Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts

Crisp and healthy brussels sprout slaw, with tart cherries, dried cranberries, and crunchy walnuts. Naturally gluten-free, raw, and easily made vegan. Jump to the recipe here, or read on and get the recipe at the bottom of the post!

Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts | Will Cook For Friends

I’m going to come right out and say it: I love brussels sprouts. I don’t just mean I like them, I mean I get cravings for them.

The key, I think, is that they need to be prepared right to be good — isn’t that the case with all veggies? — if they’re over-cooked, that’s where things start to go south.

My all-time favorite way to eat them is simply roasted in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, but recently The Husband and I were out at one of our favorite restaurants when I noticed something new on the menu: brussels sprout slaw.

Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts | Will Cook For Friends

I had to have it, and after one bite was instantly hooked. I knew I had to try to recreate it at home, and spent the rest of dinner gently pestering our waiter for clues as to the recipe. I even took home an extra little container of the stuff and dissected it with tweezers to identify all its components.

I made a couple of changes to my slaw, but all the things I loved about the original are still there: the crunchy fresh veggies, the light dressing, the bite of tart cherries and crunchy walnuts… I was so pleased with myself that after snapping these photos, I literally started dancing around my house eating straight out of the bowl.

Eating veggies should always be this good.

Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts | Will Cook For Friends

Are you a brussels sprout lover, or hater? What’s your favorite way to eat them? I’d love to know!

 Yum

5.0 from 2 reviews
Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Gluten-Free, Raw, easily made Vegan
Serves: 10 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. Brussls sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 2 cups red or green cabbage, thinly sliced (about ½ a small head, or ¼ large)
  • 2 cups kale, thinly sliced (about 2-3 leaves)
  • 1½ - 2 cups tart cherries, chopped (fresh, or canned and drained, or frozen and thawed and drained)
  • 1½ - 2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries, or dried cherries, roughly chopped
For the dressing:
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 TBSP honey (or sugar, or other sweetener, to make it vegan)
  • 1 TBSP whole grain mustard
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Trim the stem ends of the brussels sprouts, and discard any rough looking outer-leaves. Stand them up on the flat (cut) stem end, and carefully slice as thin as you can easily manage. (Or, if you have a slicer attachment on your food processor, you can use that.)
  2. Thinly slice or shred the cabbage and kale, and chop the remaining ingredients. (If your cherries are canned or frozen, be sure to drain them thoroughly.) Add everything to a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. If the dressing is too tart for you liking, add a bit more olive oil, and if it's not tart enough, add a splash more vinegar. Same goes for the honey and mustard -- adjust to taste, if you wish.
  4. Pour dressing over the slaw and toss well (I find tongs are great for this) until everything is evenly coated. Can be served immediately, or covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. Slaw will keep well in the fridge for several days.
Notes
If you have a choice between large brussels sprouts and smaller ones, I recommend going with the smaller ones, as they tend to be a little more tender and have a milder flavor.

I love this slaw with both dried cranberries and fresh tart cherries, but you could easily swap the cranberries for dried cherries, and leave out the fresh ones if you wish. I also think it would be fun to try with some fresh cranberries, thinly sliced, in place of the cherries when they are in season. Obviously, feel free to play with this recipe to your tastes. And if you come up with a great variation, tell me about it!

This recipe makes a lot of slaw as written (perfect for a party or a big family, or, you know, ME), but you can easily halve all the ingredients if you want less.

(P.S. -- leftovers of this slaw are amazing piled high on a turkey sandwich, with a little smear of dijon mustard on the bread. So, maybe you don't want to halve the recipe after all!)

 

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16 Responses to Brussels Sprout Slaw with Cherries and Walnuts

  1. Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table February 8, 2016 at 9:40 am #

    I’m a huge Brussels sprouts addict too! Can’t get enough! I love them roasted – I guess that would be my favorite if I had to choose. But I also love shredded Brussels sprouts. And salads – and this one sounds fantastic! The cherries and the walnuts? Swoon – great combination! I’d be doing a happy dance, too :)

    • Willow Arlen February 8, 2016 at 10:44 am #

      I’m so glad I’m not the only one, Kathryn! Honestly, roasting makes everything better… but now I’m obsessed with eating them raw like this!

  2. Lauren @ Lauren Caris Cooks February 8, 2016 at 1:01 pm #

    Ahhh-MAZING! This is exactly my kind of slaw. I’m such a brussels sprouts nut! I think I’d polish off the whole batch by myself!

    • Willow Arlen February 8, 2016 at 2:10 pm #

      You and me both, Lauren! I made a huge bowl full, and just ran out this morning… I’m already planning to make another batch!

  3. Kate @ Framed Cooks February 9, 2016 at 7:42 am #

    I love them too…my husband, not so much. So I am always looking for tempting sprouts recipes to try and win him over to my side – this looks like a great one!

    • Willow Arlen February 9, 2016 at 9:29 am #

      Well, he might like this one! If you can find smaller (younger) brussels sprouts, they tend to be a bit more mild, too. :)

  4. sue|theviewfromgreatisland February 10, 2016 at 11:31 am #

    I know what you mean, I actually crave Brussels Sprouts too, and I try to wedge them in whenever I can This salad is particularly on target for me because I crave walnuts and cherries, too :)

  5. Adina February 11, 2016 at 2:51 am #

    I cannot resist Brussels sprouts either, I often buy them just because they look so pretty. We eat them mostly roasted in the oven, but this salad would be a great alternative.

  6. Bethany @ athleticavocado February 16, 2016 at 7:21 am #

    So many beautiful flavors in this amazing salad! Im a sucker for brussel sprouts!

    • Willow Arlen February 16, 2016 at 8:39 am #

      Thanks Bethany! Me too — they’re so good!

  7. Brie@ToasterOvenLove February 16, 2016 at 12:30 pm #

    Reformed Brussels sprouts hater here, if only my family served sprouts in a slaw like this I would have been eating them all my life :) I just love your idea of adding it to a sandwich!

    • Willow Arlen February 16, 2016 at 2:26 pm #

      I’m glad to hear you’re reformed now! I know so many people who think they hate brussels sprouts because they’ve just never had them prepared right… this slaw is a total game changer!

  8. Claira February 18, 2016 at 11:10 pm #

    A local restaurant I went to had a brussel sprout salad very similar to this and I was in LOVE. I cant wait to try this one out!

    • Willow Arlen February 18, 2016 at 11:36 pm #

      That’s awesome! I hope you like this version!

  9. Marcia February 25, 2016 at 2:31 pm #

    I’ve never eaten raw brussels sprouts, but I am so curious to try. The recipe looks SO delicious!! Thanks for sharing it!

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  1. Brussels Sprout Slaw with Tart Cherries, Dried Cranberries,… | 1800GOODFOOD® Community - February 16, 2016

    […] Brussels Sprout Slaw with Tart Cherries, Dried Cranberries, & Crunchy Walnuts. Eating your veggies should *always* taste this good! Recipe here. […]

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