Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Pecans

A holiday side dish in minutes

I am all about easy, tasty side dishes -- especially during the holidays. This Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Pecans is not only a perfect side dish for holiday meals, but we've been enjoying it alongside weeknight dinners all fall. With a sweet and tangy apple cider vinegar, honey, and Dijon dressing, it takes about 15-minutes or less to assemble with the aid of your food processor -- but you can also buy pre-shaved Brussels sprouts and be done in about 5-minutes!

Prepping the Brussels sprouts

Food processor method: Shaving Brussels sprouts is super easy if you have a food processor with a basic slicer attachment (most come with one). Simply trim the stem, slice the sprout in half, discard any yellowing or blemished leaves, and pop the trimmed halves into your machine to process.

Mandoline method: Prior to getting a food processor, I hand-shaved Brussels with a mandoline on many occasions. Not only is this a lengthy, tedious task, but it can also be a bit of a dangerous one if you're not careful. I highly recommend using a guard or shield if you go the mandoline route, and be prepared to work for it.

The pre-shaved method: If you don't have a food processor, I highly recommend going the pre-shaved route. I have regularly found pre-shaved (sometimes listed as shredded) Brussels sprouts available in my local grocery stores. If you are short on time this is a fantastic way to make this recipe super quick, shortening the time to about 5-minutes to assemble.

What type of Blue cheese is best to use?

Whether you refer to it by its American spelling, blue, or French spelling, bleu, this sharp and salty cheese adds some big tasty flavor to this Brussels sprout salad. The three varieties you will most often come across are the following, but feel free to use your favorite!:

• Roquefort – One of the world’s best-known bleu cheeses. A French sheeps' milk cheese that is lightly tangy, acidic, crumbly, and slightly moist with white flesh and distinctive veins of deep blue.
• Gorgonzola – An Italian cow’s milk cheese originating in Milan. This cheese is buttery, crumbly, and salty with white flesh and greenish-blue marbling. I find that Gorgonzola is a good option for those who may sometimes find the blue mold flavor of blue cheese overpowering as it tends to be somewhat milder in Gorgonzola, but is still sharp and nicely salty.
• Stilton – An English cow’s milk cheese produced in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire. This cheese is soft and crumbly, with nutty and salty notes and delicate blue veins expanding from its center.

What to serve this Brussels Sprouts Salad with

I generally serve this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Pecans in the fall and winter months alongside heartier proteins such as Swedish Meatballs or roasted salmon, but its also superb as a side for roast turkey, chicken, steak, and tofu.

WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?

• A cutting board
• A paring knife or chef's knife
• A food processor with the slicer attachment - OR - a mandoline
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• A large mixing bowl
• A small mixing bowl
• A fork or small whisk
• Salad servers or two large spoons to toss everything together

Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.

A note for special diets

This Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and PEcans is gluten-free, grain-free, nightshade-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, and friendly for vegetarian diets.

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