Bacon Brussels Sprouts

~ Bacon Brussels Sprouts are a must for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this recipe is so easy and so very delicious, you’ll be craving it all year long! Crisp bacon, crunchy cashews and flavorful shallots combine with a simple, punchy sauce to elevate sautéed Brussels sprouts to a truly special side dish! ~

This Recipe Is:   •  Ready in 30 Minutes or Less  •  Includes Make Ahead Steps  •  Gluten Free  •  Paleo (see note)  •

Brussels sprouts are certainly having their moment, aren’t they?

I’d say they’re giving cauliflower a solid run for its money in the “Veggie of the Decade” race.

It used to be that poor Brussels sprouts were the butt of every vegetable joke. And the stuff of nightmares for any kid unlucky enough to find them rolling around on her dinner plate.

Back in the day, they were served up boiled within an inch of their lives. An unappetizing, mushy, gray-brown sphere of sadness.

But times have changed, friends!

Now, restaurant menus prominently feature Brussels sprouts as trendy appetizers, in addition to their familiar place as a side dish. And people can’t get enough!

Cook ’em right (more on that in a minute) and pair them with bold flavors (hello, bacon!), and you’ve got a whole new, glorious vegetable thing happening, that is absolutely NOTHING like the gray-brown orbs of the 1950s.

*** Psssst … if you want a little grammar lesson (because, I mean, who doesn’t want one??), pop on down to the FAQ box at the bottom of this post to learn about the Brussel Sprouts vs. Brussels Sprouts conundrum. And for everybody else who just wants to eat … onward! …

Why You’ll Love These Shredded Bacon Brussels Sprouts

This particular recipe is a perfect example of why people are embracing Brussels sprouts like never before. We’re talkin’:

• A deliciously light mound of confetti-like shredded sprouts, just barely cooked but still lively and bright.

• Laced with thin slices of shallots and salty, crunchy pops of cashews.

• And BACON! Bacon and Brussels sprouts are made for each other! Just a little bacon goes a long way, and we use it here both to add crisp bacon bits throughout the dish, and also for just a tiny bit of flavorful bacon fat (along with healthier olive oil) for making the sautéed Brussels sprouts.

• All tossed with a simple, Dijon mustard and cider vinegar sauce. YUM! (My mouth is honest-to-God watering as I type this!)

It’s so quick and easy. Pure Brussels sprout and bacon joy!

And it’s a much-needed foodie revolution for those over-cooked balls of sadness kiddos choked down in the 1950s. This is a Brussels sprout epiphany!

My Bacon Brussels Sprouts recipe is sort of a mashup of two others: one from my cooking school days, and another from the 2006 issue of Eating Well magazine. In one form or another, I’ve been making this for years and years now, and it’s always a hit!

Besides … the mmmmmm bacon … there’s another major key to Brussels sprout joy: Cook time.

How to Make Brussels Sprouts Delicious (Hint: Don’t Overcook Them!)

As the site Fooducate explains, too much heat causes Brussels sprouts to release something called glucosinolate sinigrin. That’s what’s responsible for giving overcooked sprouts an unappetizingly sulfurous smell. And why they just really don’t taste very good when you cook them to a mushy death.

The Chicago Tribune also helpfully points out that smaller sprouts are usually milder and sweeter. You don’t always have a choice at the grocery store, but if you can, go for small- to medium-sized sprouts.

But, I’ve cooked even some seriously BIG sprouts before, and as long as I don’t overcook them, they’re still pretty darn good. So, let’s all repeat this together …

The Biggest Secret to Great Brussels Sprouts is NOT to Overcook Them!

Whether you’re roasting them (like in our recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries), steaming them – or making sautéed Brussels sprouts like in this recipe, the key is to keep the cooking quick. (In fact, you can even enjoy them raw, like we do with the shredded sprouts in our Superfoods Brussels Sprout Salad.)

In this recipe, we’re gently cooking them for only about 3 minutes. That’s all you need!

So, with that critical bit of wisdom in mind … let’s make these yummy sprouts!

How to Make Bacon Brussels Sprouts

This recipe needs only a few, simple {flavorful!} ingredients.

Prep Tips

Once you’ve got all your ingredients cut and prepped, this recipe comes together in a jiffy!

And, I’ve got a few tips to make the cutting fast and easy, too.

A key here is that you thinly slice or shred both the Brussels sprouts and the shallots. Thinly.

I’ve tried using the food processor for the sprouts and can’t get it to do nearly as good a job as my trusty old chef’s knife.

To shred your Brussels sprouts:

• Start by trimming off the stem end.
• Then, depending on how big your sprouts are, cut them vertically either in half (for smaller sprouts) or in quarters (for larger ones).
• Then thinly slice from top to bottom to create fluffy mounds on sprout-confetti!
• You can remove dense bits of the core either by cutting it out before you slice your sprouts, or by picking out any really clunky bits of core from the confetti after cutting.

You do basically the same thing for your shallots. Peel them and cut away the top and bottom, then slice them up very thinly, working from top to bottom (not sideways).

Voilà!

Now about that bacon. Bacon can be frustrating to cut before it’s cooked. A simple hack:

Now you’re ready to bring this whole Brussels Sprouts and Bacon recipe together. Easy-peasy!

Step #1

Cook your bacon in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat, just until it’s crisped to your liking.

Because we’re using center cut bacon, which has about 25-30% less fat than regular bacon (mainly because the fatty ends aren’t included), there’s no need to drain the bacon.

The tiny bit of bacon grease in the skillet adds to the flavor of the final dish. And don’t worry – with center cut bacon, it’s only a teeny bit.

In fact, you’ll actually have to add a little additional fat – in the form of heart-healthy olive oil – before you dump in your shallots.

Step #2

Cook those onion-y shallots for about a minute, just to give them a chance to soften a little.

Step #3

Then dump in your water, some tangy cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and stir that flavorful sauce concoction around. Be sure to loosen up any browned bits left on the bottom of the pan from cooking the bacon, too … YUM!

Next, dump your shredded Brussels sprouts on top and mix them in.

Give it all about 3 minutes, and your sprouts are ready!

You want your shredded sprouts to be warmed and slightly wilted and soft … but still vibrantly, freshly green … and definitely not overcooked and mushy.

Step #4

Pull them off the heat and stir in those crunchy cashews.

Shopping Tip: Whole cashews are quite a bit more expensive than ones sold as “halves and pieces.” You’re breaking them up into pieces for this recipe, anyway, so save a few bucks and grab the cheaper ones!

Also, to change things up a bit, you can try this recipe with pistachios, too. Another super yummy option, and a great bet if you happen to find pistachios on sale!

Taste your glorious mound of shredded sprouts, and sprinkle them with a pinch more salt, if needed.

Salt tip: The exact amount of salt you’ll need to season this recipe at the end can depend on several factors, like how salty your brand of bacon is, how heavily salted your brand of nuts is, and also how much of your Brussels sprouts had to be trimmed away (larger sprouts have larger, tough cores). If you decide you need just a tad more salt at the end to really get those flavors poppin’, go slowly … maybe just 1/16 teaspoon at a time, since you probably won’t need a whole lot more salt to ratchet the flavors up to where you want them.

Sprinkle a few more chopped nuts on top if you’d like (just for that pretty presentation), and then … serve ’em up!

(And be prepared for all those folks who claim not to like Brussels sprouts to have a little sprout epiphany. Welcome, Brussels sprout converts!)

Ready to turn all your sprout-suspicious friends and family into Brussels sprout loooovers?!?

Serve up these yummy Bacon Brussels Sprouts for the holidays. They really are delightful with Thanksgiving turkey, or as a Christmas side dish with prime rib, roasts and ham. (Maybe with our Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and either a festive Thanksgiving Salad or a wreath-shaped Christmas Salad.)

But I’m just gonna bet you’ll be making these all year ’round, too. (I sure do!) They’re perfectly quick, perfectly delicious.

And honestly, kind of addictive. (True story: just the other night, my husband called to tell me how much he was looking forward to having these Brussels Sprouts and Bacon for dinner that night!)

Look out, Buffalo Cauliflower Wings … now that we know how to cook ’em right, Brussels sprouts just might edge you out as “Heart-Throb Veggie of the Decade”!