If you haven’t made this Brussels sprout slaw yet, you’ve been missing out! There’s a good chance you’ve missed this recipe, since it’s been hiding in the archives under some not-so-appetizing photos. I hope these are more enticing.
This slaw is irresistibly crisp and tangy, with a simple honey-mustard dressing. Freshly toasted almonds offer some savory crunch, and dried cherries (or cranberries) send it over the top.
This slaw stores well in the fridge for a few days, so it’s great to keep on hand for sandwiches, soups and quick meals.
It’s easy to make, too—especially if you have a food processor with a shredding attachment. Otherwise, you can thinly slice the Brussels sprouts by hand. Let’s get to it!
Recipe development notes from 2013 (the referenced restaurant has since closed):
I never ate coleslaw as a kid so it’s a novelty to me now. I always avoided the mysterious mayonnaise-laden salads at potlucks (what was hiding under there?). Looking back, I suspect that I missed out on a few wonderful slaws and a lot of terrible Jell-O salads. Oh well.
Coleslaw got my full attention on a warm night this summer. A few friends and I drove to Justus Drugstore, a family-owned, former-drugstore-turned-gourmet-restaurant in a quaint town outside of Kansas City. We sat on the patio, which has a more casual menu than the inside. Three swanky cocktails later, our food arrived.
My veggie burger came with a side of coleslaw. I took a bite and my taste buds did a little happy dance. That slaw was something else. It was crisp, fresh, tangy and sweet all at once. It teetered on the border of being too sweet or too tangy but never fell off the edge. It was perfect.
I’ve been obsessed with recreating the Justus coleslaw experience ever since. I called and asked the hostess to read the ingredients off the menu for me (house-made pear cider, vinegar pickled celery root, ginger and pickled carrot), but their slaw didn’t seem feasible for home cooks. I’ve since made bowls and bowls of vinegar-based cabbage coleslaw but none satisfied like the Justus slaw.
The other day, I noticed two of my real-life friends tweeting about a salad, so of course I had to know more about it. It was a Brussels sprout and arugula salad with honey mustard dressing at The Mixx, one of my favorite places in town. Being me, I had to try the salad immediately.
While I was happily chomping away on that giant Brussels salad, it occurred to me that shredded Brussels would make a great substitute for the finely shredded celery root in the Justus slaw. Then I thought that an emulsified mustard dressing would be nice and creamy, almost like mayonnaise. Ta da! This salad was born.
What to Serve with Brussels Sprout Slaw
This slaw is a great gluten-free salad or side dish. Brussels sprouts are generally best during the cooler months, so this recipe is perfect for fall/winter potlucks and holiday meals (such as Thanksgiving).
Here are some serving suggestions:
- Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Perfect Roasted Carrots
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup or Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Homemade Vegetarian Chili
Please let me know how your slaw turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Craving more sprouts? Here are a few more of my favorite Brussels sprout recipes:
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans
- Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Arugula Salad with Sunshine Dressing
- Raw Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with Tahini-Maple Dressing
- Brussels Sprouts Pizza with Balsamic Red Onions
Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 side salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: American
This delicious slaw recipe features shredded Brussels sprouts tossed with tangy honey mustard dressing, toasted almonds and dried cherries (or cranberries). Recipe yields 4 substantial side servings; double if desired.
Ingredients
Coleslaw
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds, toasted (hickory smoked almonds would be great if you can find them)
- ⅓ cup tart dried cherries or cranberries, chopped
- ⅓ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Honey mustard dressing
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Shred the sprouts: First, cut off the tough ends of the sprouts and any browning outer leaves. Then shred them in a food processor using the slicing blade, pressing the sprouts against the blade with the provided plastic pusher. If you don’t have a food processor, slice them as thinly as possible using a sharp chef’s knife, then give them a few extra chops for good measure.
- If you are using raw almonds, toast them over medium heat for three to four minutes, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and turning golden on the edges.
- Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and garlic until blended. In a medium serving bowl, toss the shredded sprouts with the almonds, chopped dried fruit, Parmesan and dressing. Taste, and add another pinch or two of salt if it needs a little something more.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up for 4 days. The Brussels sprouts will continue to soften as they marinate. The edges of the sprouts might brown lightly over time. Wake up leftovers with a little sprinkle of salt and a tiny splash of vinegar.
Notes
Recipe inspired by the Justus Drugstore patio’s coleslaw and the seasonal Brussels sprout salad at The Mixx.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Skip the Parmesan, or substitute vegan Parmesan, or try mixing a little bit of white miso into the dressing to make up for it. For vegan slaw, also substitute maple syrup for the honey.
Make it nut free: Omit the almonds, and perhaps add pepitas or sunflower seeds if desired.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Katherine Baun
Excellent salad! We loved this. I can’t wait to make it again. Very light and refreshing.
★★★★★
Becky
Enjoyed this very much. Was mildly concerned that the sprouts would be very strong since they were raw, but they were not. I used the cranberries instead of the cherries. I did not have almond slivers of any kind, but I did have smoked almonds that I coarsely chopped. Sooo good!!
★★★★★
Jenni
So good! Huge hit at the boat party
★★★★★
Mi MoJo Methods
We really enjoyed this recipe. It never occurred to me to use Brussels sprouts for cole slaw, but now this might be might go-to. The flavors are great and the honey mustard dressing is just the right amount. Well, I say the right amount; I didn’t use an entire pound of Brussels sprouts, but about 10 ounces or so. Thanks for sharing this!
★★★★★
Gabrielle
Love this recipe! I skipped the Parmesan and used a little bit of miso as suggested. About 1/2 tsp was perfect for me.
★★★★★
Gretchen
Your honey mustard sweet-sour dressing is fabulous. I had to make a few substitutions like Brussel sprout top leaves for Brussel sprouts, Asiago cheese for the Parmesan cheese and chopped peanuts for the almonds. I added some carrots for color which were pretty, but added nothing to the taste, and some onion chives. I planned to have the salad for supper, but only held out for 1 1/2 hours and ate it all for brunch. Delicious just delicious.
★★★★★
Kate
Delicious! Great idea with the Brussel sprouts!
★★★★★
Ann
So delicious! I hesitated to use the full amount of honey as I’m a bit shy of sweet dressings, but I’ll try the full amount next time. The dressing was complex and sophisticated, nothing like commercial honey mustard dressings. Very good the next day but by day 3 I’d say it’s no longer company-worthy in appearance (still fine for ‘just us’ lunch though).
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Ann! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Rebecca
Delicious! We had this Thanksgiving weekend and it made a nice light side dish for dinner. My husband proclaimed it his “favorite way to eat brussel sprouts.” Will be putting this on rotation for the winter for sure!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful, Rebecca! Thank you for your review.
Louise
Absolutely a “10” so delicious i could eat for dessert. I substituted Follow Your Heart Parmesan being dairy free and used avocado oil. Louise
★★★★★
Erin Jones
Loved this, subbed avocado oil and rice vinegar and was amazing.
★★★★★
Vicki Murdoch
Excellent salad, has depth of flavor and a nice crunch from the almonds.
★★★★★
Ken
I was at one of the stores where I buy a lot of my produce and saw Brussels sprouts for 99¢ a pound. They weren’t distressed and looked good. I didn’t have anything in mind for them and figured that I would roast them. I’ve been roasting a lot of Brussels sprouts lately so, instead, I wanted I would try something different and came across this recipe.
Initially, I was skeptical of making something with raw Brussels sprouts but this is a really good salad that I will make again. The dressing is also very good and could be used for other salads.
A few notes on this –
We have a lot of almonds, the kind in the shell that people buy around the holidays, so I chopped those up and toasted them in the oven.
We used dried cranberries because that is all that we had on hand. Next time I will buy the dried cherries to use in this.
My daughter is vegan so I made up some of the vegan parmesan cheese that you have posted the link to. We had milled hemp seeds but not that much so I made up the difference with milled flax seeds. Also, we used maple syrup instead of honey to make it vegan. I think that agave syrup would work also. When we make this again, if my daughter is not eating it, I’ll use real parmesan and honey.
We served this with vegetarian stuffed acorn squash.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing your modifications! I’m glad you were able to find a use and enjoy the raw Brussels sprouts.
cv
Great recipe. I swapped pumpkin seeds for the almonds; and did not add the parma cheese. Best part is that it lasts for a few days…..presuming it doesn’t get eaten up on day 1. Fab all the way. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for your review, CV!
Milie
That was a huge hit, served with grilled salmon and basmati rice. I’ll be making it again for sure. I used cashews instead of almonds and added some champagne vinegar. Next time, I might try a different kind of cheese, like emmental or cheddar.
★★★★★