Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad

Heavenly toasty salad made with roasted Brussels sprouts, halloumi cheese, crispy apples, and crunchy nuts. Incredibly flavorful and a feast for the eyes, this dish is easy to prepare and undeniably unparalleled in terms of its flavor profile.

Ingredients

Only a few simple ingredients are required to create this comforting Brussels sprouts salad:

• Brussels Sprouts: The no-brainer ingredient of the day. Make sure to find produce as fresh as possible. Nicely crisp and no brown spots. If you have the option, go for smaller rather than larger sprouts.

• Halloumi Cheese: Its rather salty flavor will complement and round out our Brussels sprouts’ slight bitter notes perfectly.

• Nuts: Adding pecan nuts to the dish will provide a most welcome crunchy element. If preferred, feel free to substitute with either walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, or pistachios. Whatever floats your boat.

• Apple: Our apple’s sweetness will beautifully counterbalance the slightly bitter and savory notes of our recipe. Also, more crunch.

• Onion: Grab a small red onion to go with the above ingredients. It’ll provide just the right amount of “spice”. However, if you prefer white onions, no judgment here. Go for it. Just note that those will create a more intense flavor.

Served with a simple but mighty delicious vinegar and oil dressing, et voilà, chowtime.

Preparation

Our vegetarian Brussels sprouts dish is super easy in terms of preparation. Might take a little time, but it’s well worth the effort. 😉

Let’s get started:

No oven, no feast. 😉 Let’s preheat our most important kitchen appliance to 400°F.

Let’s get started on prepping the Brussels sprouts. Thoroughly wash your produce and remove the sprout tip along with any leaves showing brown spots using a small knife. Continue to cut the sprouts in half. For larger sprouts, simply slice them into 3 or 4 chunks. Maintaining a consistent size is the main objective.

Toss all the above veggies into a bowl, generously season with salt and black pepper, add olive oil, and incorporate everything well.

Place your vegetables on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and transfer to the oven. The total baking time should be somewhere around 25-30 minutes.

Grab your red onion and peel it. Cut it in half, then quarter each half. Continue to thinly slice each quarter, creating beautiful quarter-moon shapes.

Crumble pecan nuts (or whichever nuts you decide on) by hand, or coarsely chop them using a knife.

Add the red onions and nuts to the bowl you’ve previously used to marinate your Brussels sprouts. Give them a quick swirl to make sure they’re evenly coated with the remaining oil and seasoning. If there isn’t enough olive oil left in the bowl, just add a little drizzle.

Approximately 10 minutes into roasting your Brussels sprouts, go ahead and add the marinated onions and pecan nuts to the tray as well.

Continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes. Give it a little stir once or twice during the remainder of the baking process and make sure everything is spread out evenly.

Chop your halloumi cheese into small chunks or cubes. Using a non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add your cheese to the skillet and evenly sear on all sides until it develops a nice brown crust.

Wash your apple, remove the core, and cut it into smaller pieces. No need to peel. 😉

For the dressing, combine olive oil, honey, balsamic vinegar, water, and mustard in a container and mix well.

Once your Brussels sprouts are done roasting, remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it aside to allow for a quick cool-off.

Transfer your roasted veggies to a large bowl and add your seared halloumi cheese along with the apple chunks. Drizzle your dressing over all your mouthwatering ingredients and give it a good stir. Last but not least, give your new creation a little taste test and re-season with salt and black pepper if deemed necessary.

Recipe Variatons

As I’ve kept the above recipe deliberately on the simpler side, here are a few ideas on how to add some variety to your Brussels sprouts salad:

• So many nuts to choose from! Instead of pecan nuts, how about substituting with walnuts, cashews, or hazelnuts? Maybe pistachios? All great options for that desirable crunch.

• Not necessarily a fan of halloumi cheese? Grab some feta cheese instead. Don’t bake it though, just crumble by hand and combine well with the other goodies.

• In need of a vegan alternative? Use pan-seared smoked tofu instead of halloumi. A completely different taste profile, but super scrumptious, nonetheless. Substitute the honey in our recipe with agave syrup. You’re welcome. 😉

• Now, to appease our meat lovers out there, fry up some bacon and toss it into your salad. Either instead of or in addition to the halloumi cheese. Totally your call. In terms of flavor, bacon makes for an ideal Brussels sprouts companion, rounding out the dish spectacularly.

• Craving a particularly fruity note? Got you covered. Mix some pomegranate seeds into the salad (instead of or in addition to the apple). That’s the way to go. Would also make for the ultimate addition to your Christmas spread, don’t you think? 😉