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Satisfying Brussels Sprout Bacon Salad

To me, a salad should be satisfying. It shouldn't be some healthy compromise. It shouldn't be an alternative to eating something you want to eat (I know my husband thinks the same way!). Salad should be something you crave. It should make you want more from the first bite. While you can get that with lettuce, why not something heartier, like Brussels sprouts.

Susan Ohtake

Certified Personal Trainer

Serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

If you’ve never had raw Brussels sprouts, you are missing out! They’re crunchy and flavorful, and don’t have the strong sulfur flavor a lot of people don’t like.

I hope you'll love this unique, satisfying Brussels sprout salad recipe. It's one of my favorites.

ingredients for brussels sprout bacon salad

When combined with salty bacon, crunchy almonds, and a punchy lemon dressing, Brussels sprouts are downright amazing, and super easy to put together at that.

This salad has only a few ingredients, but is easily customizable. You can substitute any nut you want, and you can add dried cranberries for color and sweetness. If you eat dairy, some hard shaved cheese will add another element of flavor.

combined olive oil, lemon juice, zest, and shallot

The dressing is a simple blend of lemons, shallots and olive oil. If you’ve never used shallots, they are tiny purple onions with a milder, almost garlicky flavor.

They are delicious in salad dressings because they don’t overpower the dressing like an onion would. If you want a bit of sweetness, you can add a drizzle of honey to your dressing, but you should taste it first — you might be surprised.

For the Brussels sprouts, they should be shaved as thin as you can get them.

A mandolin slicer is a great way to do this, but if you have a food processor with a shredding blade works nicely too. A sharp knife will work, but go slow and slice thin.

Part of the reason this salad is so good is because you get every flavor in every bite — you don’t get that with thick, chunky pieces.

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

1 pound Brussels sprouts

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup olive oil

Juice and zest of 2 lemons

1 small shallot, minced

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook the bacon and drain on paper towels. Let cool.
Core the Brussels sprouts and slice as thinly as possible using a mandolin, food processor, or sharp knife. Put in a large bowl with the almonds.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, and shallot in a jar and shake until well combined.
Toss the dressing with the salad and add the bacon. Serve immediately.