Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts (With Maple and Bacon)

Growing up, I loved veggies! In fact, I still do. When I was younger I remember one of my cousins’ faces when she would see me gobbling up my veggies.

The look of disgust. It was almost like I had betrayed her in some way. But I remember growing up, I never had a choice of what I was offered to eat. There were no rules like the, three-bite to try to rule. It was eat everything on your plate or go to bed hungry.

So, of course, I ate everything on my plate.

As I got older, I grew into eating and trying everything. There is a lot I still have not tried, but believe me I have tried more than the average American. And One of my all time favorites. You guessed it. Brussel sprouts!

When I moved out to North Carolina, and got to have lots of family time with my cousin. I found out that she still hated brussel sprouts. I couldn’t believe it. How could she have so much hate for this vessel of yumminess.

I told her, you must not know how to cook brussel sprouts.So I asked her how she has cooked them.

We found the problem. She was making them the way that many people don’t like them. She was not removing the white core, which has a bit of a bitter flavor.

To lessen that bitter flavor you will want to slice the brussel sprouts in half. This will help to release some of that flavor.

But if you want to get rid of the bitterness from the brussel sprouts you will need to remove the white part completely. Do this after you cut the brussel sprouts in half.

That is it. That is the thing that solved her problem.

Now she has a go to brussel sprouts recipe that she can make at any time. I know her well enough though, that I probably make it more for her than she does. But she does request me to roast brussel sprouts her whenever I come for a visit.

I do like putting a lot of fat with them. But if you do that as well, then you can place the roasted brussel sprouts on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and then you can enjoy all that extra butter and salt. Now, do not make it soupy. This is just a little extra gravy. Gravy is any type of sauce for me.

I made these for my cousin, who by the way, absolutely hates brussel sprouts. But I asked her to at least try them.

She did and she said they were so good. I try to make them for her every time I go to visit her.

It is so hard to see people say they do not like a certain food. So I try to come up with recipes that are easy and that they can make themselves

My trick is to cut out the whit part of the brussel sprouts. That is the part that is too bitter for some people. Which happens to be my personal favorite. But, I know that sometimes you need to compromise how you make food to get people to eat it.

So my compromise for her is to take out the bitter part. When you do that, it tends to just be a more tender tangy cabbage. This recipe I did not remove the with part. Because I like the bitterness. But if you do not, please remove the white part.

So people do not mind eating cabbage, and then I add in the butter and the bacon (you can also use bacon salt which is sooo good) and this adds another layer of flavor.

The carmilizting in the pan roasting of the brussel sprouts helps to had some depth to the flavor and the maple syrup just puts it over the top

Now you can make these keto – simply add a keto syrup. Or remove the syrup all together

MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

For more recipes see our Chili with Sweet Potatoes, Lemon Chicken, Easy Cheese Board, Garlic Chicken, Sloppy Joes, Eggroll in a Bowl for more yummy goodness!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Brussel sprouts, outer leaves discarded and then halved
• 3 strips bacon
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ to 1 Tablespoon of butter, to finish

Note: you may want to have some extra cooking oil on hand, in case there isn’t enough bacon fat to caramelize the brussels sprouts.

How To Roast Brussel Sprouts

1. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add the bacon once hot.
2. Cook your bacon until you reach your desired level of doneness and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the halved brussel sprouts to the skillet with the hot bacon grease and caramelize. Stir occasionally for 10 minutes.
3. (While the brussel sprouts are cooking, chop up the bacon.)
4. Once the brussel sprouts are well-browned, add the butter, starting with ½ tablespoon and toss lightly.
5. Then drizzle on the maple syrup and season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the chopped bacon back to the skillet and allow the maple syrup-coated mixture to cook for 1-2 additional minutes before taking off the heat.
7. Serve

Best Way To Cook Brussel Sprouts (No Bitterness)

If you are concerned about the bitter flavor, even after removing the white core, you can also place the cut side down in your pan. This will also help to release some of the additional bitterness.

What Is The Best Time To Buy Brussel Sprouts

There is something that I just adore about getting fresh in season produce. So I wanted to share the best time for you to get them fresh and frozen as well.

Fresh September through March

For frozen, any time of year

If you start them in your garden, you can can them, freeze or dehydrate them for long term storage solutions.

How To Top Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

I mentioned earlier that this is a versatile recipe that can be made for any occasion. But to put it over the top you can add one of the following to the top. Make sure to remove from heat before adding.

• Gouda
• Blue Cheese
• Goat cheese
• Parmesan
• Romano cheese
• Feta cheese

Add a little chicken broth and or white wine to the pan and deglaze after you remove the brussel sprouts

Then use the sauce for your mashed potatoes

I have used this recipe for

Date night (steak dinner with a side of brussels sprouts creamy garlic butter smashed potatoes and port)

• Sunday dinner
• Church events
• Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas

It is the perfect easy side dish. It doesn’t take long to make it and it is packed full of flavor

Keto Brussel Sprouts

Want to Keto-fy your brussel sprouts? That is super easy to do without a lot of major changes.

To make your brussel sprouts keto you can do any of the below:

• Add keto friendly maple syrup
• Add stevia (1 – 2 packets)
• Remove the maple syrup all together
• Add a cheese (choose from the above)