What could be better than crispy roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts, drizzled with a creamy lemon tahini sauce, and topped with crunchy pistachios and pomegranate seeds? Oh yeah! Maybe the fact that you can have a delicious, healthy side dish in about 30 minutes or less!
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📋 About the Recipe
- Roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts with lemon tahini sauce is a healthy side dish that can be paired with almost anything. Serve alongside your favorite protein, like marinated shrimp or steak, perfectly cooked lamb chops, chicken wings, or meatloaf.
- Make this super quick and easy vegetable-centered dish in 30 minutes or less with simple, yet flavorful, ingredients.
- Take boring 'ole vegetables and make them extra tasty with a homemade lemon tahini sauce, crunchy pistachios, and juicy pomegranate seeds.
- This is the perfect side dish to serve a crowd or prepare for the holidays. Easily size it up or down depending on the amount of people you plan to feed.
- Not only are these roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts great for your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter feast, but this recipe showcases seasonal ingredients with bright seasonal colors as well. Plus, it'll pair wonderfully with your festive turkey, ham, and other side dishes.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Brussels sprouts - brussels sprouts are delicious when crispy and cooked properly. However, if you're not a fan of sprouts, you can roast many other vegetables in their place.
- Asparagus - asparagus is an easy vegetable, as there isn't much chopping involved and it cooks up in 10 minutes or less. It is better to undercook the asparagus than overcook it, since overcooking will turn it mushy and stringy.
- Olive oil - olive oil helps to crisp up the veggies. It is neutral tasting and has a high smoke point, perfect for roasting.
- Salt, pepper - basic seasonings help in flavoring the vegetables without overpowering or competing with the other flavors in the lemon tahini sauce.
- Tahini - tahini is a sesame seed paste perfect for making healthy, yet creamy sauces. It is slightly nutty and earthy, which pairs well with the vegetables.
- Lemon juice - lemon juice adds brightness and acidity to the sauce. If you'd like to tame down some of the acidity you can add a touch of maple syrup.
- Water - water helps to thin out the sauce, making it perfect for drizzling over top.
- Garlic - garlic is a great addition of flavor. Add more or less depending on your taste.
- Pomegranate - pomegranate seeds are a bright and fruity addition. Pomegranates are typically in season October to December. If you can't find fresh pomegranate, you can swap it for dried fruits. Check out this article to learn an easy way to clean the seeds out of a fresh pomegranate.
- Pistachio - pistachios add an additional nutty flavor to the roasted vegetables. They are toasty, slightly salty, and crunchy, helping with both flavor and texture.
- Parsley - another fresh element, a garnish of parsley adds some additional flavor and brightness to the dish. However, you can leave it out if you prefer.
📓 Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare two sheet pans by lining them with foil and spraying with nonstick spray.
2. Cut the bottoms off the brussels sprouts and discard any brown outside leaves. Slice each sprout into thirds or quarters. Place sliced brussels sprouts on one of the pans, setting any loose leaves aside.
3. Wash, dry, and cut the bottom 2 inches off the asparagus. Place the asparagus on the other pan with the loose brussels sprouts leaves. (The asparagus and leaves cook quicker, so putting them together ensures that the leaves don't burn.)
4. Season both trays with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
5. Place the sheet pan with the brussels sprouts in the oven for 10 minutes before placing the sheet pan with the asparagus in the oven too. Cook both for 10 additional minutes or until the brussels sprouts are crisp and the asparagus is bright green and tender.
6. While the vegetables roast, add the sauce ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
7. To serve, remove vegetables from the oven and immediately scoop them onto a serving platter. Drizzle lemon tahini sauce over top. Then, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and crushed pistachios. Garnish with chopped parsley.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
Instead of brussels sprouts or asparagus: you can roast carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red onions, sweet potatoes, or zucchini.
Instead of olive oil: you can use many neutral tasting oils, just make sure they have a higher smoke point, such as avocado oil, peanut oil, ghee, or sunflower seed oil.
Instead of tahini: you can use almond or cashew butter for a similar nutty taste that doesn't overpower the rest of the dish.
Instead of pomegranate seeds: you can leave them off or you can also use dried fruits, such as dried cranberries, chopped apricots, golden raisins, or dried cherries.
Instead of pistachios: you can use any of your favorite nuts. If you buy unsalted or raw nuts, you may want to salt or toast your nuts before adding them to the veggies.
Other topping ideas: crispy bacon, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, fried onions, feta cheese, quinoa, farro, or crushed pita chips, just to name a few.
❄️ How to Store
To store: This lemon tahini roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts is best when served fresh. However, if you have leftovers you can allow them to come to room temperature before scooping them into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.
To reheat: You can remove the leftovers from the refrigerator for a few minutes and eat it at room temperature or heat it up in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill out. However, too much additional heating will make the vegetables soggy.
🔍 FAQs
If the asparagus comes out mushy, chances are it's overcooked. Asparagus does not take long to cook.
If you have really thin pieces of asparagus, you may want to lower the cook time a minute or two. You'll know the asparagus is done when it is bright green and just fork tender- it should still have a slight crunch to it.
If the asparagus is dark green, it is overcooked.
If the brussels sprouts aren't crispy, they're either overcrowded on the pan, undercooked, or too wet.
Make sure to spread the brussels sprouts apart or use multiple sheet pans to space them apart from one another. This will allow the air to circulate better around them to crisp them up.
If they're undercooked, they will still be a bit hard and can be cooked longer until crispy.
If they're wet, they will steam instead of brown. Therefore, you should dry them very well before slicing and roasting.
Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. It is most commonly used in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisines.
It is somewhat similar to peanut butter with a milder nutty taste. It is earthy and savory and can often be a little bitter. It is also a thinner consistency than some nut butters.
If the lemon tahini sauce is too bitter for your taste, you can add a splash of maple syrup to help sweeten it.
💭 One More Tip
For perfectly crispy roasted vegetables every time, make sure you don't overcrowd the pans!
Overcrowding prevents the hot oven air from circulating around the vegetables, causing them to steam and get soggy instead of roasting and getting crispy. If needed, use multiple pans instead of piling veggies on top of each other.
You should also make sure the vegetables are completely dry after washing, so there is no additional moisture that will steam them as well.
🍴 Related Recipes
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Roasted Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Tahini Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Roasted Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts
- 2 pounds brussels sprouts
- 1 bunch asparagus
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
For the Lemon Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- ½ lemon juiced
- 3 tablespoon water
- 1 garlic clove grated
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- a pinch of black pepper or to taste
- OPTIONAL: a splash of maple syrup for a slightly sweeter sauce
For Garnish
- ½ cup pistachios crushed
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 small bunch of parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare two sheet pans by lining them with foil and spraying with nonstick spray.
- Cut the bottoms off the brussels sprouts and discard any brown outside leaves. Slice each sprout into thirds or quarters. Place sliced brussels sprouts on one of the pans, setting any loose leaves aside.
- Wash, dry, and cut the bottom 2 inches off the asparagus. Place the asparagus on the other pan with the loose brussels sprouts leaves. (The asparagus and leaves cook quicker, so putting them together ensures that the leaves don't burn.)
- Season both trays with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
- Place the sheet pan with the brussels sprouts in the oven for 10 minutes before placing the sheet pan with the asparagus in the oven too. Cook both for 10 additional minutes or until the brussels sprouts are crisp and the asparagus is bright green and tender.
- While the vegetables roast, add the sauce ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- To serve, remove vegetables from the oven and immediately scoop them onto a serving platter. Drizzle lemon tahini sauce over top. Then, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and crushed pistachios. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Storage
- To store: This side dish is best when served fresh. However, if you have leftovers you can allow them to come to room temperature before scooping them into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.To reheat: You can remove the leftovers from the refrigerator for a few minutes and eat it at room temperature or heat it up in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill out. However, too much additional heating will make the vegetables soggy.
Notes
- See above "Substitutions and Alterations" section for additional topping ideas.
- For best results, make sure both vegetables are completely dry before roasting. Also, make sure not to overcrowd the pans.
- Tahini can be found in either the condiments aisle or ethnic foods aisle of your grocery store.
Nutrition
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Pam says
Truly a great side dish. Love that the flavors go well with pretty much anything!
Alana Lieberman says
Definitely a favorite in our house too. Thank you!