This Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Bacon will become an elegant family staple! Perfect for the holidays, made with an easy maple vinaigrette, raw shaved sprouts, honeycrisp apples and bacon! 

I am so lucky to have a kid that loves fruits and veggies. I sure wish he liked protein a little better, but you can’t have it all, right? As parents, a lot of us stress about what our kids eat. We beg, we plead, and we agonize over providing balanced meals. Heck, there are entire websites dedicated to making kid’s food look like art just so that they’ll be interested in eating what we make them!

When I made this Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad, my son actually ate it. In the interest of keeping it real with you all, he ate one sprout and thought it was “okay.” He then picked out the bacon and honeycrisp apples and happily ate those!

Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon and Apples

My semi-picky toddler chooses not to eat sometimes. That’s something I need to learn to accept, because he (and I) are beyond blessed to always have that choice. Recently, I learned that 1 out of every 5 children in our area don’t have enough to eat. Folks, these are your kid’s classmates. You likely see children every day that come to school hungry. I stress about my son’s continued refusal of chicken breast, while he is provided with 3-4 other options that fill him up.

But, can you imagine the stress that would come with not having enough food to feed your child? Children occasionally choose not to eat. It’s inevitable and it’s frustrating. The fact that there are children in my community who would like to eat, and don’t have enough, just breaks my heart. 

Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon and Apples

After I had my son, the idea that children in my hometown go hungry was unacceptable to me. That’s why I decided to always donate a portion of my blog’s proceeds to our local community food bank, Harvesters. Harvesters feeds 141,000 people each month, including children and seniors who are most vulnerable. One way that they fight childhood hunger is through the BackSnack program.

This program provides a backpack full of nutrtitious food that children take home over the weekend. This is particularly important for the children who are reliant on school lunches to Harvesters needs your help to make sure that these backpacks go home full each week. And the results speak for themselves. The children who received BackSnacks were healthier, improved their grades, and had improved behavior through reduced absences, tardies and incidents.

My parents always told me that you should always help others, but how you go about it will look different at different phases in life. You can give your time, your skills or your money. And not one is better than the other! Before I had Eli, I donated my time. I helped pack BackSnacks, and you can too! It’s super fun and social, and you’ll feel great when you’re done. If you’re short on time like I am now, you can donate money. Just $250 will fill a child’s backpack with nutritious and kid friendly food that they LIKE for an entire year!

Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon and Apples

When you make this Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad, I hope you and your family thoroughly enjoy it. Celebrate the veggies! Celebrate the apples! And heck, celebrate that bacon because YES! But, while you enjoy this dish, consider helping the children in our community who need still access to fruits and veggies

Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon and Apples
Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Bacon

Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Bacon

Ingredients

  • 6 cups shaved brussels sprouts
  • 1 cup kale leaf, rib removed, finely diced
  • ¼ cup sweet onion, sliced thin
  • ½ cup cooked bacon crumbled
  • ½ honeycrisp apple, sliced
  • Dressing
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • sprinkle of salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine brussels sprouts, kale leaves, onion, bacon and apples.
  2. In a separately, small bowl combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Whisk thoroughly until well combined.
  3. Pour the maple dressing over the brussels sprouts mixture. Stir well to combine.
  4. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. Stir again before serving to re-distribute the dressing.

Notes

  • If I'm short on time, I wrap the bacon in paper towels and place it on a plate. I then microwave it for 4-6 minutes until crispy. Be careful when removing from the paper towel, it will be hot!

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

If you love this Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Bacon, I think you’d also love my Bacon and Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and this Cauliflower Broccoli Salad!

kale-brussels-sprouts-salad-with-bacon-and-apples-1

This post is sponsored by Harvesters – The Community Food Network. For more information, visit harvesters.org. Thank you for supporting the organizations I love who help make this blog possible!