Adapt Your Favorite Coleslaw For Fall With A Delicious Vegetable Swap

There's no doubt coleslaw is an instant boost for almost any meal, thanks to its perfect blend of crunch, creaminess, tanginess, and any other flavors you decide to throw in. But traditional homemade coleslaw feels especially summery thanks to its brighter profile, which comes from its sweet carrots, earthy cabbage, and rich-meets-funky blend of mayo and vinegar. Luckily, there's an easy way to take the magic of coleslaw into fall and winter meals with a simple switch: Instead of cabbage, use shredded Brussels sprouts.

Brussels sprouts are denser in texture than cabbage, with more of a toothsome bite and chew. So, they'll make your coleslaw heartier, more comforting and filling for cooler months. They're also more bitter than cabbage, which will enhance an autumnal coleslaw with deeper flavor notes and some added complexity to play with when it comes to other ingredients and your dressing. Think about a classic Brussels sprouts slaw recipe: Your base is the dense, earthy, bitter-leaning sprouts, balanced by the creamy fat of mayonnaise, the funky tang of apple cider vinegar, the sweetness of honey, and the spice of Dijon mustard along with more sweet, nutty, and spicy notes from dried cranberries, pecans, and seasonings. It's a simple, straightforward salad, but with an incredibly complex yet harmonious blend of flavors and textures, resulting in a higher-intensity coleslaw that holds its own with heavier fall and winter dishes.

Taking coleslaw from summery to autumnal with Brussels sprouts is a snap. You just have to get shredded sprouts into the mix. You can buy them pre-shredded — 365 by Whole Foods Market sells shredded Brussels sprouts on Amazon, for instance. Or you can simply chop the stems off of each sprout, stand them up flat side down, and then thinly slice so the layers fall away in thin leaves. From there, you're free to work the sprouts into any of your favorite coleslaw recipes. 

The good news is there are different ways to make coleslaw, and even more ways to boost the flavors of your go-to recipes. Create a Mediterranean-leaning coleslaw with your shredded Brussels sprouts providing a bitter backbone for refreshing mint, tart pomegranate seeds, earthy-sweet pistachios, zesty za'atar, salty and creamy feta, and tangy white wine vinegar. Or, go Italian with basil, sage, parsley, and fennel, plus toasted pine nuts, shaved parmesan, lemon juice, and olive oil. If you're building a recipe entirely from scratch, think about fall ingredients and flavors — you want sweetness, tartness, richness, and spice to balance the sprouts' bitterness, which could come from dried fruits like cranberries, nuts like walnuts, cheeses like smoked gouda, and spices like cardamom and coriander. There's huge potential with your dressing — try a warming spin with woody, bourbon-boosted coleslaw, or whip up a vinaigrette with sweet, earthy pumpkin.