Once you eat one of these, it is hard to stop. The little bit of honey sweetness makes these surprisingly addictive. The recipe comes together easily in the oven or air fryer. Just make sure you keep in mind the one key tip for cooking brussel sprouts at home.
The recipe works for holiday meals and any night of the week when you need a simple side of green vegetables.
Other easy side dishes to try include roasted green beans, the classic Italian American dish of beans and greens, and a quick sesame broccoli side dish that can be served at room temperature.
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What does this taste like?
These are subtly sweet with a hint of garlickyness and tons of savoriness. This dish is quite filling as well and makes an apt substitute for the grain/carbohydrate on your plate. I like to eat this with some pan seared salmon for a simple meal.
Ingredients
- Brussel Sprouts – The peak season for brussel sprouts is October to December. Choose young, fresh brussel sprouts for the best flavor. Remove any wilted leaves from the outside and trim the root end off before cooking. For extra even cooking, you can carve an X in the root end with a paring knife.
- Olive Oil – I use extra virgin olive oil. Use the olive oil or cooking oil of your choice.
- Honey – Maple syrup, agave, or sugar will work too. It helps to measure the oil in your measuring spoon first because the honey will slide right out of the spoon afterwards. It also helps to heat the honey a little bit in the microwave, if you’d like it to spread more evenly on the brussel sprouts.
- Garlic Powder – Fresh minced garlic works too, but I like the ease of garlic powder if you’re in a hurry. It also doesn’t risk burning like little bits of garlic might do in a hot oven.
- Salt – I used pink HImalayan salt, but use your salt of choice.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Trim the root end of the brussel sprouts off. Cut in half if they are large. You want all the brussel sprouts to be roughly the same size.
Mix together the honey, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt.
Toss the brussel sprouts with the honey mixture. Spread onto an even layer on a parchment lined or oiled baking sheet.
Cook the brussel sprouts in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven temperature up to 400 degrees F and cook for another 5 minutes until crisp tender. They may require additional cooking time if large but take care not to overcook.
Hint: To help mix the ingredients, you can microwave the honey a little bit to make it more runny. However, you don’t want to boil the honey because it will crystallize and be even harder to mix with the brussel sprouts.
How long do they take to cook?
Brussel sprouts can take anywhere from 15 minutes to cook for small one inch sized pieces or up to 25 minutes for large 2-2 1/2 inch sized pieces.
Fried vs. Roasted Brussel Sprouts
If you like fried brussel sprouts, that are completely tender and soft inside, the roasted brussel sprouts can easily overcook in the oven if you try to get them to that soft stage. Once they overcook, they can release sulfur and make your whole kitchen smell terrible.
Variations
There are so many ways you could spice up this simple dish. Here are a few favorites.
- Spicy – Add 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of red chili flakes for some heat before or after cooking.
- Lemon – Add 1/2 tsp of fresh grated lemon zest for an extra pop after cooking.
- Soy Sauce – Substitute 1/2 tsp of soy sauce for the salt for extra savoriness before cooking.
- Parmesan Cheese – Top the finished dish with grated Parmesan for a hint of cheesiness.
- Onion Powder – Add 1/4 tsp onion powder for a boost of umami without adding any extra salt before cooking.
- Balsamic Vinegar – Toss with 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar after cooking for a little Italian zing.
See this spicy version of this recipe on my website! (placeholder for in-content link)
Storage
Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. Avoid freezing, since the texture of the brussel sprouts will turn mushy.
Top tip
DO NOT OVERCOOK the brussel sprouts.
Brussel sprouts are part of the Brassica family. They release sulfur when they are cooked too long (mushy texture). Your whole kitchen will smell like a skunk sanctuary for days (speaking from personal experience).
Better to undercoook and have some crunch, then overcook to mush and foul odor.
Other Side Dishes
Recipe
Honey Garlic Brussel Sprouts (roasted or air fried)
Ingredients
- 1 lb brussel sprouts root end trimmed and large pieces cut in half for roughly uniform sized pieces
- 1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil of your choice
- 1 Tb honey or sweetener of your choice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder or fresh minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt I use pink Himalayan salt. Soy sauce works great too.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (See Note 1 for Air Fryer instructions.)
- Mix the olive oil, honey, garlic powder, and salt together. You can microwave the honey for 5 seconds to help make it a little runnier.
- Spread the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or greased iwth oil.
- Pour over the honey mixture and gently toss to coat the brussel sprouts. You can also do this in a large bowl (but I just don't like washing an extra bowl).
- Place the pan into the oven for 10 minutes. Turn up the heat to 400 degrees F, and cook for another 5 minutes until crisp tender (It won't be completely soft, but slightly crunchy and edible) for about 1 inch sized brussel sprouts. For 2 inch sized brussel sprouts, keep cooking for another 5 minutes and check on them until crispy tender.
- Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.
Notes
- For air fryer instructions, you don’t need to preheat. Spread the brussel sprouts in an even layer in the air fryer. (It fits in a 6qt sized air fryer in one layer.) Air fry for 12-15 minutes until crisp tender.
- DO NOT OVERCOOK the brussel sprouts. They release sulfur when they are cooked too long (mushy texture). Better to undercoook and have some crunch, then overcook to mush and foul odor.
- Dress up the brussel sprouts once cooked by tossing with 1/2 tsp of fresh lemon zest, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp red chili flakes, and/or 1 Tb grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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