This Brussels Sprout and Cranberry Salad recipe is packed with nutrition! A sweet and savory pan fried salad that will delight your senses with flavor and bright color! I make it for my Passover Feast, but it is perfect for any holiday table! Pecans give this dish a nutty crunch - yum! Pair with a roast chicken for an easy weeknight meal! In just 20 minutes you'll have your new favorite side!
Health Benefits of Eating Brussels Sprouts
Let’s talk about nutrition for a minute. Brussels sprouts salads are rich in nutrients that help reduce bad cholesterol in your body. The ideal cooking method for brussels sprouts is steaming. This allows you to enhance all the nutrients! For instance, steaming helps these veggies to bind bile acids together in a more efficient manner. By doing so, this helps minimize your cholesterol levels. Thus, bile acids are easier to be excreted. Although raw brussels sprouts contain components that help lower cholesterol, steamed ones are much more potent in performing this task.
In addition to this benefit, consuming at least a cup of brussels sprouts improves the stability of DNA tucked within your white blood cells. There are also specific glucosinolates in brussels sprouts. These are essential in protecting your body from cancer. The components are sinigrin, glucobrassicin, gluconasturtilian, and glucoraphanin. With a combination of these substances, this increases the cancer-preventive quality of brussels sprouts.
It is also interesting to note that this cruciferous vegetable enhances the function of your thyroid system. By eating Brussels sprouts regularly, you can prevent any risks to your thyroid that impact your metabolism, energy level, and overall health.
Cooking Tips for Brussels Sprouts
Now that you know that brussels sprouts have a higher fiber content by cooking them, the question is - how long do you cook this cruciferous vegetable? It is important to cook this vegetable in just the right length of time.
Never overcook your brussels sprouts or it will result in a loss in the taste and nutritional value. Overcooked brussels sprouts tend to have that nasty sulfur smell that’s typical with cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli that are cooked longer than they should.
Below is my video on how to best prepare your brussels sprouts for this salad recipe!
Brussels Sprout & Cranberry Salad
Time to enjoy this sweet and savory salad that will allow your family to enjoy all the amazing health benefits of this superstar vegetable! If you are on the Daniel Fast this is a beautiful and bright salad to enjoy - just omit the sweetener. Also, a delish Passover Feast side dish!
Brussels Sprout and Cranberry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Brussels Sprouts
- 2/3 Cup Fresh Cranberries
- 1/3 Cup Feta Cheese
- 1/3 Cup Pecans
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup (Omit on Daniel Fast)
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Destem and cut brussels sprouts in half.
- Heat skillet with a drizzling olive oil over medium heat.
- Add brussels sprouts to skillet and season with salt and pepper. Add cranberries.
- Cook sprouts and cranberries for 8-10 minutes until berries begin to burst and sprouts become tender.
- Add balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Stir to coat and remove from heat.
- Toss sprouts, cranberries and pecans in a large bowl. Top with crumbled feta cheese and enjoy!
could I use dried craisins instead of fesh cranberries?
You could, but it would not have the same texture. Use no sugar added dried cranberries.
Are the cranberries ‘raw’ when you soak them in the juice or have you cooked them some first? This looks very good!
Hi Lois –
You could use raw or frozen!
Looks delicious! Can I replace the feta cheese with another?
Sure!
I, too, don’t care for feta cheese which is in so many recipes. But this sounds delicious and I think I’ll get crumbled goat cheese for it! 🙂
Great idea!!