm when mixed with the sprouts, which tenderizes them just slightly, making for a perfect texture. Then itโs topped with hard boiled eggs, crispy bites of bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and red onion. Itโs fresh, itโs savory, itโs a little salty from the bacon, youโre going to love it!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Video: How to Make A Brussels Sprouts Salad
What Kind Of Bacon?
I love using thick-cut bacon for this salad recipe. Not only will we be using the meaty, crispy pieces of bacon on the salad, but weโll be using the rendered bacon fat in our delicious warm and creamy coleslaw dressing.
Thatโs why Iโm so glad that this recipe is sponsored by Coleman All Natural Meats who have an amazing new product called Steak Cut Bacon. I chose their Steak Cut Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon for this recipe since apple and Brussels sprouts are such a classic combination.
With impressive 3/8-inch thick slices, you get delicious meaty bites of bacon with a lot of surface area to crisp up. I like to cut the strips of bacon into 1/2-inch pieces before cooking. This gets you the maximum amount of crispy edges, giving your salad the perfect texture and flavor in each bite.
How to Get Shaved Brussels Sprouts
Iโm a big fan ofย Brussels sprouts recipes. The sprouts are delicious when cooked, but you can also use shredded Brussels sprouts and enjoy them raw.ย
To get these nicely shaved pieces using a food processor, you first want to trim the stem end of the Brussels sprouts off like this. Then, put them into the food processor and use the pulse button. You donโt want to overdo it, so pulse a few times and take a look. Depending on your food processor, you may need to do this in batches to get more even shaves. Itโs best to start with 6-8 and see how it goes.
Occasionally, even when the sprouts are nicely shredded, there might still be some tougher bits of core or larger bits of leaf remaining. Instead of continuing to process the whole batch, remove those larger pieces. You can transfer the shaved sprouts to a bowl and then put any of those larger, unprocessed pieces back into the food processor for a couple of pulses on their own. That way, you get the bigger pieces shredded properly without over shredding the parts that were already good.
No food processor? Not a problem. Donโt trim the stem, but cut each sprout in half lengthwise. Then, with the cut side down, hold the stem end and slice towards it. Once you get to the stem, you can toss it. You can also use a mandoline to cut the sprouts into perfect shavings, just be careful because the sprouts are small and round, which makes them a bit tricky to cut safely on there.
Soften Raw Brussels Sprouts
Now, raw Brussels sprouts are crunchy and a little chewy. Thatโs why Iโve chose a warm salad dressing here. You know that retro spinach salad recipe from the 1980s that had warm dressing? Itโs always been my theory that it was warm to slightly soften (not wilt, just slightly tenderize) the spinach leaves. Thatโs what Iโm going for here.
Youโll shave the Brussels sprouts and then stir in the warm dressing. Not only does it give amazing flavor (thereโs bacon fat in there, remember?), but it wilts the sprouts ever so slightly to make them more tender. Itโs a creamy too, so itโs a little like a coleslaw dressing, and works perfectly with the sprouts.
Another thing I do is to salt the shredded Brussels sprouts before I even add anything else. You only want about a half teaspoon of salt for the pound of sprouts though, since the bacon and dressing will be adding some saltiness as well. If youโre sensitive to salt, skip this, as it will likely tip it over into too much for you.
Serving Brussels Sprouts Salad
Spread the shaved, dressed Brussels sprouts out in a shallow 8ร8โณ or 7ร11โณ glass brownie pan or casserole. You layer the shaved Brussels sprouts into there and then end up only going about 1/2โณ up the pan. Then the toppings go on in a single generous layer. When you scoop the slaw to serve it, you get some Brussels sprouts salad from underneath and a lot of toppings from on top. That high ratio of toppings to Brussels gets you a perfect combination in each bite.
Iโll be honest though, putting the full salad into a shallow dish didnโt photograph well. It didnโt fit into the shot and I couldnโt capture it how I wanted to. I therefore put about half of the salad into the blue bowl you see in the pictures. I mean it though, use a shallow serving dish instead of a deeper bowl.
Iโll also say that the size of the toppings is up to you. I do find that the construction of โthe perfect biteโ is much easier if the toppings are smaller. So, while you see quartered eggs in the pictures, itโs best if you roughly chop them. Same goes for the mushrooms. Think of it as though this was a potato salad with things like egg and pickles in or on it. You want things to be more that kind of size. Youโre going to taste it and know exactly what I mean โ itโs such a wonderful side dish when done like that!
More Brussels Sprouts Recipes
Get our 13 ways to make Brussels sprouts more delicious or try one of these great recipes next.
- Air Fryer Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Braised Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Chestnuts
Podcast Episode: Making Brussels Sprouts Salad
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
A delicious Brussels sprouts slaw with crunchy bacon and a variety of other toppings. The creamy dressing with bacon fat adds so much flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed*
- 1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
- 4 thick-cut strips bacon, such as Coleman Steak Cut
- 1/3 cup very finely chopped white onion
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 4 tsp. cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered and chopped
- 4 mushrooms, chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 16 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Instructions
- Put the Brussels sprouts in a food processor and pulse to chop finely (or shred carefully on a mandoline, or slice with a sharp knife). Transfer to a wide 8ร8 inch or 7ร11 inch baking pan, casserole, or serving dish. If desired, stir in the salt, which will help to tenderize the Brussels sprouts while the bacon cooks.
- Cut bacon strips into 1/2 inch pieces (youโll get 18-20 pieces per strip of bacon).
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook, flipping and stirring occasionally, until crispy, 6-8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towel. Pour rendered bacon fat from skillet into a bowl and do not discard it.
- Set a small skillet over medium-low heat. Measure 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat into the skillet. Add the chopped white onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-5 minutes.
- To the skillet, add the water, sugar, vinegar, and mayonnaise. Stir rapidly until dressing is smooth and sugar dissolves.
- While still very warm, add the dressing to the Brussels sprouts and stir well to really coat all of the shavings. Taste and add salt if desired, but remember that the bacon will add some salty flavor too. Spread the dressed Brussels sprout slaw evenly in the serving dish.
- Distribute the chopped eggs, mushrooms, red onions, and tomatoes in a single layer over the sprouts. Then evenly distribute the meaty, crispy bacon on top.
Love this recipe? Iโd appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know theyโll love it as well!
Notes
*If youโre going to use a mandoline or a knife instead of a food processor to shred the sprouts, donโt trim them first. Instead, that stem end will act as a handle for while youโre cutting them. Discard that nub once you have sliced the rest.
Christine is the founder of TheCookful and also of her blog COOKtheSTORY. Her passion is explaining the WHY behind cooking โ Why should you cook things a certain way; Will they turn out if you do it differently; What are the pros and cons of the method? Learn more about Christine, her cookbooks, and her podcast.