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This Bacon Brussels Crunch Salad is the perfect addition to your holiday menu this season! Filled with a variety of delicious ingredients, like apples, white cheddar cheese, and crispy bacon, all tossed in a flavorful dressing, I know you all will love this salad.
The flavors of this salad are seriously out of this word. With so many different textures and flavors combined into one salad, this is anything but boring! While this salad is great as-is for a salad course this holiday season, it is also great for a weeknight dinner with grilled chicken or your preferred protein served on top.
Bacon Brussels Crunch Salad Ingredients:
- Bacon
- Brussels Sprouts
- Tuscan Kale,
- Italian Parsley
- Granny Smith Apple
- White Cheddar Cheese
- Toasted Pecans
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Dried Thyme
- Plus, a few additional ingredients for the dressing!
Bacon Brussels Crunch Salad step-by-step:
Step One: Make the Bacon
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the bacon to the sheet and transfer to a cold oven on the middle rack. Turn the heat to 400℉ and bake for 17 to 20 minutes until the bacon is crisp. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Once cooled, roughly chop and set aside.
Step Two: Toast the Breadcrumbs
Drain the excess bacon grease into a heat-proof container, leaving the parchment paper on the sheet. To the baking sheet, add the panko, paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour over 1 tablespoon of the residual bacon grease, and toss to combine, coating all of the crumbs in the grease and ensuring they are evenly coated. Transfer the sheet back to the oven on the middle rack and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the crumbs are crisp and golden brown. Allow to cool entirely before tossing into the salad.
Step Three: Make the Dressing
While the breadcrumbs bake, make the dressing. In a wide-mouth jar, add the dressing ingredients. Using an immersion blender, blend until the dressing is completely smooth and emulsified. Set aside in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
Step Four: Assemble the Salad
In a large mixing bowl, add the kale and shaved Brussels sprouts. Add about ¼ cup of dressing and mix, using tongs, until the dressing has started to soften the kale and Brussels sprouts. Toss in all of the parsley, then half of the sliced apple, cheddar cheese, pecans, cooked bacon, and panko breadcrumbs (reserving the other half of each for garnish). Toss to combine, adding more dressing as you mix until the salad is dressed to your liking.
Step Five: Garnish and Enjoy
Garnish the salad with the remaining apple, cheese, pecans, bacon, and panko crumbs. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs:
Absolutely! You could prep each element in advance and then toss everything together once you are ready to serve. The dressing can be me 1 to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge.
While you can very carefully do this with a knife, it is easier to do with a mandolin if you have one. Just be sure to be extremely careful with the mandolin and to use all of the protective gear it provides!
This is great as-is for a side or starter salad, but top with your preferred protein and it would be a delicious main course!
I hope you enjoy this Bacon Brussels Sprout Crunch Salad! Comment below once you try it!
More Holiday Salads:
Crab Cake Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Bacon Brussels Crunch Salad
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick cut bacon
For the Crumbs:
- 1 cup gluten-free panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
For the Dressing:
- 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Salad:
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and shaved very thin
- 2 bundles Tuscan kale, de-ribbed and thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 medium granny smith apple, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cubed white cheddar cheese (omit for dairy-free)
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
Make the Bacon:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the bacon to the sheet and transfer to a COLD oven on the middle rack. Turn the heat to 400℉ and bake for 17 to 20 minutes until the bacon is crisp. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Once cooled, roughly chop and set aside.
Make the Crumbs:
- Drain the excess bacon grease into a heat-proof container, leaving the parchment paper on the sheet. To the baking sheet, add the panko, paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour over 1 tablespoon of the residual bacon grease, and toss to combine, coating all of the crumbs in the grease and ensuring they are evenly coated. Transfer the sheet back to the oven on the middle rack and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the crumbs are crisp and golden brown. Allow to cool entirely before tossing into the salad.
Meanwhile, Make the Dressing:
- In a wide-mouth jar, add the shallot, garlic, Dijon, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest and juice, dried thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Using an immersion blender, blend until the dressing is completely smooth and emulsified. Set aside in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
Assemble the Salad:
- In a large mixing bowl, add the kale and shaved brussels sprouts. Add about ¼ cup of dressing and mix, using tongs, until the dressing has started to soften the kale and brussels sprouts, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Toss in all of the parsley, then half of the sliced apple, cheddar cheese, pecans, cooked bacon, and panko breadcrumbs (reserving the other half of each for garnish). Toss to combine, adding more dressing as you mix until the salad is dressed to your liking.
- Garnish the salad with the remaining apple, cheese, pecans, bacon, and panko crumbs.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for Christmas dinner and it was a hit!
This sounds so good! Do you think roasting the brussels on the sheet pan with some of the bacon grease in the oven then tossing it in the salad could work? Raw Brussel sprouts can be hard for some to digest.