If you’re in want of a brand new aspect dish for the autumn/winter seasons, this heat Brussels sprouts salad with bacon and apple suits the invoice. A bounty of flavors and textures comes collectively in a single skillet, and it’s dressed with a straightforward do-it-yourself maple citrus French dressing.
As quickly as the primary leaves begin to fall, it’s time for all issues cozy, roasted, and a bit of candy. This heat Brussels sprouts salad has all the pieces you may need in a fall aspect dish—crispy sprouts, salty bacon, candy crunchy apples, and a vivid, citrusy-sweet French dressing that ties all of it collectively.
Suppose: basic consolation meals… simply in salad type.
Why You’ll Love This Heat Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Savory-sweet stability: Salty, smoky bacon + candy maple syrup + vivid orange zest = whole taste magic.
- Most texture: Tender Brussels sprouts, crisp bacon, crunchy apples, and toasted pecans make every chew fascinating.
- Heat & hearty: It’s a salad, however cozy sufficient for cold nights (and completely worthy of your Thanksgiving desk).
- Skillet recipe: Excellent when your oven’s busy with different dishes.
- Vacation-ready: Elegant sufficient for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or a cocktail party, but easy sufficient for a weeknight meal.
Substances You Want
Brussels sprouts, bacon, shallot, garlic, apple, pecans, and dried cranberries make up the bottom of this heat salad. Every thing’s tossed in a easy maple-orange French dressing made with olive oil, contemporary orange juice, maple syrup, and a contact of Dijon mustard.
A sprinkle of parmesan cheese on prime is optionally available, however provides a scrumptious of completion.
Learn how to Shred Brussels Sprouts
There are just a few simple methods to shred Brussels sprouts, relying on what instruments you’ve readily available. Use the slicing blade of a meals processor, or trim the bottom of the sprout and thinly slice by hand. For a fast shortcut, search for pre-shredded Brussels sprouts within the produce part of the grocery retailer.
It Comes Collectively in 1 Skillet
Begin by considering forward: would you like the pecans in your salad toasted? If that’s the case, add them to the skillet first and prepare dinner for a couple of minutes, stirring typically, till evenly toasted and aromatic. Switch to a plate and put aside when you prepare dinner the opposite substances.
Subsequent, prepare dinner the bacon till crispy. Switch to a paper towel-lined plate, then drain off a lot of the bacon fats, leaving about 1 Tablespoon behind. Return the skillet to the warmth and sauté a chopped shallot within the remaining bacon fats till softened.
After that, add the garlic, Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper. Cook dinner till the sprouts prepare dinner down and start to brown, then take away from warmth and stir in a splash of contemporary orange juice.
(In the meantime, you possibly can chop the bacon and slice the apple.)
Now it’s time to construct the salad with the toasted pecans, chopped bacon, apple, dried cranberries, cooked Brussels sprouts, and the dressing.
Maple Citrus Dressing
In a jar or small bowl, whisk collectively olive oil, orange juice, maple syrup, Dijon, salt, and pepper. Shake or whisk till absolutely emulsified.
When engaged on this recipe, we initially deliberate to make use of lemon juice. Nonetheless, we had run out, so we swapped orange in as an alternative. What a contented accident! The flavour turned out superbly balanced and vivid, including simply the correct quantity of sweetness with out overpowering the salad.
Technically, since there isn’t any vinegar and citrus offers the acidity, this isn’t a real French dressing. But it surely delivers that very same tangy-sweet taste you count on from one.
Shortcut tip: You can also make the dressing as much as 5 days forward. Retailer within the fridge and convey to room temp earlier than utilizing.
Undoubtedly! Skip the bacon and take a look at roasted candy potato or chickpeas for a hearty, meat-free model. Roast the candy potato within the oven, or prepare dinner drained chickpeas in a bit of olive oil after toasting the pecans. Simply be sure you add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet earlier than sautéing the shallot.
Contemporary is greatest for this recipe since frozen sprouts are usually fairly smooth after thawing. If you happen to should use frozen, thaw fully, pat dry, and count on a much less crisp end result.
When you can serve this salad chilly, it tastes greatest heat or at room temperature. Prep the elements upfront: toast the pecans, prepare dinner the bacon and sprouts, and make the dressing. Retailer every individually (refrigerate all the pieces besides the pecans). Earlier than serving, carry the substances to room temperature and heat the dressing for just a few seconds within the microwave or on the range, then toss to mix.
What to Serve With This Salad
This salad is tremendous versatile! Serve it with:
- Roasted rooster, turkey, or pork tenderloin
- A bowl of creamy soup
- Your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving feast
- As a primary dish alongside cornbread or candy potato rolls
Description
It is a heat Brussels sprouts salad full of crispy bacon, candy apple, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries, all tossed in a vivid maple-orange dressing. It is a flavorful, hearty aspect dish for fall or winter meals. You can also make it vegetarian, if desired. See recipe Notice for particulars.
Salad
- 1/2 cup (60g) roughly chopped pecans
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced (or 1/4 cup (35g) finely chopped yellow onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 16 ounces (1 lb./454g) Brussels sprouts, shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 teaspoons contemporary lemon juice or orange juice
- 1/3 cup (50g) dried cranberries
- 1 apple, thinly sliced and halved for bite-size items (I like to recommend Honeycrisp)
- optionally available, for garnish: 2 Tablespoons freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Citrus Maple Dressing
- 1/4 cup (57g/60ml) additional virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons (30g/ml) contemporary orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon (21g/15ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Toast the pecans: Cook dinner the pecans in a big (ungreased) skillet over medium warmth for 3–5 minutes, stirring typically, till evenly browned and aromatic. Switch to a plate or bowl and put aside.
- Cook dinner the bacon: Add the bacon to the skillet and prepare dinner till crisp. Switch cooked bacon to paper-towel-lined plate, after which take away all however 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet.
- Cook dinner the greens: Add the sliced shallot and sauté, stirring typically, till softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, shredded Brussels sprouts, salt, and pepper. Cook dinner, stirring sometimes, till the sprouts prepare dinner down and start to brown, about 8–10 minutes.
- Take away from warmth and stir within the contemporary lemon or orange juice. Switch to a serving dish or bowl.
- Chop the bacon into bite-size items. Add to the Brussels sprouts, together with the dried cranberries, apple, and toasted pecans. Toss to mix.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk collectively olive oil, contemporary orange juice, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss to mix.
- If desired, prime with optionally available parmesan cheese earlier than serving. Serve salad heat.
- Retailer leftover salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Make-Forward Directions: You can also make the dressing upfront and retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 week. For the salad, prep the elements a day or 2 upfront: toast the pecans, and prepare dinner the bacon and sprouts. Retailer every individually (refrigerate all the pieces besides the pecans). Earlier than serving, carry the substances to room temperature and heat the dressing for just a few seconds within the microwave or on the range, then toss to mix.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Whisk
- Can I Serve This Salad Chilly? When you can serve this salad chilly, it tastes greatest heat or at room temperature. See Notice above about making it forward.
- Can I Make This Vegetarian? Sure. Skip the bacon and take a look at roasted candy potatoes or chickpeas for a hearty, meat-free model. Roast the candy potato within the oven, or prepare dinner drained chickpeas in a bit of olive oil after toasting the pecans. Simply be sure you add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet earlier than sautéing the shallot.
- Can I Double the Recipe? Sure, merely double all the substances and use an extra-large skillet (or prepare dinner in batches). The bigger quantity of Brussels sprouts would require an additional jiffy to prepare dinner down and brown.
- Learn how to Shred Brussels Sprouts: There are just a few simple methods to shred Brussels sprouts, relying on what instruments you’ve readily available. Use the slicing blade of a meals processor, or trim the bottom of the sprout and thinly slice by hand. For a fast shortcut, search for a bag or container of pre-shredded Brussels sprouts within the produce part of the grocery retailer.
- Can I Use Frozen Brussels Sprouts? Contemporary is greatest for this recipe since frozen sprouts are usually fairly smooth after thawing. If you happen to should use frozen, thaw fully, pat dry, and count on a much less crisp end result.
- Finest Apple to Use: Crisp, sweet-tart apples like Honeycrisp, Pink Girl, or Fuji are greatest on this salad.
