Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad with Walnuts, Parmesan & Lemon-Mustard Dressing
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Be prepared to love this salad of crisp greens, walnuts and lemony Dijon dressing. It tastes like a healthful, crunchy Caesar.
Made with crisp power greens, toasted walnuts, chunks of Parmesan and a lemony Dijon dressing—this kale Brussels sprouts salad tastes like a healthful, crunchy Caesar. Trust me, you’ll love it—even if you’re not a “greens” person. My husband, who usually avoids Brussels sprouts, devoured it without even realizing they were in there (until my 10-year-old daughter spilled the beans, giggling with every bite he took). It’s perfect for weekday lunches or as a side to cedar planked salmon, grilled flank steak, or grilled chicken. Bonus: it keeps well and can be made ahead of time!
What You’ll Need To Make Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by toasting the walnuts in a 350°F oven for 5-8 minutes, or until fragrant.
Meanwhile, slice the Brussels sprouts. You can do this by hand or using the slicing blade of the food processor.
Remove the kale leaves from the tough center ribs.
Then thinly slice.
Make the dressing by whisking together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, shallots, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Pour the dressing over the greens and toss.
Add the toasted walnuts and Parmgiano-Reggiano.
Toss to combine, then let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours to allow the flavors to meld and the vegetables to soften. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more walnuts and cheese.
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Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad with Walnuts, Parmesan & Lemon-Mustard Dressing
Be prepared to love this salad of crisp greens, walnuts and lemony Dijon dressing. It tastes like a healthful, crunchy Caesar.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped, plus more for serving
- 12 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded (about 5 gently packed cups after shredding)
- 1 large bunch (about 12 oz) Tuscan or curly kale, thick center ribs removed, thinly sliced (about 5 gently packed cups after slicing)
- 1 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 2 lemons
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots, from one large shallot
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean-up. Bake the walnuts for 5 to 8 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Keep a close eye on them; they burn quickly.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, mustard, shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Assemble the salad: Combine the Brussels sprouts and kale in a large bowl, and pour the dressing over top. Toss to combine. Add the most of the walnuts and cheese and toss again. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or up to a few hours in the fridge) to allow the flavors to meld and the vegetables to soften. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle more walnuts and cheese over top, if you like. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 256
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Sugar: 3g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 10g
- Sodium: 432mg
- Cholesterol: 10mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Delicious and easy to make. I added dried cranberries like others suggested and also subbed mayo and worchester sauce for the dijon mustard.
Hi Jenn, First of all I want to say Thank You for the best cookbook EVER.. I love it!! You are a brilliant chef.. I’m so grateful for the time and dedication you put in to sharing your fabulous recipes. I have made several of your recipes and all have turned out amazing.. This salad was absolutely delicious the only item I added was pomegranate seeds before serving. Looked and tasted so good .. Will definitely be added to my favorites list, which by the way is all your recipes I’ve made so far.. lol
Please keep sharing and Thank You again.
You’re so welcome, Carole (and your sweet words made my day)!! 💓
Delicious salad! Our vegetarian daughter loved it. My husband who dislikes kale loved it. It was surprisingly very tasty and perfect! I made it exactly as written. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Angry about paper it takes to print recipe.
Hi Gert, Are you printing just the recipe or are you getting all the comments that readers have made as well? If you’re getting the comments as well, I’m assuming that you must be using the drop-down “Print” function on your computer. Instead of doing that, when you’re viewing the full recipe, look in the upper righthand corner of that box – you’ll see an icon there that looks like a printer. Select that and it will print only the recipe and not all the other materials. Hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
I love how helpful your responses are. I also appreciate that you take the time to get back to all these commenters and with such patience and kindness. Your website has really improved the food we eat at my house and I have finally found the be-all end-all recipes for some things that I had been trying a different recipe for each time I make them (over decades of cooking a lot). I will never use another brownie recipe, key lime pie recipe, grilled chicken breast recipe, Caesar salad dressing, and the list goes on! I bought your cookbook and have been enjoying that as well. Thanks SO much, Jenn.
You’re so welcome!! 💗
You just need to click on the box at the top that says “Jump to Recipe” and you will have the recipe listed concisely without all of the pictures and text. You can print from that box usually onto one page.
This salad was AMAZINGLY GOOD! I made a big batch and took it to a jazz festival as part of an alfresco meal. SO TASTY. To the person who said the olive oil flavor came through too strong: I actually made the dressing first, and I thought so too, initially. But after it sat for a while, during which time I chopped the kale and the brussels sprouts, by the time all that was done, I tasted the dressing again and the flavor was exactly as it should be. FYI, I also ran my sprouts through a mandoline.
This became my go-to salad last summer and I just remade it for a party – in remains a hit! I mandolin the brussels sprouts and try to put the dressing on at least a few hours in advance. Always a hit!
Can you use another type of nut besides walnuts? I have made this salad numerous times and love as is but have a guest coming who doesn’t like walnuts.
Sure, Cheryl – I think toasted pine nuts would be good here.
My family (who refuse to eat brussels sprouts OR kale) absolutely love this salad, and so do I. I always follow the recipe exactly as written, because I think it’s simply perfect. The recipe makes a generous amount of salad, so I usually have leftovers, and they get even better over time. Chopping/slicing the kale and sprouts takes a bit of time, but overall, this is a super-fast and super-easy (and super-delicious and healthy) recipe. Five stars for sure.
My family loves this salad. I make it every fall as part of out Thanksgiving Dinner and even people who are self-proclaimed “Kale Haters” love this salad and come back for seconds. It keeps well, but we usually don’t have any left over for the next day.
This salad was superb! I am not a huge kale fan, but this was addictive. I followed the recipe as written (not a single change) and it was fantastic. My husband kept coming by and sneaking big spoonfuls while I was making the other courses for dinner that night. I served it with your “Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon, Garlic & Herbs” (as suggested) and zucchini crisps. It was the perfect meal. I’m making the salad again this morning so I can have it for lunch today. Loved it!!!!