Boring salads, be gone! This kale and Brussels sprouts salad with cranberries is an explosion of textures and flavors you’ll absolutely love. Make this salad for dinner or as a side dish and fall in love with crunchy goodness.

I’ll be honest- most salads are not my favorite thing to eat. I find most salads somewhat sad especially when they are based on limp boring pieces of iceberg lettuce.

This kale and Brussels sprouts salad is anything but sad. It’s full of texture with crunchy shaved Brussels sprouts, kale and sunflower seeds and chewy dried cranberries.

Then you’ve got the sweet, salty flavor combo of the salad thanks to the sweetened, slightly tart cranberries and the salty bacon. A zippy mustard vinaigrette pulls the whole thing together.

Nothing boring or sad about this.

How to Make Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries

Making this salad is very easy- especially if you make your bacon ahead of time.

The most time consuming part is slicing the Brussels sprouts very thinly. You can always save time though by purchasing shredded Brussels sprouts from the produce section of your grocery store.

But I have some tips to help you shred your Brussels like a pro that I’ll share below if you prefer to cut your own.

To make this salad add your shredded Brussels sprouts and chopped kale to a bowl. Toss it with cranberries, bacon, and sunflower seeds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon, maple syrup, mustard and salt and pepper to make the dressing. When the dressing is combined, pour the dressing over the salad and toss the salad again to coat it evenly.

Serve and enjoy!

How to Shred Brussels Sprouts

Shredding Brussels sprouts properly is key to getting those beautiful pieces of Brussels sprouts for this kale salad recipe.

To shred your Brussels sprouts quickly and evenly, you don’t need anything special. A good knife and cutting board will do the trick.

To finely cut your sprouts:

Start by removing any of the loose leaves from the outer layer of the sprout.
Slice the sprouts in half length wise.
Now put the flat, cut side down and finely slice the sprouts across the sprout.
Pull the shreds apart and get rid of the root.

That’s it!

Tips and Tricks to Make the Best Brussels Sprouts Salad

This salad is very easy to make. These tips and tricks will make sure it’s perfect each time you make it.

Save time by buying pre-shredded Brussels sprouts.
You can make this ahead of time by prepping all the ingredients in advance. Store it covered without the dressing on it. Make the dressing and toss the salad right before serving.
Omit the bacon for a vegetarian alternative and replace it with smoky roasted almonds for that salt/smoke flavor combination.
Feel free to substitute any kind of seeds or nuts for the sunflower seeds. Pumpkin seeds and roasted squash seeds are also fantastic in this.
Dried cherries make a delicious substitute for dried cranberries in this salad.
Add some chopped chicken to turn this salad into a filling main dish.

Looking for other big kale salads? Try these:

I love this Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries and make it all year long, and not just for the fall and winter holidays. Make it the next time you crave an interesting salad.

Looking for other big kale salads? Try these:

Have Leftover Kale You Don’t Want To Waste? Here’s Some Yummy Ideas:

I tend to buy all things in bulk, my leafy greens included. So even after the initial recipes been made & thoroughly enjoyed, I’ve got leftovers that still are begging to be used.

Our favorite recipes to make with excess kale:

If you’ve tried this Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

Cranberry Kale Brussels Sprout Salad

This kale and Brussels sprouts salad with cranberries is an explosion of textures and flavors you'll absolutely love. Make this salad for dinner or as a side dish and fall in love with crunchy goodness.

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish, Side Salad

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Servings:

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us

Ingredients

5 cups thinly sliced brussels sprouts so thinly sliced they're ready to fall apart
2 1/2-3 cups finely chopped kale leaves washed & ribs removed first
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans or sliced almonds
6 slices bacon cooked crisp & crumbled
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp grain mustard
salt & pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To a large salad bowl add the sprouts, kale, cranberries, seeds, and bacon. Toss to evenly combine all the ingredients.
In a small bowl add the oil, syrup, lemon juice, mustard, salt & pepper. Whisk them together to completely combine into a vinaigrette.
Pour the dressing evenly out over the salad, and toss to coat evenly.
Serve immediately and enjoy.

Notes

If you want to prepare this salad ahead of time, prep everything and store it covered. Do not mix until ready to serve, and shake or whisk the dressing again before mixing.