Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Maple-Balsamic Dressing is a new favorite salad for us and one we’ve enjoyed half a dozen times since Thanksgiving. Don’t judge these little shredded sprouts by their overcooked counterparts!

The key ingredient to the salad is the Maple Bacon and Maple-Vinaigrette Dressing that adds the right amount of sweetness. Add in the dried cranberries, the crunch from the pecans and creamy tang from the blue cheese, this salad is full of flavor!

Give your Brussels sprouts a rinse and slice off the tough woody stems. Remove any bruised or dried-out outer leaves. You can use a food processor fitted with a slicing blade or mandolin to shred the Brussels sprouts. A mandolin is dangerous for me, so I’m better off with a knife.

Slice the sprouts in half from top to bottom. Turn the sprouts cut-side down, and thinly slice them cross-wise from root to top. Separate the layers into distinct shreds.

Top with your salad with cooked, crumbled Maple Bacon (my grocery store sells Hormel brand). You could use regular bacon but the maple flavor makes the salad!

Add blue cheese crumbles. toasted pecans, and dried cranberries. Adjust the quantity of your toppings as desired.

Maple-Balsamic Dressing,

recipe courtesy Tyler Florence:

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons maple syrup (use real Maple syrup)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Make the dressing by combining the chopped shallot, Dijon and balsamic vinegar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you whisk to emulsify. Add the maple syrup and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

You can find a printable recipe for this salad, here.

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