When I posted my recap of our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, I was pretty shocked to see that the recipe people were most interested in was my Brussels sprouts recipe. Oh how the kid version of you guys would be disgusted!
I’m relatively new to the world of the B-sprouts. I’m sure my parents had me try them as a kid and I said, “YUCK!” and spit them back out. But as an adult? I just started to get on the Brussels train last year. I love how sweet, crunchy and caramelized the little leaves get when roasted. They are amazing roasted on their own with just a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, but I wanted to up the ante a bit for Thanksgiving.
Because Brussels naturally get sweet when roasted, it works well to pair them with other sweet foods like apples and maple syrup. A little bit of salty bacon helps keep the flavor from tipping too far to the sugar-y side. While I used this as a side for Thanksgiving, it comes together in a flash and would be a great veggie side for any dinner.
To prepare Brussels sprouts for cooking, I like to lop off the stem end of each sprout with a sharp knife and then half them. By halving them, I find that the roasted yummy flavor gets in every little crevice of the sprout. It is worth the extra time it takes to slice and dice ’em. When looking for Brussels in the store, look for smallish, tightly packed sprouts. You’ll lose a few leaves when trimming, but ideally, the sprout should mostly stay together.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apples
Sprouts are a member of the cabbage family, and like most cabbage, contain sulfur. The longer the Brussels cook, the stronger the sulfur smell and taste become. Not good eats for kids (or adults). Avoid the dreaded kid spit out by roasting these babies until they are just tender and brown.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and halved
- 1 large tart apple, cored and diced
- 4 slices, thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a large bowl, combine sprouts, apple and bacon and stir until evenly distributed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar.
- Pour olive oil mixture over sprout mixture and toss to coat.
- Pour out the sprout mixture in one layer onto a greased cookie sheet. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, or until sprouts are tender and brown.
I think that this is the recipe that will push me to try Brusselsprouts. Thanks!!
Definitely try them! I promise they aren’t nearly as bad as the kids would make you believe they are. 🙂
I gotta try this one! I am addicted to Brussels sprouts and jumped on the train about a year ago as well. I buy the 3lb bag at Costco and keep to myself! As a kid, my mom always used her steamer to cook these, and it stunk up the house for days! No way was I going to try those then. Roasting is the way to go, must try this recipe!
Ugh! Steamed Brussels sound disgusting. 😛 Roasting all the way!
I can’t say I’ve ever tried them, to be honest, but I think this recipe will convince me to do so! Thanks so much!
Let me know how you like ’em! 🙂
This is funny–I just made roasted brussels sprouts with apples last night. I never tried them as a kid or even young adult. My first time making them was last year and I couldn’t believe how good they were. They totally don’t deserve their bad reputation!
So glad you liked ’em! We need to get Brussels sprouts a marketing campaign.
Brussels sprouts are all well and delicious, but what was your Thanksgiving dessert?!
Tomorrow, I promise! 🙂
This looks absolutely fantastic! I love the idea of adding the apples, what a lovely touch. I love brussels sprouts, especially when roasted. They’re much better than people give them credit to!
Absolutely! We should do some PSAs for sprouts. 🙂
I have always loved brussels sprouts, even when I was little. I have 3 awesome sprout recipes I love but will definitely be trying this one. Hmm… maybe a dry run before Thanksgiving since this is the veg dish I always make. Thanks!
Oooh! Let me know how you like ’em. 🙂
I have never seen a picture of brussel sprouts that made me even remotely want to eat them! But this? Yeah, I would totally eat this.
Hahah! I was pretty happy with how they looked. So yummy and caramelized!
I’m trying to convince myself to like brussel sprouts and this looks like just the recipe to start with! These look great!
You’ll love ’em! 😀
I want to join you as you go back to a journey towards a healthier you…I am kinda’ doing the same. Let’s go back to basics, and together enjoy life. Such a hearty recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, Anna! Good luck on your journey. 🙂
Can these be frozen? There are a lot for just me.
TIA
Candi
Not sure, I haven’t tried it! But I bet the nice crunch, caramelized texture would be lost in the process. And the apples might not make it. let me know if you try it!
These brussel sprouts look fantastic! I want to make them tonight, but I have just one question. Every other recipe for roaste brussel sprouts that I looked up, says to roast them in the oven for at least half an hour. Do yours come out tender after just 10-15? Or is all that extra time in the other recipes just to crisp them up? In any case, I’ll let you know how they turned out 🙂
Mine came out perfectly tender and with a little bit of crunch. Not sure why other recipes have them in there for so long. Although, of course, it depends on your oven and your particular Brussels (small ones will cook quickly). Just keep an eye on ’em. 🙂 And let me know how you like them!
Thanks for the quick reply 🙂 I just made them and me and my family really liked them. I did keep the sprouts in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, as they were neither browned nor tender after 15 minutes. However, that might be due to my particular oven or maybe the fact that I doubled the quantity of sprouts. Anyway, thanks for the great recipe 😉
Hi,
I am roasting the sprouts as I type. I went into a “Trader Joe’s” on the other day and they were offereing roasted sprouts to the customer to demo a few items from the store. On the East Coast Trader Joe’s is a health food market. The cook used salt, pepper, a special garlic olive oil, and get this….Asiago-Romano-Parmesean cheese sprinkled on top. It was delicious!!! I will try it on my family tonight! They hate brussel sprouts, but I know they will love this recipe.
Yum! The cheese addition sounds awesome. Hope your sprout-hatin’ family loves these. 😀
I just made this recipe and it is every bit as great as it looks. Thanks so much!
Yay, Sarah! So glad you liked it. 🙂
I’m not a BS fan either. As a child my dog became a fan since that was what was fed to her under the table. I’ve only recently started to spread my sprout wings so will be giving these a whirl. Your pic and recipe have converted me.
I cooked them for 15 minutes but for some reason it wasn’t really enough as they were still quite hard…they were also really bitter and I’m not sure whether I did something wrong. Should I have boiled them a bit before roasting?
Nope, you did everything right! Sometimes a batch of Brussels can just be bitter. I hate it when that happens!
WOW! I made these tonight, and my husband thought it was so good, he called his parents to brag about my cooking as soon as he finished! I consider that a huge wifey success. Thanks SO much for this recipe!
Hey Cassie I am traveling one hour for Thanksgiving have you ever made these and then traveled? I am worried that they would get soggy? Thanks Fran
Hmmm, they might get a little bit soggy (you might lose the crispy leaves) but they’ll still be delicious!
I made these as one of the side dishes for Thanksgiving. They were fabulous! Will be a new staple in my menu!
My variation includes:
1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and halved
1 large tart apple, cored and diced
8 slices, thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
one bushell of chopped scallions (green onions) per 1 pound of brussels
throw in the broiler at the end for 3 to 4 min for extra crispiness
I am eating this for the first time as I type. I just had to come back and tell you how delicious it was! Wow! And my kitchen smells amazing 🙂 Thank you!!
No way hated them, n I love them