As we passed by the bakery during last week’s adventure through the local grocer, my kids asked for an orange cranberry muffin. I was in the middle of breaking the ‘don’t shop while hungry’ rule—and frankly, I was starving. To make things worse, I’m a total sucker for anything that involves an orange-cranberry combination. I can’t resist the delightfully bright union of sweet and tart flavors. It didn’t take long for me to give in and buy one… for each of us. They weren’t anything amazing, but they satisfied my craving.
On the drive home, I thought about how perfectly the flavors of orange and cranberry compliment each other, and I wondered if I could enlist the flavor to liven up vegetables instead of always resorting to dessert. Yes, I do think that muffins are a dessert, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them for breakfast once in a while! That is how the idea for this Brussels sprout salad was born—and it’s a pretty amazing concoction.
This would be a great salad to take to a barbecue.
If you are not familiar with Brussels sprouts you can read more about them here.
To get started you need to shave all your Brussels sprouts. I know it seems like it is a lot of work but it gives a great texture to the salad and is well worth it.
Start by trimming off the end of the Brussels sprout. When I am eating Brussels sprouts raw I trim more off than I do if I am going to cook them. The end softens when cooked but is pretty tough to eat raw.
Then you cut the Brussels sprout in half lengthwise.
Next, lay each half on the cutting board cut side down and slice the sprout in thin slices similar to shredding cabbage. This is the most time-consuming part I promise!
This would be a good time to toast your almonds. This isn’t a crucial step but I really think it rounds out the salad and gives it more depth. Also, it will keep better.
The dressing is where the orange flavor plays into the salad. The recipe calls for juice and zest from a fresh orange. If you only have orange juice add a little extra in place of the zest to make sure and get a strong orange flavor.
Add the orange juice and white wine vinegar to your mayonnaise. You could sub in white vinegar or coconut vinegar if you don’t have white wine vinegar. You could also use apple cider vinegar but it might overpower the orange flavor a little bit so use less than what is called for.
Add the spices to the dressing along with the orange zest if using and whisk it together
Add the dressing and the rest of the ingredients to the Brussels sprout salad.
Mix everything together well and enjoy! Because Brussels sprouts are a sturdy green this salad will last a couple of days in the fridge after the dressing is mixed in.
Do you enjoy the pairing of orange and cranberry? What are some of your favorite ways to experience this flavor combination?
SaveSave
Orange Cranberry Brussels Sprout Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 cups brussels sprouts shredded, see notes
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries see notes
- 1 1/2 cups almonds sliced and toasted
Dressing
- 3/4 cups mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp orange juice or juice from 1 1/2 oranges
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp rosemary dried
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch nutmeg fresh ground
- zest from 1/2 orange optional
Instructions
- Add salad ingredients together
- Mix dressing ingredients together.
- Mix dressing into salad
- Serve!
Notes
- If you don’t have brussels sprouts you can use cabbage, brocolli, broccoli slaw, or kale with equally delicious results!
- You can usually find dried cranberries made with applesauce instead of processed sugar at a health food store.
- This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd. If you are just feeding your family use about half the ingredients.
No Comments