I’ve been wishing for crisp fall days and getting 80-degree weather instead. So, my boots are waiting patiently in my closet, and I’m enjoying this hearty fall salad instead of soup. All in due time!
This large salad is made with baby arugula, shredded Brussels sprouts, crumbled goat cheese, and toasted pecans. I tossed all of that with my healthier honey-mustard dressing, which I like to call sunshine salad dressing. The end result is tangy and irresistible, crisp and refreshing, and quite filling.
I know that we haven’t crossed the Halloween threshold yet, but—this salad would be a great contender for your holiday table. Make it for dinner tonight, pack it for weekday lunches, and serve it up on the holidays! I’ve included preparation tips below, including some ways to make this salad in a hurry.
This recipe was inspired by two of my favorite local salads featuring Brussels sprouts and arugula, made by Parkway and The Mixx. Now I can enjoy something similar at home whenever the craving strikes.
Please let me know how this salad turns out for you in the comments! I’m always so eager for your feedback.
Salad Preparation Tips
How to shred your sprouts
You can slice the Brussels sprouts by hand (carefully), or with the slicing blade of your food processor. Either way, you’ll first want to remove the nubby ends and any discolored leaves.
If you’re shredding them by hand, start with the now-flat end against the cutting board and start making thin slices on one side. Once you get closer to the middle, turn the sprout so the larger flat side is down, and continue slicing. Chop them up a bit afterward for good measure.
In a hurry?
You might be able to find pre-shredded Brussels sprouts at the store (you’ll need 1 pound, which is 16 ounces). You can prepare the salad and dressing in advance and toss them together when it’s time to serve.
Toast your nuts
Freshly toasted pecans make a world of difference. They offer irresistible fresh, savory, toasted, crunchy notes to your salad. If you buy pre-roasted nuts, you run the risk of coming home with rancid nuts. Tragic!
Make the dressing
You can make the sunshine salad dressing in advance. Or don’t—it’s quite simple to whisk together. You’ll have about 1/2 cup extra dressing, but I don’t think you’ll have any trouble using it up! You’ll find a bunch of uses for it on the recipe post.
If you’re planning to have leftovers
Store the salad and dressing separately, and then toss individual servings before serving. Otherwise, the dressing will wilt the arugula over time.
Craving more Brussels sprouts and hearty fall salads? Here are a few favorites:
- Sunshine Slaw with Quinoa
- Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp and Goat Cheese
- Favorite Broccoli Salad
- Arugula, Dried Cherry and Wild Rice Salad with a Zippy Lemon Dressing
- Hearty Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Salad
Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Arugula Salad with Sunshine Dressing
- Author:
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 8 salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
This shredded Brussels sprout and arugula salad is crisp, refreshing and filling. Enjoy this simple recipe for dinner, pack it for lunch tomorrow, make it for the holidays! Recipe yields 4 large portions or 6 to 8 side salads.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- 5 to 6 ounces baby arugula
- 1 ¼ cups pecan halves or pieces
- ½ cup dried cherries or cranberries, chopped
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- ⅔ batch sunshine salad dressing
Instructions
- To prepare the Brussels sprouts, first cut off the nubby ends and discard any discolored outer leaves. Then, carefully shred the sprouts with a sharp knife by hand, then roughly chop them for good measure. Or shred them in your food processor using the slicing disk. Place the arugula and shredded Brussels in a large serving bowl, and set it aside.
- Toast the pecans in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until they’re fragrant and starting to toast on the edges, about 4 to 6 minutes. If using pecan halves, transfer them to a cutting board and chop before adding them to the bowl.
- Add the chopped cherries and goat cheese to the bowl. If you’ll be serving the salad promptly, drizzle about two-thirds of it over the salad. Toss gently to combine. You might want to add a little more, but I’ll leave that up to you.
- Once dressed, this salad will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for about two days. For more longevity, store the salad dressing separately and toss individual salads with dressing just before serving (the salad will keep for about 5 days that way).
Notes
Recipe inspired by salads offered at The Mixx and Parkway in Kansas City.
Make it dairy free/vegan: I haven’t tried this, but I believe this salad would be awesome with my creamy tahini dressing. Skip the goat cheese.
Make it nut free: Replace the pecans with toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite
I literally make your recipe for sunshine salad dressing about every other week and almost always have some on hand; it’s my favorite dressing ever! Can’t wait to try it in this salad :)
Kate
You will love it with this salad, too!
Sue
Used spinach instead of arugula. Ate waaaay too much. I absolutely love it! Thank you for this recipe.
★★★★★
Suzanne
Here in Canada we celebrate our Thanksgiving today (technically tomorrow but many find it easier to do it on Sunday before). So perfect timing for this recipe!
Thank you,
Suzanne
Kate
Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving! Let me know what you think.
Tova
This recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try it! After looking at the photos yesterday, I spent last night dreaming about this salad lol.
Danica
This looks fantastic! Your salads and dressings are delicious. I’m definitely making this.
Cassie Autumn Tran
Brussels sprouts in salads are mindblowingly delicious. This combination looks great–the pecans, arugula, and cranberries, especially! I can totally attest to the leftovers tips–you always end up with a sad wilted fistful of soggy leaves when you store a dressed salad. Not fun!
Kate
Yes thy are! Thanks, Cassie.
mary
What a great Fall salad – my boots are patiently waiting too! love these ingredients and fabulous dressing.
Kate
Thank you, Mary!
Lia Huber
Yum … Makes me want to add some roasted squash to that too :-).
★★★★★
Kate
:)
Gaby Dalkin
This is literally fall salad goals!!!
Kate
:) :)
Madison Smith
Hello Kate….i really enjoyed your recipe and it’s looks sooo delicious with more beautiful colored…i will try it soon..Thanks for sharing & keep shared your new amazing recipes………..!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Madison!
Sarah
Do you have any recommendations on what to substitute for the Greek yogurt in the dressing? I am lactose intolerant but the dressing sounds delicious and I really want to make something similar!
Kate
Hi Sarah, if you have a favorite unsweetened dairy-free plain yogurt, it should work well here.
Claire Van Konynenburg
I made this today for lunch and this salad is delicious!! I followed the recipe exactly! I especially loved the salad dressing. I think this would be a great salad to serve for Thanksgiving!
★★★★★
Tova
This salad also made me think Thanksgiving! Planning on making it for the holiday :)
Kate
I agree with you! Thanks for your comment, Claire.
Kate
Thanks for sharing!
Jessie Saunders
Want you to know I love this recipie! I’ve never toasted my own pecans before and the aroma is glorious. Chopped brussels go so well in a salad and this will be a regular in my weekly dinner recipies!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Jessie!
Connie
This is delicious! The toasted pecans are wonderful! I might also try it with roasted brussels sprouts, even though that would add more prep. Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Connie!
Janet
Can’t wait to make it this weekend!
Kate
Be sure to report back!
Renee
Hey Kate! We enjoyed this salad tonight with a really tasty, healthy meatloaf. I have to admit my brussels sprouts weren’t nearly as pretty and shredded as yours. They were…. chunky… which I think I don’t love. I will certainly make this again because the flavors are lovely together and the crunch of the brussels was AWESOME. I need to master the shredding technique though! :-) . Thanks for this delish recipe, especially the dressing which is sheer perfection!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Renee! Do you have a food processor? That might help too!
Melisa Creemer
I made this today and it was fantastic! I served along side toasted pita bread ( from your Greek nachos recipe) and hummus! Feel good meal! Thank you!
Kate
You’re welcome!
Kayla
I’ve only ever had roasted brussels, so I wasn’t sure about raw shredded ones at first, but they were fantastic! This salad was delicious, and so easy! And the sunshine dressing was a win as well! :)
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for trying it, Kayla!
Meg
Love this salad– I’m walking on sunshine for the second week in a row– or at least eating it!! Mellowed the dressing with a bit less dijon and used walnuts because they were handy. The salad is also really pretty, so I’m thinking of making it for the Christmas spead (red, white and green).
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Meg! I appreciate your time and review!
Bridget
This salad is amazing! Truly delicious and the leftovers taste just as good. I subbed toasted pepitas for the pecans and used spinach instead of arugula (hubby not an arugula fan). Also, I found the standard chopping blade in my food processor worked best for shredding the sprouts on pulse mode – neither the slicing or shredding blade worked very well. Was the first time I made the sunshine dressing, and I am totally hooked on it! It will become a staple for me. Using yogurt in there….genius! Thank you, Kate!
★★★★★
Kate
Oh yes, this salad is good the first time, second time, third. :) Thanks for sharing, Bridget! I appreciate the review.
Mary Ann
This salad is absolutely delicious. But that dressing – is the bomb! My new favorite. Thanks for the great Fall salad!
Kate
Lovely, Mary Ann! It’s so good. Thanks for commenting.
Bobguy
All my life I have eaten Brussel Sprouts cooked whole. No one ever told me that I could shred them. Thank you for giving me this great tid-bit of culinary magic.
★★★★★
Kate
Magic, I will take it! Thank you for sharing and for your review.
Sarah
Another hit. That dressing is about to be on permanent rotation for me. I am a huge fan and bought your book for myself and friend— keep up the amazing work!
★★★★★
Kate
Love that, Sarah! It’s so good. Thanks for your comment and review.
Kristen
This is so good! I ate it every day for a week and then brought it to a potluck as well. Everyone asked for the recipe :D I substituted feta for the goat cheese and I added an extra half cup apple cider vinegar to the dressing to thin it a bit. Perfection!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful to hear, Kristen! Thanks for sharing the C+K love.
Maclean Nash
I was in charge of the salad for last nights dinner party and made this!
Yes! I will definitely be making it again and everyone loved it! Several of the guests cant have dairy so I omitted the cheese and made the tahini dressing you recommended – I will now be putting that goodness on everything!
Everyone loved the colours, the flavours, and I loved how well it held up and that I have leftovers!
Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Kate
Right?! That dressing is so good and sends this salad over the top. Thanks so much for sharing, Maclean!
cinde
This recipe is deeeelish! Love making a double batch of the sunshine dressing for future salads!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you love the salad and the dressing! I’m still obsessed with this dressing. Thanks for you review, Cinde!
Mandy Peregoff
Great salad, great dressing! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Kate
Your welcome, Mandy! Thanks for your review. I’m glad you loved it!
Christine M
Made this tonite for my parents and I. Woah! It’s very filling and rich. We loved it.
Kate
Great to hear, Christine! If you would like to leave a star review, I would appreciate it!
Cindy
I saw the photo on IG and never made it, so I doubled back and looked for it. Glad I did! Made it for lunch yesterday and shared with some coworkers today. The dressing really makes this salad. I am finishing it off for dinner tonight. I used the slicer on my food processor, and it worked perfect. Thanks for the recipe and shredding tip!!! I might convince my husband to try sprouts now. HA!
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for your review, Cindy!
Diana
Made this salad as my contribution to Christmas lunch in Australia. Loved the twist on brussel sprouts. It looked attractive and tasted delicious, thank you so much! The sunshine dressing is addictive, have been using it up on all sorts of leftovers and it makes anything taste amazing.
★★★★★
Kate
Yes, I agree 100%! It’s so good. Thanks for sharing, Diana.
Meg
Hey, Kate! I passed along this recipe to my mother, who, very stylishly, served it to her Ladies Supper Club, and they all loved it. So much so, at a baby shower the following weekend, it was the featured salad on the table and everyone was talking about! Happy Holidays… PS– just saw your insta post and minestrone is now in the pot (thank goodness for pantry staples and a well-stocked veggie drawer)!
Kate
That sounds really fun, Meg! She sounds like a fun Mom. Let me know what you think of the soup, too!
Laura
This is delicious! I added hard boiled egg to ledtovers, absolutely delicious. I also toasted some baguette and chopped up like croutons.. this is a keeper.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Laura!
Sarah Haug
Nice taste and texture! I forgot to buy pecans so I toasted some unsalted mixed nuts and it was fabulous.
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Sarah!
Jeanne
Asked to bring a salad with brussels sprouts to Easter brunch and thought of this. Raves. Raves. Raves. The goat cheese. The cherries, the tangy dressing. I used a combo of spinach and arugula just to give it a little more heft, but was otherwise faithful. Your salads are always THE MOST delicious and whatever isn’t gobbled up is fought over for leftovers. Hooray!
★★★★★
Stacey
We played a guessing game where my partner had to work out the secret ingredient! Didn’t believe me it was Brussel sprouts!!
Delicious!
★★★★★
Kate
That sounds like fun! Thanks for your review and for trying another one, Stacey.
caroline
I just made this with a few modifications! I excluded the cranberries because I follow a low carb diet. For the dressing, I left out the honey and used granulated stevia. Turned out really nice! I may even consider adding some chopped scallions to this salad in the future.
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks for sharing your modifications, Caroline!
Lauren Sheridan
Hi, Kate! I am one of those “oddballs” that doesn’t like goat cheese. What would be a good sub, if any? Feta perhaps?
Kate
You could use feta!
cinleia
This is sooo good! I get nothing but compliments when I make this! I make sunshine dressing on the regular for all of my salads.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thanks for sharing, Cinleia.
Amanda
I made this salad for a Christmas Eve potluck and it received rave reviews. I’m now expected to bring it to every gathering!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear! Thanks for sharing, Amanda.
Jamie
Fresh, bright, delicious! Love your dressing recipe and how versatile the salad can be- I’ve made several times and substituted different greens/nuts/cheese and it’s always amazing. Thanks for another solid recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jamie! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Sue
Used spinach instead of arugula. Ate waaaay too much. I absolutely love it! Thank you for this recipe.
★★★★★
Victoria
This salad is delicious, my husband hates Brussels sprouts and let me tell you… we had no leftovers today! Thanks for this amazing recipe. ♀️
★★★★★
Cindy
I’ve made this salad about 3x and I’m so in love with it. Perfect combination of crunch, sweetness, and savory. It is so so good and I love using having an excuse to incorporate brussel sprouts in any dish! I typically follow the recipe with minimum substitutions with the exception of whatever nuts I have available (toasted slivered almonds works so well) and the Sunshine dressing adds an extra element of brightness to it. The third time that I made this salad, I ended up using your Creamy Tahini dressing since I had a lot of tahini and it was absolutely delicious.
Thanks Kate for another amazing salad recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! I’m happy you are loving it and made it several times.
Dustin Gamester
You’ve done it again!! You blew my tastebud’s minds! The cranberries add a little sweetness and the toasted pecans add just a touch of bitterness and crunch. 10/10 will make again!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Dustin! I appreciate your review.
Amy
This salad was so good!! Subbed in spinach and pepitas instead. Roasted up sweet potatoes and it was a full meal! The dressing was so tasty!
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great, Amy! Thank you for your review.