Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Almonds, and Parmesan

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Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Almonds, and Parmesan uses shaved raw Brussels Sprouts for an interesting and delicious low-carb salad. And you can toss in a few dried cranberries if you want to turn it into a holiday salad and you don’t mind a few more carbs!

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Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Almonds, and Parmesan shown in serving dish

I think this Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Almonds, and Parmesan is a perfect salad for a holiday meal. I’ve been making it for a few years now for Thanksgiving, and all the Brussels Sprouts lovers in my family (and even a few Brussels Sprouts avoiders) go crazy over this salad.

And the shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad is definitely delicious as a salad featuring dried cranberries when you make it for Thanksgiving. But when we tried it without those extra carbs Jake, Kara, and I aso loved the low-carb version of the salad! I’m pretty sure people who love Brussels Sprouts will love this tasty salad any time of year!

Please adapt the recipe to fit your own personal needs and eating preferences! But no matter how you change it up, if you’ve never had a salad with shaved raw Brussels Sprouts, I hope you try this one.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Do you need bacon in the Brussels Sprouts Salad?

We used 6 thick slices of bacon and included bacon grease in the dressing. But you can certainly get by with less bacon, and discard the bacon grease and make the salad with olive oil if that sounds better to you. And if you want this to be a vegetarian salad, the slivered almonds and Parmesan add lots of flavor!

Can you use more bacon in this Brussels Sprouts Salad?

I kind of wanted to call the recipe Brussels Sprouts Salad with BACON, because the bacon gives the salad so much good flavor! So feel free to use even more bacon if you’d like!

What do raw Brussels Sprouts taste like?

I never liked boiled Brussels Sprouts when I was a kid, but now I’m a huge fan of roasted Brussels Sprouts and raw Brussels Sprouts. I think the raw Brussels Sprouts have a slightly nutty flavor, a bit similar to the flavor of raw cabbage but milder.

Can you use a food processor to cut up the Brussels Sprouts?

When I shared Roasted Shredded Brussels Sprouts I recommended cutting up the Brussels Sprouts by hand, and showed you a photo of how I do it. And you can certainly do that for this recipe as well. But in a salad I don’t mind the more uneven texture you get from using the food processor, so take your choice on that!

How low in carbs is the Brussels Sprouts Salad?

The low-carb version of shaved Brussels Sprouts salad shown in these photos has only 5.5 net carbs and 9 grams of protein! Even if you toss in some dried cranberries for a holiday version, this will be a pretty low-carb salad! And if you use low-sugar dried cranberries (affiliate link) they’ll add fewer carbs to the salad.

How to make Brussels Sprouts Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

I bought Brussels Sprouts that were already well-trimmed and just had to cut them in half, trim the Brussels Sprouts if needed.
Use the slicing blade of a Food Processor (affiliate link), a mandoline slicer (affiliate link) or just a sharp knife to slice the Brussels Sprouts.
Measure out the almonds, then toast almonds in a dry pan until they’re fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Cook the bacon until it’s crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towels, keeping the bacon grease in the pan.
Whisk together 2 tablespoons of bacon grease, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, red wine vinegar, and maple syrup to make the dressing. Use Sugar-Free Maple Syrup (affiliate link) for lowest carbs.
Remove the rest of the bacon grease from the pan, then put the dressing into the pan you cooked the bacon in and heat until it’s starting to bubble.
Then toss the hot dressing with the raw Brussels Sprouts and mix in the bacon, toasted almonds, and Parmesan.
Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
Enjoy! And if you’re making this Brussels Sprouts Salad for Thanksgiving, go ahead and toss in a few dried cranberries if you’d like!

Who else loves Brussels Sprouts?

If you’re a Brussels Sprouts fan like I am, use Brussels Sprouts to find all the recipes! And check out Keto Brussels Sprouts Recipes to see more options for Brussels Sprouts to make for a special occasion.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 lb. Brussels Sprouts (preferably pre-trimmed)
6 slices thick bacon (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup slivered almonds (more or or less to taste)
1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan (more or or less to taste)
salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

2 T bacon grease from pan drippings (or replace with additional olive oil)
1 T olive oil
2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T maple syrup (see notes)

Instructions

Trim brussels sprouts if needed and cut in half. (Or don’t cut in half; this year I was in a hurry and just used the food processor to slice the whole brussels sprouts, which kept them from getting shredded too finely.) Thinly slice brussels sprouts. (I used the slicing blade of my Cuisinart Food Processor to slice them, but you can also use a Mandoline Slicer or just a sharp knife.(Affiliate Lins))

Put the shredded brussels sprouts into a salad bowl.

Measure out the almonds, then toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium-high heat until they’re fragrant, about 2 minutes (but watch them carefully!)

Slice bacon pieces into short, thick slices. Cook the bacon in a hot pan until it’s very crisp; then drain on paper towels and let cool. (I use a paper towel on top to press down on the bacon and absorb as much grease as possible.)

Measure 2 tablespoons of bacon grease from the pan and put in a glass measuring cup, pouring out the rest of the bacon grease but not wiping out the pan. (If you prefer, use 2 more tablespoons olive oil instead of bacon grease.)

Add the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, red wine vinegar, and maple syrup and whisk until well-combined.

Put the dressing mixture into the same pan you cooked the bacon in and heat until it’s bubbling. Pour over the brussels sprouts and stir to combine, then gently stir in the chopped bacon, toasted almonds, and Parmesan.

Season the Brussels Sprouts Salad to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

Go ahead and toss in some dried cranberries if you’re making this for a holiday salad!

Notes

A few dried cranberries can be added to make this a holiday salad if you don’t mind the additional carbs.

Use Sugar-Free Maple Syrup (affiliate link) for the lowest-carb version of the salad. (Sugar-Free Maple Syrup has zero net carbs, so it was not included in nutritional information.)

I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice

This recipe was inspired by this brussels sprouts salad from Rachel Ray.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

Amount Per Serving

Calories 223Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 20mgSodium 481mgCarbohydrates 8.5gFiber 3gSugar 4gProtein 9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Shaved raw Brussels Sprouts Salad has more Brussels Sprouts than any other ingredient, and they’re about as nutritious as any salad ingredient you can use. The bacon, almonds, and Parmesan would all be good for low-carb and Keto diet plans. If you want the lowest possible carbs, use sugar-free maple syrup in the dressing, and of course don’t add dried cranberries for the lowest-carb version. If you’re strictly following the original South Beach Diet you can make this salad more diet-friendly by switching the bacon grease for olive oil, using sugar-free maple syrup, and using turkey bacon.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Brussels Sprouts Salad recipe was first posted in 2014, and I’ve made it over and over since then. The photos were updated in 2017 and the recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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