These Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts are sweet, tangy, and perfectly tender yet crispy on the edges. Serve with your favorite protein in just 15 minutes and 4 simple ingredients.
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📋 About the Recipe
- A quick, healthy side dish. I'm always looking for delicious vegetable side dish recipes that my whole family will love. These Brussels sprouts are always a hit at family gatherings and are fancy enough for special occasions.
- Make on the stovetop! Many roasted Brussels sprouts recipes are made in the oven. I wanted to create a stovetop version that would be convenient to make on holidays while leaving that precious oven space for dishes like Sweet Potato Casserole or Cinnamon Apple Noodle Kugel.
- Just 3 sauce ingredients. Making your own balsamic maple glaze from scratch is easier than you think! All you need is 3 ingredients, plus salt and pepper!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Brussels sprouts - It is very important to use fresh Brussels sprouts, not frozen. Frozen sprouts notoriously cook up mushy and have a less than ideal texture. Fresh is really best.
- Balsamic vinegar - This vinegar has a unique tangy, sweet flavor that compliments the bold richness in maple syrup incredibly well. Avoid replacing this vinegar with another vinegar such as white vinegar or even white wine vinegars. These ingredients are very, very different.
- Maple syrup - Unlike simple syrup that is incredibly neutral tasting, sweet maple syrup has wonderful notes of toffee, caramel, and bold nutty flavor that truly take the dish to the next level. For the best flavor, I recommend pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup.
- Olive oil - Adding a bit of oil to the Brussels help make the outer layers nice and crispy. If preferred or necessary, try another neutral oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil.
⁉️ Serving Suggestions
These Brussels sprouts make a quick, easy side dish any time of year. They're perfect for easy weeknight dinners or pairing with your Thanksgiving menu, Christmas menu, or Hanukkah dinners during the holiday season.
If you're looking for some of my favorite pairings, here are a few of my favorite mains to serve alongside Maple Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
- Panko Chicken
- Dutch Oven Turkey Breast
- Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breasts
- Healthy Ground Chicken Meatloaf
- One Pot Lemon Ricotta Pasta
📓 Instructions
- Season the Brussels sprouts. Place the trimmed and sliced Brussels sprouts in a medium bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon olive oil over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mix to coat. Using a spatula, toss the Brussels sprouts in the oil, vinegar, and seasoning until well coated.
- Sauté. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the Brussels sprouts, cut-side down. Pour the remaining balsamic mixture over top and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown.
Flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender and crispy. As it cooks, the excess balsamic mixture will thicken, creating a quick reduction. - Serve. Serve the maple balsamic Brussels sprouts hot with the balsamic reduction drizzled over top.
❄️ How to Store
To store: Cooked Brussels sprouts will keep for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container.
To freeze: Freezing these Brussels sprouts is not ideal. They are likely to defrost mushy and become an undesirable texture.
To reheat: These Brussels sprouts will reheat best in a large, oiled skillet until warmed through and crisp again. Alternatively, they can be reheated in the microwave, air fryer, or even in a baking dish for a few minutes until warm.
🔍 Recipe FAQs
If you regularly find your Brussels sprouts taste bitter, this recipe is for you! The balsamic glaze adds the perfect level of sweetness that counteracts the bitterness.
Cutting Brussels in half before cooking is not required, but it is highly recommended. It will not only help the veggies roast faster, but will give the Brussels sprouts the best caramelized sear. It's difficult to sear and roast whole Brussels sprouts.
If you love really soft, tender Brussel sprouts, you are welcome to par-boil the veggies before sautéing them. This will give them a head start on cooking and ensure they're nice and tender in just a few minutes, but this additional step is not really necessary.
If your Brussels did not get crispy on the outside, it's likely the pan was not hot enough before adding the veggies in. Make sure to first heat the pan, then add the oil and heat it for a few minutes before adding the Brussels and maple balsamic glaze.
Also, make sure you don't overcrowd the pan.
Yes! If you'd like to add bacon to this side dish, feel free to. You can add up to 4 slices of chopped regular bacon or turkey bacon to the skillet. It should cook in the same amount of time as the Brussels, but adjust as needed until the bacon is fully cooked and crispy.
💭 One More Tip
Larger sprouts will take longer to cook! If you have extra large Brussels sprouts and want to keep the cook time down, I recommend cutting them into thirds or even quarters instead.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
Equipment
- large skillet
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half (or thirds if the sprout is large)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- balsamic reduction, optional
Instructions
- Add brussels sprouts to a medium bowl. Drizzle balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon olive oil over top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mix to fully coat the brussels sprouts in the oil, vinegar, and seasoning.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When oil is hot, add brussels sprouts cut-side down, along with the remaining balsamic mixture at the bottom of the bowl, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown.Once golden, flip and cook another 2 to 3 minutes until tender, yet crispy.
- Serve hot with balsamic reduction drizzled over top.
Notes
- For serving, you can drizzle store-bought balsamic reduction over top or you can make a little extra sauce to reduce in the pan as the brussels sprouts cook.
- If you want perfectly crispy brussels sprouts, don’t overcrowd the pan. If you don’t have a skillet large enough, cook the brussels sprouts in batches.
- Remove any loose leaves and set them aside. Add them just after flipping the brussels sprouts, so they don’t burn while cooking.
Nutrition
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