Dried cranberries, spiced cashews, pickled red onion, and a tangy maple-mustard vinaigrette make this oil-free shredded Brussels sprouts salad sparkle with flavor. Naturally vegan and gluten-free, it’s perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals.
Last week my husband and I had dinner with some friends at a local pub. Though most of the menu was your typical pub fare (or at least an American concept of it), it did contain a few vegan or easily veganized dishes. One of them was a shaved Brussels sprouts salad that turned out to be delicious. I’d never had raw Brussels sprouts before and was a little wary, but shredding makes them tender and mellows their flavor. Of course, I had to try making it at home, with a few healthier substitutions.
It was actually easy to make a version much lower in fat and sugar than the one I enjoyed at the pub. I just used a basic fat-free balsamic vinaigrette, reduced the amount of cashews (the pub’s salad was about 1/4 cashews, I kid you not), and used unsweetened, un-oiled dried cranberries instead of the type usually found in stores. Because they were a little tart, I used more maple syrup in the recipe than I normally would have, so if you make this and use sweetened cranberries, you can reduce the maple syrup in the dressing by about half.
If you’re looking for a salad or light side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner, I think this shredded Brussels sprouts salad would be perfect. You can make the separate parts of it ahead of time and throw it all together at the last minute. I also found that it tastes good (but doesn’t look as pretty) the next day, but keep the spicy cashews separate until right before serving or they will soften and lose their spice.
Note: The Quick Pickled Red Onions are based on this recipe. You will probably have some leftover–which is great! They make a delicious addition to salads and sandwiches and will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Store them in glass.
I hope you enjoy it. Remember to check my Thanksgiving Recipes for more holiday ideas!
Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dried Cranberries and Cashews
Ingredients
Quick Pickled Red Onions
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 quart boiling water
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 clove garlic sliced
Spicy Cashews
- 1/3 cup raw cashews (1.8 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning or other spicy seasoning
Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mustard (dijon or spicy brown mustard preferred)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- black pepper generous grating
Salad
- 16 ounces brussels sprouts
- 5 ounces baby spinach or arugula leaves lightly torn
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries see note below
Instructions
Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Make the pickled onions at least a half hour before putting the salad together. Slice 1/2 of a large red onion. Place it in a strainer, hold the strainer over the sink, and pour a quart of boiling water over it. Set aside to drain. While it is draining, pour the vinegar into a glass storage jar or bowl, add the sugar, salt, peppercorns, and garlic to the vinegar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the drained onions to the jar, stir gently, and set aside to cool. Pickled Red Onions will keep for several weeks.
Spicy Cashews
- Place the cashews on a baking sheet and toast in a toaster oven or in a pan over medium heat until the just begin to brown (2-3 minutes, normally, but watch carefully to make sure they don't burn.) Pour into a bowl and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup. Stir in the spicy seasoning of your choice and set aside to cool.
Maple Mustard Vinaigrette
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Making the Salad
- Trim the hard ends from the Brussels sprouts. Attach the thinnest slicing blade you have to your food processor, position the sprouts cut end down in the feed tube, and shred in batches. (You can also do this with a mandoline, but it's time consuming and dangerous without a cut-resistant glove.)
- Put the shredded Brussels sprouts into a large salad bowl. Use your fingers to separate any large slices into shreds. Add the torn baby spinach leaves and dried cranberries. Measure out 1 cup of the pickled onions--drained well-- and add them to the salad along with the dressing. Toss well. Sprinkle with the spicy cashews just before serving.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Maria
November 17, 2016 at 3:32 pmSusan, this looks fabulous! I love brussels sprouts and often enjoy shredding them into salads. I haven’t done that for a while, and this is a good excuse to get back to it. I think this makes a perfect holiday salad–thank you!! xoxo
ps: also nice to know WF has some dried cranberries without oil or sugar–they are hard to find!
Susan Voisin
November 18, 2016 at 11:27 amThanks, Maria! I feel like I’m very late jumping on the shredded Brussels sprouts bandwagon because I love them so much cooked that I hadn’t felt compelled to try them raw. They really are delicious this way, though!
Rosalie J Covello
November 19, 2016 at 12:27 pmIf we want to purchase a Vitamix, how do we know if you get the credit? We went to your affiliate link and they did not have your name anywhere. please advise. thanks, Rosalie
we want to order befoer November 23
Susan Voisin
November 19, 2016 at 2:16 pmIf you get to Vitamix by clicking on one of the links in this post, I will automatically get credit. Thank you! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine.
Wendy B
November 20, 2016 at 4:06 pmGreetings, Susan!
Looking forward to making Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dried Cranberries and Cashews for my Thanksgiving potluck. Does the salad need dressing? Or do the juices from the pickled onions suffice?
Thanks!
Wendy
Wendy B
November 20, 2016 at 4:07 pmOOOops! I got so excited about shredding and pickling that I whizzed by your suggested vinegrette! My bad. Thanks for the recipe. I love your site! Cheers, Wendy
Susan Voisin
November 20, 2016 at 4:16 pmThat’s quite all right! I hope you’ll give the recipe a try. You can really use any vinaigrette you like, though I’m partial to mustard in this.
Jacqueline Bethea
November 20, 2016 at 5:17 pmjust bought a nice bag of bs at costco today so i will make this tomorrow! and again for thanksgiving, thanks also to maria for the tip about the dried cranberries. do you think there is anyway that fresh cranberries could be used instead of dried? (yes, also big bag from costco)
and a big thank you for this site in general–we are doing (trying) forks over knives and you are a tremendous help!
Sofie Kondital
November 21, 2016 at 5:52 amI love cashews. It is probably one of the best ingredients.
I have to try it soon.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Angie
November 22, 2016 at 11:33 pmI’ve got everything ready to make this, it looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
I do have one request for future recipes. Where I live, purple onions can be really tiny to a medium size. Would it be possible to give approximate weight values for the onions (and other veggies) especially when the quantity is listed as 1 or 2 (rather than 1 cup, etc.)?
Thank you again.
Alyce Morgan
November 23, 2016 at 10:27 amLooks perfect for Thanksgiving. I love my own Brussels Sprouts recipes (Here’s one from a blog I no longer post on: http://dinnerplace.blogspot.com/2012/02/pan-roasted-brussel-sprouts-and-new.html), but wanted something fresher for a crunch next all those soft feast foods… Can’t wait to try it, though I’ll sub my own spicy pecans for the cashews, I think. I’m not facing the grocery store today! Give and be thankful, Alyce
Claudia
November 23, 2016 at 5:12 pmMade this today and loved it! I think the cashews are so good that I’m thinking about making a batch to give as Christmas gifts. Thanks for your great recipes. Happy Thanksgiving!
Susan Voisin
November 23, 2016 at 7:23 pmI’m so glad you liked it! I love the idea of making the cashews for gifts. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Sally
November 24, 2016 at 1:00 pmHi Susan –
we had pizza last night and used half a red onion on the pizza and saved the other half for pickled onion. Rest of the salad was “the usual” but the onions got nice reviews. Can’t wait to try the maple mustard vinaigrette. Thanks as always.
(Impossible pumpkin pie for dessert.)
Sally
December 8, 2016 at 12:30 pmI think I am now addicted to the pickled onions. LOL They are great.
Susan Voisin
December 8, 2016 at 1:12 pmMe too! I’m not a big fan of onions on sandwiches, but I could put these on everything! Glad you like ’em!
Sheri
November 25, 2016 at 6:10 pmSusan – your recipe looked so good that I made it yesterday for the first time to take to a Thanksgiving dinner. It turned our perfectly and not only did my husband and I really enjoy the salad, all the other meat-eating guests did as well. My salad looked as pretty as yours too! Thank you so much for sharing such a lovely recipe!
Doris
November 25, 2016 at 6:42 pmDelicious! We made it for first time today to take to a belated Thanksgiving dinner and received compliments even though we forgot the pickled onions at home! Thanks Susan, my husband and I really enjoy your recipes.
Krista
November 25, 2016 at 7:39 pmThis was fabulous, so crunchy and fresh. Thanks for the recipe!
Denise
November 28, 2016 at 3:19 pmFantastic recipe. Thank you for sharing it just in time for Thanksgiving. I was looking for a new, healthier brussels sprouts dish this year and you covered it for me. 🙂 Not a hit with the kids but all the adults loved the unusual combination of flavors. It was worth the time invested in shredding the brussels sprouts without a food processor.
Sharon Mitchiner
November 30, 2016 at 1:10 pmsome how I stopped getting your news letters. Gald I found you again It makes my life easier. Thanks for your cteativity and good works
Judith Lautner
December 17, 2016 at 2:37 pmI went looking for this because I had some brussels sprouts to eat before leaving town tomorrow. Perfect! Really enjoyed it. The cashews add the right amount of crunch and spice. Also nice that you can make it in parts and put together at the last minute, so it can be a potluck salad as well.
zapnear
December 19, 2016 at 12:45 pmSounds like a great recipe, definitely will be having a go at this one, I have plenty of brussel sprouts and just love cashew nuts. Is there anything I can substitute the creole seasoning with? Thank you!
Susan Voisin
December 19, 2016 at 1:50 pmChili powder would be good. But really, any seasoning you like.
Ankit Kumar
December 29, 2016 at 3:11 pmso healthy.. i love this salad.. thanks for sharing
Kell Brink
January 3, 2017 at 9:15 pmWhat a yummy looking salad! Super healthy and totally PACKED with flavor. I’m loving shredded Brussels Sprouts lately, and I love that you can buy them pre-washed and cut, like salad in a bag. Great recipe! 🙂 Kelli Brink
Jill
January 18, 2017 at 7:07 pmMade this last night and it was really good. I didn’t have dried cranberries so I used raisins. I also toasted the cashews on top of the stove, which worked out fine. Mollie Stone’s had shredded brussels sprouts in bags, which makes this salad really convenient and fast. I had one lone stalk of raw broccoli to use up so I made “confetti” out of it with my immersion blender and added it to the greens. I will definitely make this again when I have people over. I ate it last night with a baked potato and 911 gravy! I think Pickled Red Onions are going on my regular rotation list. Like the jalapenos! So great on salads.
Angela Weisman
April 4, 2017 at 1:19 pmHave you ever bought roasted chickpeas from an Indian grocery store? (although, I know you can make them)…. I didn’t have cashews, nor did I want to buy them because they are a big binging trigger food for me. I used roasted chickpeas instead…. and WOW! They are amazing with your maple syrup and cajun spice trick! The ones I used were simply roasted with no added oils or salts. Maybe try that out! As always, I love your recipes!
Beverley Sutton
November 25, 2017 at 8:25 amMade this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! Superb salad, thank you.