I’m sneaking bites of brussel sprout salad from the fridge every 3 minutes. I think that means I’m a grown up now.
Brussel sprouts in and of themselves are kind of fun, but really, how fun are shaved brussel sprouts? This salad is full of fun things. Like using a nifty mandoline, making your house smell like bacon, and whisking emulsions. Just try saying that. Emuuuulsion.
But it’s not fun to get cut with the mandoline, eat all the bacon impulsively, and whisk dressing onto your new shirt, so don’t do any of that.
DO make this salad and be happy with your crunchy little self, because it is a flavor and texture wonderland. There’s so much to love: smoky bacon, chopped almonds, sharp shredded cheese, citrus and shallot vinaigrette, and those cute green balls of joy – brussel sprouts – shaved into adorable, um, shreddings.
My crazy adorable brothers are proof that this salad is serious YUM. Even these wild ones looooved the sprouts.
Speaking of new shirts with oil on them, remember that other shirt that I told you about? The Mossimo swim cover-up that I thought was a REAL shirt, and then made fun of myself for buying more Mossimo? It all came full circle yesterday. As I was making this salad, Bjork asked me where I got my new (oil-stained) shirt. After giving myself a minor neck injury trying to see the tag when I really could have just asked him to look for me, good ol’ Mossimo made its second appearance in my life within, like, 48 hours.
Does Mossimo make you think of a suave middle-aged man with dark longish wavy slicked back hair?
I don’t know. I just try to be honest.
Now let’s eat bacon.
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 large shallot, minced
- ½ cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped
- 4 dozen brussel sprouts
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
- Cook and crumble the bacon.
- Squeeze the juice of the lemon and orange into a large bowl with the shallots. Pour the oil into the bowl in a steady stream, whisking to form an emulsion (it should appear more creamy and less transparent). Season generously with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Using a mandoline, shave the brussel sprouts (not including the stems) into thin slices to make a shredded/slaw texture. I rinsed and dried mine again after shaving them just to be sure they were totally clean.
- Place the almonds in a food processor and pulse until chopped coarsely. Add ¾ of the almonds, cheese, and bacon to the shredded brussel sprouts; toss to combine. When ready to serve, toss with the dressing and sprinkle remaining almonds, cheese, and bacon over the top. If needed, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil and toss.
In other news, we’ve finally picked our apartment in Cebu!
Pictures on Friday!
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I’ll be honest – I’m not much of a brussel sprouts fan but I will most definitely devour this! (As for the mandoline, I’ve cut myself a countless number of times that I finally had to invest in mandoline gloves – it’s seriously a life-saver!)
I mean, really, is there anyone who IS a brussel sprout fan? Besides Julia (her comment claims that she is!)? I know I’m not really, but I love love love this salad. And mandoline gloves? Yes please.
On so many levels, I can’t wait to try this salad – number one is the mandoline. My husband will totally be on board as my shredder! Ok, and bacon, of course is tied for first place. And the fact that I’ve still NEVER EATEN brussel sprouts? C’mon now. There can’t be a better way.
Mossimo, my friend, is where it’s at. As you are learning. Back in the day they were a skater brand. Now, they are actually cute. They’ve done a turn about with their target consumer, I think about 5 years ago. Erase all those greasy skater visions and visions of skeevy grey-haired men!
Mossimo is apparently taking over my life, so I’m glad you’re telling me this is a good thing.
I make something similar with walnuts. YUM!
I am on a walnut kick too! Great idea!
This salad has everything that makes my life worth living. If I’m eating this, we’re looking at 4 servings. Which is okay by me.
So true. I’ve always been a little generous with my own portion sizes as well.
I am ALL OVER THIS. I just discovered pre-shaved brussels at Trader Joe’s, like, yesterday….sooo, perfect timing AND no mandoline-finger-slicing necessary.
BAAAACOOOONNNN.
pre-shaved? You mean so I don’t have to slice off more of my fingers? Yay!
My main problem with brussel sprouts is that they’re so big and round but I’m super keen on them when they’re shaved. And served with bacon obviously.
Agreed. Texture is everything.
Oh yum this looks so good! I would definitely fall under the category of injuring myself while making such a recipe. I think it’s par for the course when it comes to cooking or baking for me. If I’m not burning my skin off I’m slicing my finger.
Battle scars, that’s all.
this looks awesome. i was just talking about brussel sprouts with a friend who doesn’t like them. maybe this will convince her!
They are so not brussel sprouty in this recipe. She has to try it!
Brussels sprouts are one of my favorites and with bacon, even better!
Really? How are they your favorites? How do you usually make them?
Not really a brussel sprout fan…but that was wise of you to add in bacon…I’d love to try this =)
I am very wise.
Hmm, sneaking brussel sprouts into my bacon is generally frowned upon. This looks pretty yummy though.
Ha! Caught red handed.
This recipe looks really tasty! I’m not a fan of cooked brussel sprouts, but I do think I’d enjoy this recipe since they’re raw.
I am the same! I don’t think I would have enjoyed it if they were cooked.
this made my mouth water…this salad looks AMAZING. like, i wouldn’t even think i’m eating salad. yum, Lindsay!!
It’s a non-salad.
ALL. OVER. IT. AND. IN. IT. TOO.
Exactly.
I actually just learned to love brussels sprouts not that long ago so I’m super excited to try something like this(so far I pretty much only like them roasted). This looks beautiful, and delicious!
Thanks Heidi!
Mmm, love sprouts! I tried one of these shredded sprout salads awhile back and it was so vinegary that I couldn’t even eat it. I’m happy to see a recipe with zero vinegar in it.
None! Just oil and citrus.
Shaved brussel sprouts rule! I made a shaved brussel sprout salad for Thanksgiving last year, and everyone loved it. Only after eating did someone ask what was in it. When I told them the response was.. “really?” “RAW brussel sprouts??” “hmmmmm”. It was amusing because the idea of raw brussel sprouts really does sound vile
Nice to be here, I am a first time visitor!
xo
Heidi
I know! Nobody believed it was just brussels!
Interesting use of brussel sprouts. I have never tried one, this will be my debut to eating them. Looks great!
It’s a good way to introduce them into your life.
Wow oh wow. What could be better than a salad with bacon in it? A Brussels sprouts salad with bacon in it. So amazing!
Ha! True dat.
This looks so good. I had a salad like this at a restaurant a few years ago; it was the best salad I’ve ever had and have been trying to duplicate it since, but haven’t been able to. This might just be the recipe I’m looking for. Thanks for sharing!
Funny – was it Bottega?? This recipe is adapted from a Bottega restaurant recipe!
It was actually a restaurant called Bacco in Michigan where I live. I can imagine Bottega’s would be even better than the one I had though!
The one from Bottega actually had a hard boiled egg in it (pushed through a sieve, to be exact) but I’m not a big fan of eggs and that sounded like a lot of work, so I skipped it. I’ll have to check out Bacco next time we’re in Michigan!
We eat brussel sprouts at least twice a week in our house. Roasted in the oven with a little olive oil , salt and pepper….Yum!
Yum! Great idea Kay!
Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite things ever. I would eat this for dessert. Can’t wait to get to the store and whip this up!
Hahahaha – brussel sprouts for dessert! You are my hero.
I make a dish like this for Thanksgiving but hot and with toasted pine nuts instead of almonds. Can’t wait to try it cold as a salad. I put the brussel sprouts through the Cuisinart with the slicing disk blade. Takes seconds to slice and no blood.
Oooh, what a good idea! I need one of those.
I am not a fan of brussel sprouts, but this has changed my mind! It was a big hit for dinner last night, and my 7 year old would not stop eating it. Thanks for a new great dish.
I love Brussel Sprouts so I was so happy to see this recipe , gorgeous and thank you for the recipe xoxo
Thanks Beverly!
Made with hazelnuts and almonds. Also added craisens and honey crisp apple for a little sweetness. Delicious!
Mmmm honey crisp! Great idea!
OMG! This salad is the best! Just made it tonight for dinner and my husband devoured it!! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch:) I had half a can of artichoke hearts open and I chopped them up and added them too…so good with or without them. I can’t wait to make it as a side dish to my next dinner with friends…it’s sure to be a hit!
I made this tonight! I had bought brussels sprouts a couple days ago and was looking for a recipe with ingredients I have on hand. After seeing a completely different brussels sprouts salad recipe that called for ingredients I didn’t currently have but falling in love with, I googled for a second brussels salad recipe and stumbled upon this. I had almost everything on hand for the recipe (I cook A LOT so I keep the broad staples on hand at all times) except for the shallot, so I used some white onion and added a touch of fresh garlic.
This was amazing! The mandolin was a bit tiring but worth it for the recipe. I did have to be super careful not to cut myself but I didn’t cut myself in the end so that’s pretty good! I made a mess of shaved brussels sprouts but managed to not spill the oil
One thing I did add to the recipe was instead of adding extra oil, which I felt it probably needed (or maybe I had extra sprouts so the dressing didn’t quite make enough) I just dumped the leftover drippings from the cooked bacon on top and voila! Perfect! Yum yum yum! I’d do that again next time too
That sounds divine. I’m doing that next time!
Update!
My boyfriend loved this salad. It made a lot, though, so he got creative with the leftovers for breakfast this morning. He diced a potato and sauteed it in oil until cooked with some onion and garlic. Once that was cooked he added two portions of the brussels salad to the pan until heated and then pressed it down in the pan to crisp it a little on both sides to make a hash. Then he portioned it onto plates and topped the two portions with a fried egg. Break the yolk and let it run all over. Delicious breakfast hash! So good! LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I just made this – and yum!!! thanks for sharing
Glad you liked it Malin!
I made this last night and it was wonderful, the citrus addition was clever. I added cubed roasted sweet potatoes and dried cranberries to make it more of a main dish and to get my kids to eat it
Just to be clear, you didn’t cook your brussel sprouts at all? I tossed mine in with my sweet potatoes and cooked them lightly.
Nope – I left them raw! But I’ve thought about cooking them before – I love the idea of adding sweet potatoes!
I have to try this, it looks delecious!
This looks great. Gonna try it asap!
Been working on this salad over the last few days. I made it to go along with our Thanksgiving leftovers. Holy yum! Loved it, and even my husband who hates brussels sprouts loved it. Thanks!
I am catering a luncheon on Wednesday and I’m thinking of doing this salad as a hot side dish. I personally have never met a brussel sprout that I didn’t LOVE, and when you add bacon? A match made in heaven! I’ll let you know how it turns out and I’ll come back to rate it also (although when you’ve cooked as long as I have, you can tell when a recipe is just going to work!). I think I’ll add some craisins, too… color, texture. Oh the possibilities!
This sounds like the perfect way to be sneaky with one of my fav veggies. I am adding this to my Christmas menu. I do have one question though. Can I put the sprouts in my food processor on the shred function? It’s what I use to make lettuce and cabbage slaw. Ok one more question. Can I buy frozen and just not cook?
thank you!!!! looking forward to this recipe.
I wouldn’t use frozen ones. Personally I think the raw brussel sprout crunchiness is the best part.
But you could try the food processor thing! Let me know how it works – I love the texture of them when you slice them with the mandoline but if you can do it in the food processor with similar results, it would save lots of time! 
Hey Lyndsay! I’m making this tonight for my supper club as I got tasked with salad. Can’t wait to taste it; it looks amazing!
I noticed in the blog you say sharp cheddar cheese, but the recipe and the picture have peccorino-romano. Does is it okay to use either?
Sharp shredded cheese.
sorry to be confusing, I meant to say that the cheese has kind of a sharp flavor to it. It should definitely be Peccorino-Romano cheese.