I hada childhood friendwho wasobsessed with brussels sprouts. She lovedeating them boiled and plain – no salt, no seasoning, nothing.She lovedthem so much that itneveroccurred to her that not everyone felt the same way. I went over for a sleepover once and she got really excited because she asked her mom to make us brussels sprouts, just the way she liked them. Unfortunately, to my brusselssprouts uninitiated self, they were, um, disgusting. I had one to be polite and then offered her the rest of mine, which she happily ate.I am a huge sprouts lover now, but that’s mostly because I’ve tasted them the way they’re destined to be prepared: roasted.
It’s a good thing I was willing to give sprouts another chance because they are now one of my favourite vegetables. When you roast themat a high heat, their flavour mellows out, they caramelize, and they basically turn into delicious bites of candied vegetables. They’re completely addictive roasted, even with just salt and pepper. But, if you want to take the deliciousnessover the top, then you’ve got to honey garlic them up!
This recipe is super simple – just the way I like. You trim your sprouts, give them a tiny steam, make the sauce, brown the brussels,and then top it all off with the goodness of honey and garlic. The only thing that could potentially go wrong is browning your sprouts a little too much, which, oops, I totally did. But I’m an absolute sucker for those extra caramelized bits, so I didn’t mind.
To ensure you have gloriously un-blackened sprouts, just be sure to turn the heat off when adding the sauce. Honey caramelizes very, very quickly at high heat, so keep a close eye on these little guys. Oh, and you might just want to make a double batch; I had a hard time stopping myself from eating them all before making it to the table.
Honey Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts
serves 2
- 12 small brussels sprouts
- 1/2 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- freshly ground pepper
Wash the sprouts, trim off the ends, and remove the raggedy outer leaves. Cut sprouts in half and toss them with the oil.
Heat up a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Place the sprouts in the pan, cut side down, in a single layer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. They will only be the slightest bit brown. At this point, you’re essentially steaming so the insides are tender.
While the sprouts are steaming, make the honey garlic sauce: heat up the honey, soy and garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until bubbly and thick. Set aside.
When the sprouts are tender, uncover, turn up the heat and brown until the sprouts are deeply caramelized, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, toss with the honey garlic sauce and season with a good amount of freshly ground pepper. Enjoy hot.
It’s an I am a Food Blog Thanksgiving! I made a tiny Thanksgiving for two featuring some Asian flavours. Make sure you check out the lemongrass braised turkey legs, miso mashed potatoes, and lemongrass stuffing!
27 Comments
Sune Moolman says:
November 24, 2014 at 5:11 am
I only recently started eating brussels sprouts and now I can’t get enough of them. These look freakin’ amazing! Honey man, honey!
Reply
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says:
November 24, 2014 at 7:07 am
Oh well these just look PERFECT! Love that sauce!
Reply
cynthia says:
November 24, 2014 at 7:19 am
Those blackened bits look like HEAVEN to me. I am a happy member of the Brussels-obsessed club too — SO GOOD. (But boiled and plain…. not so sure about that one.)
Nikki says:
November 24, 2014 at 8:38 am
Awesome! I have a giant bag of sprouts in my fridge, I am so looking forward to making this on thursday!
Reply
November 24, 2014 at 8:40 am
Yesss! Hello heavenly Brussels sprouts! Want to join me for dinner? Great. Love it, Steph!
Reply
Gaby says:
November 24, 2014 at 9:17 am
I am obsessed with brussels!! And these look wonderful!!
Reply
Linda | Brunch with Joy says:
November 24, 2014 at 9:27 am
Hooray to Brussels Sprouts, Steph. I used to hate it but now I’m madly in love with brussels sprouts, especially roasted with garlic (and bacon). Yum yum!
Reply
Kate says:
November 24, 2014 at 1:16 pm
Yum! Brussel sprouts are such underrated vegetables, but I totally agree with you – it’s because no one knows how to prepare them. Another vegetable that I wasn’t friends with until recently was cauliflower – also a fabulous veggie once roasted. Thanks for this recipe Stephanie :)
Reply
lyle says:
November 24, 2014 at 4:43 pm
Great photos! Would you kindly share with us the type of camera you use for most of your pics?
Reply
steph says:
November 24, 2014 at 4:47 pm
hi lyle, i answer photo questions in my faq: http://iamafoodblog.com/faq/
Reply
November 24, 2014 at 10:35 pm
I was that kid obsessed with brussels sprouts! And every time I see a new recipe that includes them I get seriously excited!! Love this version!
Reply
Domnvoi K. says:
December 30, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Wow these look really good!! I am just wondering when you say soy if you mean soy sauce? It the color of the sauce looks like you use soy sauce but idk….:P
Reply
steph says:
December 30, 2014 at 4:44 pm
hi domnvoi! yes, it’s soy sauce!
Reply
Domnvoi K. says:
December 31, 2014 at 12:22 am
Thank you for your quick response!! :D
Reply
Lori says:
February 15, 2016 at 7:27 pm
Loved this recipe! Only thing is I don’t do soy sauce, so I substituted coconut aminos for the soy sauce. It was so good.
Reply
Woodsorrel D. says:
July 5, 2016 at 2:50 pm
Is there a specific soy sauce that you prefer to use for this recipe?
Reply
Stephanie Le says:
July 5, 2016 at 3:08 pm
i used kikkoman :)
Reply
Taisia says:
June 28, 2018 at 10:16 am
Thank you for this recipe. This was delicious!
Reply
Becca Talbot says:
November 3, 2018 at 10:21 am
I love sprouts, but have only ever eaten them as a boiled vegetable with a roast dinner (preferably Christmas dinner LOL). I wouldn’t have ever thought to use them in this way – what a brilliant recipe, I will have to try it! x
Reply
Stephanie says:
November 3, 2018 at 8:20 pm
ooh i have never had them boiled, to be honest! usually roasted for christmas dinner lol
Reply
