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Loaded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Creamy Maple Mustard Dressing and Smoky Pecan Crumble

5 from 6 reader reviews
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 to 6
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Ingredients

  • ¼ cup pecan halves, toasted
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon coconut palm or cane sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your sauté pan)
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 ½ lbs brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup hulled hemp seeds
  • ¼ cup water
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 small apple, chopped (I used a gala apple)
  • ½ small red onion sliced

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Make the smoky pecan crumble. In a mini food processor, regular food processor, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle, combine the toasted pecan halves, smoked paprika, onion powder, coconut palm sugar, fennel seeds (if using), and big pinches of salt and pepper. Pulse/grind until you have a coarse bread crumb texture. Set aside.
  • Set a large, oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat. Once it’s warm, pour in the olive oil and add the garlic cloves to the pan. Sauté the garlic cloves until they are well-browned on all sides, about 3 minutes. Retrieve the garlic cloves from of the pan (leaving the oil behind) and transfer them to an upright blender.
  • Add all of the brussels sprouts to the garlic-infused oil in the pan, trying to get the cut side facing down on as many as possible. Sauté and stir the brussels sprouts until golden brown on at least one side, about 5-6 minutes. Season the brussels sprouts with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer the pan of brussels sprouts to the oven. Let them roast until tender and deeply golden, about 15-20 minutes.
  • While the brussels sprouts are roasting, make the creamy maple mustard dressing. To the upright blender with the garlic cloves, add the hemp seeds, water, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Blend this mixture on high until it’s creamy and smooth. Taste the dressing and adjust to your needs (more salt, more vinegar, more maple etc).
  • Assemble the salad! Transfer the warm roasted brussels sprouts to your serving plate. Scatter the chopped apple and red onion around. Drizzle some of the dressing over the top and finish with the smoky pecan crumble. Sprinkle a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper over the top too! Enjoy the loaded brussels sprouts salad immediately

Recipe Notes

  • This recipe makes extra dressing and nut crumble, which is a great thing! I dressed a kale salad with the leftover dressing and sprinkled the nut crumble over top, and it was seriously heaven.
  • If you don’t have an oven-safe sauté pan, you can roast the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet. I would still do the garlic sautéeing step to infuse the oil with the flavour before tossing the sprouts in it, but you can cut the amount of oil back to 1-2 tablespoons if you’re doing the whole cook in the oven.
Loaded Brussels sprouts salad has a creamy maple mustard dressing, smoky and sweet pecan crumble, and crisp apples. Perfect for Fall!