The base of this salad consists of raw kale and raw Brussels sprouts. And I know, you’re probably thinking one of two thoughts:
- You want me to serve a kale salad at the holiday table? No one will eat it!
- You want me to serve kale AND Brussels sprouts raw?? Are you crazy?
I get those concerns and doubts, trust me! In fact, my boyfriend voiced them to me the first time I made this salad. Then he tried it and took it back!
First things first, you do need to shred the kale fairly finely and the Brussels sprouts very thinly. I recommend using the slicing attachment of your food processor to easily and quickly slice the Brussels sprouts thinly. If you don’t have one, you can slice them by hand (it just takes more time and upper body work).
Ingredient Notes
To make these raw veggies extra delicious, I add some fun contrasting textures and flavors.
Crisp Apples and/or Pears: these provide a sweet and juicy yet crunchy textural addition
Dried Cranberries or Cherries: they bring that irresistible chewy bite and sweet-tart flavor.
Toasted Hazelnuts or Pecans: toasting the nuts brings that nice nutty and fragrant aroma and depth of flavor
Pomegranate Seeds: not essential, but their crunchy yet juicy texture and sweetness plays well with the apples
Avocado: creaminess to balance all those raw greens and crunchy textures
Cashew Caesar Dressing: the star of this salad is the savory, flavor-packed Caesar dressing. Made with raw cashews, extra virgin olive oil, and just a few other ingredients, it takes 5 minutes to throw together and is ultra creamy and delicious. A generous amount of creamy dressing will make even alleged salad haters fall in love with kale!
If you’re looking for a different flavor profile for this salad, try my Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette with this salad instead! It’s a classic pairing with kale, apples, and pomegranate seeds!
That’s all you need to know about this salad, so I’m keeping it short! Hope you enjoy the recipe and make it this holiday season!
First holiday season as a vegan? Check out my holiday survival guide for vegans! For more Christmas recipes, check out this roundup of 40 fantastic Vegan Christmas Recipes.
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Kale and Brussels Sprouts Winter Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 12 ounces Brussels sprouts (thick outer leaves removed and shredded)
- 1 head of Tuscan lacinato kale, sliced thinly
- 3 crisp apples or pears, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts or pecans
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 large ripe avocado, diced
- Cashew Caesar Dressing (recipe below)
- Optional: vegan ricotta cheese for topping
Cashew Caesar Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked*
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
- 1/2 of a large lemon, juiced + more to taste
Instructions
Salad Directions
- To shred the Brussels sprouts, use the slicing attachment of your food processor. Alternatively, you can cut the sprouts by hand into very thin slices, or easiest yet, buy pre-shredded Brussels sprouts at your grocery store.
- Place the sprouts and kale on a serving platter. Arrange the apple slices on top, and add the nuts, cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and avocado. Pour the dressing on top and mix well.
Cashew Caesar Dressing Directions
- Place the soaked cashews and remaining ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend for 2-3 minutes or until the cashews are completely pulverized and the dressing is thick, smooth, and creamy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
Very delicious indeed. My hubby’s tummy can’t take the Brussel sprouts so I mixed everything else, and added the Brussel Sprouts myself. I think I may sub pine nuts for the pecans next time.
We’re so happy that the salad turned out well for you, Nancy. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe!
This salad was truly a beauty on my Thanksgiving table. I found the texture to be too dense, even though I massaged my kale well. I addressed that by using ⅓ kale, ⅓ romaine, and ⅓ brussles sprouts. I used a mandoline to slice whole apples, then cut the core out of the slices. A+ for its gorgeous holiday appearance. C for flavor and texture. Thank you Nisha. Your site is my go-to for plant based deliciousness.
Hi Carol, sorry to hear this recipe didn’t turn out as you’d expected. Have you tried Nisha’s butternut squash kale salad or pumpkin salad? Both are delightful additions to a holiday spread!
Fabulous! and you were right… everyone loved it! Thank you!
Jackie, So glad to hear everyone loved this recipe! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I want to make this for our upcoming holiday dinner, but my husband has a tree nut allergy. Would I be able to sub cashews for silken tofu or white beans to make the dressing? (Will also be subbing the hazelnuts for sunflower seeds).
Hi Melissa, I’d try subbing silken tofu over sunflower seeds, which have a distinct earthy flavor in dressings. Add only as much water as needed to blend into a creamy dressing, as silken tofu has a high water content compared to cashews. Taste, adding more salt, lemon juice, or seasoning as desired. Enjoy!
I want to make this for Thanksgiving – would it keep okay if I made it the day before, and added the fruit and dressing right before serving?
Hi Lauren, definitely! You can make the salad with the kale, brussels sprouts, pomegranate seeds, nuts and dried fruit and store it separately from the dressing and ricotta. Cut the apple and avocado closer to serving to prevent browning, add vegan ricotta if you’d like, dress the salad and enjoy!
I recommend waiting until serving time to add the nuts so they stay crunchy. Otherwise they could get soggy.
This salad 🥗 is out of this world 🌎🌍 DELICIOUS 😋🤤❣️❣️❣️❣️. I am hooked 🪝 on this, I didn’t want to share any with my husband 🤭. This salad 🥗 hits every taste bud with an explosion 💥💥💥💥 of flavor on every level 🎚️. Plus, along with flavor it is visually a eye popper 👀. My mouth 👄 was having a party 🎉 with all the different textures. Every component of a Masterpiece 🥗 was in this recipe ‼️‼️‼️
Your review made our day, Theresa! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for trying out the recipe.
This was amazing! My family of four finished the whole salad for lunch today. We all LOVED it, including my 6 and 8 year old kids. When I added all the dressing on top at the end, the beauty of the salad got partially hidden, but the taste was phenomenal. Next time I will plate the kale and Brussels sprouts on the serving platter and add half the dressing before arranging the toppings, then drizzle the rest of the dressing on top. Also I’ll use a larger serving platter. This way the gorgeous colors and variety will shine through, and the dressing will be more evenly distributed. I can’t wait to make this for guests, for potlucks, and for Thanksgiving. It’s going into our regular family rotation for sure! Thank you for showing my kids how delicious kale and Brussels sprouts can be!
Janet, what a thoughtful review! We’re so happy to hear that the whole family loved the salad. Thanks for sharing your experience with us 🙂