Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples, Bacon, and Hazelnuts

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples, Bacon and Hazelnuts is a fresh, crunchy salad tossed in a creamy no mayo dressing!

**The photos for this post were updated in January 2019.

It’s Mystery Dish time!  If you’re not familiar with Mystery Dish, it’s a group of bloggers that are given a list of ingredients each month, where a dish must be created using at least 3 of those ingredients. I hosted this month, which meant I got to pick the ingredients.  

Fall is my favorite season of the year, so it was a bit hard for me to narrow down which ingredients to choose!  Ultimately, I decided on the ingredients below:

pork
fennel
kabocha squash
hard apple cider
heavy cream
orange
farro
hazelnuts
quince
thyme
maple syrup
brussels sprouts

The ingredients in bold are the ones that I’ve incorporated into this shaved brussels sprout salad, so I ended up using 5.  I’ve made my share of pork in hard apple cider this month, but ultimately went with this shaved brussels sprout salad because this is one of the tastiest salads I’ve ever made.  

And we all know that brussels sprouts with bacon is one of the best combinations ever! 🙂

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples, Bacon and Hazelnuts

I realize that there are some big brussels sprout haters out there, but maybe, just maybe, it’s because you have only eaten them steamed?  They have a very strong smell (and flavor) when prepared this way, and while I loved them like that when I was a kid, I realize I was not the norm.  

Roasting is one of the best ways to take that strong scent and flavor out of the sprouts and give them a caramelized sweetness, but shaving them and eating them raw is my favorite way to eat them.  

This salad is reminiscent of a slaw, with a much milder cabbage flavor.  And I love myself some slaw. 🙂

I’m going to get into this salad by first saying that you need to allot a bit of time to prep and shave the brussels sprouts.  It took me about 15 minutes, but I love them so much that I consider it a labor of love.  If this salad wasn’t worth the bit of effort, I wouldn’t even post it.  

It’s worth every. single. second.  

You’ll be happy to know, too, that this salad held up fully dressed in the fridge for 3 days.  I can’t tell you what would happen after that because it wasn’t around that long. 😉

How to shave brussels sprouts:

Prep the brussels sprouts by trimming the bottom stem.  Cut the sprout in half and remove the tough, dark green outer leaves.  We only want the tender, light green leaves here! 

Wash the sprouts and blot dry, then shave them thinly with a sharp knife.  I normally shave them from side to side but either way works! 

The thickness of my brussels sprouts varied but I liked it that way — some were very thin and tender and some were thicker with more of a crunchy bite.  

This brings me to fennel now…do you like it?  Fennel is fresh and crunchy with a mild anise or black licorice flavor.  The flavor doesn’t stand out and it works beautifully in this shaved brussels sprout salad.  

If you’ve never liked brussels sprouts before, I hope that this salad will inspire you to try them. The ingredients in this salad are just magical together, and this salad just might just change the way you think about brussels sprouts forever. 🙂

Please visit the rest of the Mystery Dish group’s posts using this month’s ingredients!

Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Truffles by Culinary Couture

Hazelnut Maple-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls by I Dig Pinterest

Hazelnut Macarons with Pumpkin Maple Filling by Baking a Moment

Italian Sausage and Ravioli Skillet ‪by Simply Gloria

Kabocha Squash Curry with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Farro ‪by Chez CateyLou

Maple Glazed Fennel and Brussels Sprouts by The Well Floured Kitchen

Pear Hazelnut Bread with Orange Maple Glaze by Blahnik Baker

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Harvest Salad with a Hard Apple Cider Vinaigrette by Joyful Healthy Eats

More brussels sprouts recipes to enjoy!

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Lightened Up Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Leek Dip

Maple Thyme Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Carrots and Parsnips 

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples, Bacon, and Hazelnuts

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 24 minutes

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples, Bacon and Hazelnuts is a fresh, crunchy salad tossed in a creamy no mayo dressing!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved and shaved thinly
• 1 small fennel bulb, halved and shaved thinly (save some fronds for the salad if desired)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
• 4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped thinly on the bias
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 3-Ingredient Creamy No Mayo Coleslaw Dressing
• 1/3 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts, for serving*

Instructions

1. Add the brussels sprouts, fennel, apple, bacon, green onions and golden raisins to a large bowl and toss with the desired amount of dressing.
2. Serve with the toasted hazelnuts and enjoy!

Notes

• *Total time above does not include toasting the hazelnuts as I purchased mine pre-toasted from Trader Joe's. The hazelnuts may also be substituted with almonds.
• Store left over salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.