Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries

This brussels sprouts salad with cranberries, almonds, and goat cheese is tossed in a tangy honey and apple cider vinegar dressing. This beautiful salad holds up well to being made a few hours ahead of time, making this a great option for fall and winter entertaining!

Note: this post was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 with new photos and improved instructions.

Are you a brussels sprouts fan? I have to admit, brussels sprouts are not my favorite vegetable. BUT, I absolutely love them in this salad! First of all, the brussels sprouts are cut into quarters, rather than in half, so there is more surface area to get nice and roasted in the oven. This also means that each individual bite of brussels sprout is smaller, so you aren't hit with one giant bite of brussels sprout at once!

This festive brussels sprouts salad also features toasted almonds, tons of dried cranberries, and chunks of goat cheese. The salad ingredients are tossed in a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, honey and extra virgin olive oil. So, there are a ton of bold flavors going on that can stand up to and balance out the slight bitterness of brussels sprouts.

This beautiful salad would make a great side dish or starter for a holiday meal; it's definitely got the red and green color scheme going on! You can even make it a few hours ahead of time, saving you time and stress during a busy day of holiday cooking. (And, if you are also in need a fantastic make-ahead holiday dessert, try my recipe for chocolate peanut butter pretzel pie!)

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Recipe ingredients

Ingredient notes

• Extra virgin olive oil: this is my go-to choice for roasting and making vinaigrette, but if you have another favorite oil you like to cook with, feel free to substitute!
• Almonds: I used raw, unsalted almonds and seasoned and roasted them myself. Roasting them fresh adds so much lovely toasty nutty flavor! But, you can substitute pre-roasted almonds - just pop them in the oven for a couple minutes until they are fragrant. (And, don't add more salt if they are already salted.)
• Goat cheese: I used a cranberry goat cheese to complement the cranberries in the salad. I have seen cranberry goat cheese at Aldi, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's (see this great review of the Trader Joe's cranberry goat cheese!). But if you can't find cranberry flavored goat cheese, use plain. It will still be really delicious!

Step by step photos

1. Before you do anything else, pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F! Then, start prepping the brussels sprouts. If they're not pre-washed, rinse them and pat them dry.

Then, pick off any brown outer leaves and cut the bottom of the stems off. Cut each brussels sprout in half vertically, and in half again, to create quarters. Set aside.

2. Now give the almonds a rough chop. Keep the pieces on the larger side so they stay crunchy in the salad!

3. Place the brussels sprouts on a parchment-lined large baking sheet. Drizzle them with oil.

4. Toss the brussels sprouts with the oil so each piece is coated. Spread them out into an even layer and sprinkle them well with kosher salt and black pepper.

5. Place the almonds on a separate, smaller parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle the almonds with oil and spread them evenly out on the tray. Sprinkle them well with kosher salt and black pepper.

6. Place both baking sheets in the pre-heated oven. Let the almonds and brussels sprouts roast for about 9 - 10 minutes, or until you smell the almonds toasting. Remove the almond tray and brussels sprouts tray from the oven.

When they are done, this is what the almonds should look like; deep brown and nutty, but not burnt!

7. Stir the brussels sprouts and spread them back out again on the baking sheet. Put them back in the oven until they are tender and nicely browned around the edges, like this:

8. While the brussels sprouts are roasting, add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. You can use a fork, or, I like using this mini whisk (affiliate link).

9. Now add the warm brussels sprouts, almonds, and cranberries to a large bowl. Pour in the dressing and toss the ingredients to combine with the dressing.

10. Now, you can add chunks of goat cheese to the salad in the bowl and gently toss again. Or, plate the salad and add the chunks of goat cheese on top.

Tips and tricks

• Be sure to add any small brussels sprouts leaves that have fallen off to the baking sheet. Those little pieces get nice and crispy in the oven!

• The parchment paper lining for the baking sheets is optional, but does make for much easier cleanup.

• When the almonds are in the oven, don't walk away during the last several minutes of the cook time. The oven is hot and they can burn quickly. So just be ready to remove them as soon as they start to smell nutty!

• This recipe uses kosher salt, which is coarse-grained. If you want to use fine-grain salt, just use ¾ teaspoon in the dressing rather than the 1 teaspoon called for in the recipe. The salt on the brussels sprouts and almonds is to-taste, so just use how much you would typically use when roasting veggies.

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