Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing

Are you looking for a unique Brussels sprouts slaw for winter? Perfectly paired with a maple-spiced dressing? You’re in luck!

I am super excited, thrilled, pumped, enthusiastic and exhilarated(!) to be participating in a brand-new cookbook. It’s called “From Scratch: Over 40 recipes from our Culinary Nutrition Experts”.

This mouth-watering, beautifully designed recipe compilation is the hard work of my fellow fall 2013 graduates of the Culinary Nutrition Expert program.

You can buy this book on a “pay-what-you-can” basis. All proceeds go to Organics 4 Orphans, a non-profit humanitarian organization that helps support impoverished communities in Africa. The organization helps teach and share knowledge about organic gardening, nutritional training, natural medicine and income generation.

The From Scratch cookbook features my original Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing recipe. And my delicious, blood-sugar balancing raw salad adorns the cover!

If you’re looking for easy, nutritious and of course delicious recipes to pump up your new year, get this digital cookbook!

To tempt your palate, I’m sharing my recipe for Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing with you.

Why Make this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing

I was inspired by seasonal fruits and vegetables this time of year. I have a natural curiosity to use these in new ways. Therefore, I wanted to try a raw salad.

For this Brussels sprouts slaw, you must cut the Brussels sprouts down to size. You can do this by shredding or slicing thinly with a food processor. Use the slicer or grater attachment, a sharp knife or for the brave, a mandolin or box grater.

Health Benefits of this Winter Slaw Recipe

I created this recipe to be a fresh but nutritionally dense fall or winter slaw salad. It is intended to help support balanced blood sugar and reduce overall inflammation.

If you find cooked Brussels sprouts smell strong—you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that Brussels sprouts are sweet when enjoyed raw. You’ll also get plenty of vitamin K and C this way! Cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts are also high in fibre, which helps our bodies shuttle out excess estrogen for better hormone balance.

This winter slaw recipe also showcases the healing properties of diabetic-friendly spices. These include turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne, which help target overall inflammation.

Cinnamon also helps balance blood sugar by making the body’s cells more receptive to insulin. I included apple cider vinegar, which has been studied for its ability to improve blood glucose levels. Almonds and high-quality olive oil (protein and fat) also help stabilize blood sugar levels.  

I included fresh pear, dried apricots and a very small amount of maple syrup to round out the bitterness of raw Brussels sprouts. If you don’t have or don’t like maple syrup, feel free to choose another liquid sweetener. Fresh pears are high in fibre and low on the glycemic scale. Not to mention delicious!

Here’s my Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing recipe:

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Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing

This Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Maple-Spiced Dressing is a crunchy, flavorful winter salad featuring fresh Brussels sprouts, seasonal fruits, and a maple-spiced dressing. Packed with diabetic-friendly spices like cinnamon and turmeric, it supports balanced blood sugar and fights inflammation. Easy to make and full of vibrant textures, this Brussels sprout slaw makes a perfect side dish.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword fast vegetarian, gluten free, grain free, salad, vegetarian dinner, winter, winter salad

Ingredients

For the salad

• ½ cup raw almonds or other nuts of your choice
• 1 lb fresh, raw Brussels sprouts
• 1 large pear preferably organic
• ¼ cup dried apricots unsulphured, and preferably organic

For the dressing

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons maple syrup or replace with honey or 2-3 drops plain, liquid stevia
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne this dressing is noticeably spicy; you can reduce this to 1/4 teaspoon if you don’t like spicy dishes
• ¾ teaspoon Celtic or other unrefined sea salt
• 6 tablespoons high-quality olive oil or substitute an oil like pumpkin seed, hemp, flax, walnut, coconut, etc. Please avoid “vegetable” oil, canola and sunflower oils though, which are high in omega-6 fatty acids.

Instructions

1. Place almonds in a bowl and cover with warm water to soak. Soaking our nuts and seeds helps increase their digestibility and makes it easier for our bodies to absorb their nutrients.
2. Wash your Brussels sprouts and trim the ends. Using a food processor, mandolin or sharp knife, slice the Brussels sprouts finely. Note: If you use a food processor, you can use either the “fine slice” or “shred” discs; I prefer the fine slice (on my machine, this seems to shave the Brussels sprouts perfectly). If you use a knife, cut the Brussels sprouts as thinly as possible and if using a mandolin, follow the same advice and be sure to watch your fingers! I haven’t tried this myself, but you could also try grating the Brussels sprouts with a box grater. If you do, let me know how it worked! Add the Brussels sprouts to a large serving bowl.
3. Core the pear, slice thinly and chop into 1-inch pieces. Chop the apricots into small pieces. Add the pear and the apricots to the bowl.
4. Drain and rinse the almonds. Roughly chop them and add them to a saucepan. Over low-medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes or until dry and fragrant. Try not to rush this—burnt nuts are the worst! Add the toasted nuts to the serving bowl.
5. To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar with the spices and salt in a small bowl. Once the spices are well incorporated, add in the olive or other oil of your choosing and whisk again. I recommend this because salt and spices distribute better though vinegar or water than oil, so preparing the dressing this way helps properly season it. However, you can also just mix everything together and it’ll still taste great!
6. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Because Brussels sprouts are so hardy, this salad keeps well in the fridge for several days.

I thought it might be difficult to find testers for this raw Brussels sprouts salad. Fortunately, I’m not the only Brussels sprouts lover in town! I hope you enjoy this Brussels sprouts winter salad recipe.

Life is a plate… Eat up!

Ashleigh

Looking for more delicious winter slaw recipes? Try this one with a creamy tahini-based dressing.