Roast Brussels Sprouts Recipe With Honey Balsamic Vinegar

Roast Brussels sprouts recipe with honey and balsamic vinegar glaze is what you want to try for your next roast dinner. With a sweet and tangy taste from caramelized honey balsamic glaze, this vegetarian side dish is simply delicious.

Love them or hate them

Though you may want to check the other parties in your dinner group first. See if anyone dislike this little round green veggie.

Because I find that Brussels sprouts have a bad reputation of either people love them or hate them. 

I don’t know why, but those who don’t like them said they find these little round veggies to have a strong taste and bitterness. 

And those who love them don’t have reasons apart from plainly liking the texture and the simple taste of the veg. 

Since you’re here, I trust you belong to the latter group. But I’m gonna lie. When the first time I tried these cabbage-like green little round veg, I was not a fan of it. Totally avoided it.

However, I realized that it all depends on how we cook the sprouts. After countless recipes I’ve made, I’m now happy with this easy and delicious recipe I’m sharing here. 

Roasted Brussels sprouts recipe with honey and balsamic vinegar glaze

And I’m confident that you will love this pan-roasted Brussels sprouts recipe with honey and balsamic vinegar glaze. Because it is so easy to make and it doesn’t take much time to cook. But it makes an absolutely delicious vegetable side dish that will go nicely among your food spread.

You can make this sweet and tangy side dish for Thanksgiving or any festive season you like. Or, you can recreate this honey roasted Brussel sprouts recipe to go along with your roast menu any time of the year.

With all the plant-based ingredients to make it, this recipe is ideal for vegetarians. And if you substitute the honey with maple syrup, these roasted Brussel sprouts will be vegans friendly as well.

Favorite way to eat Brussels sprouts

The usual side dishes for the roast menu will perfectly match these roasted Brussels sprouts. 

More often than not, my choices will be slow roast lamb shoulder, air fry butternut squash with feta cheese, microwave sweet potato gratin, and roast potatoes in an air fryer.

Spruce up the sprouts

With a little drizzle of honey and balsamic, you’ll be surprised how the bitterness of the sprouts reduces. 

All because the caramelized red onions release its flavor that mixes with the sweet honey. And, of course, the subtle sourness of balsamic kind of takes over the bitterness of the sprouts.

On top of that, the mix of these two ingredients gives a delicious hint of fragrance to the veggies. 

So this recipe has become my new favorite way to eat Brussels sprouts. Because it’s easy to prepare and makes the best Brussels sprouts taste with the perfect balance of flavor without too much hassle. 

Also, if you like to make your roast Brussels sprouts more mouthwatering, you can sprinkle a pinch or two of red pepper flakes before serving. This will give a flavor boost to the dish.

What you need to make

You will need Brussels sprouts, olive oil, red onion, balsamic vinegar, runny honey, salt, black pepper, pecan nuts, and water.

Of all these ingredients, let me stress the importance of choosing good-quality vinegar, olive oil, and honey. As these three items are pretty much the key flavor essence of the dish.

You don’t need to use extra virgin olive oil, but a good quality pure olive oil will make a huge difference. And so is the vinegar. Because some balsamic has a very strong acidic smell without much flavor in it. 

When it comes to honey, sadly, some are very sweet and it almost tastes like melted sugar. 

As for the nuts, I add them to give a crunchy texture to the dish. You can opt out if you’re not keen. And you can choose whatever nuts you love. I love pecan nuts or walnuts for this dish. 

How to roast Brussels sprouts on a pan

First, you want to fry the onion in olive oil until it turns golden brown and releases a delicious fragrance. 

Then splash in the vinegar. Let it cook until it’s bubbling. 

Next, you place the trimmed sprouts in the onion mixture on a single layer. Toss well until the balsamic and oil coat the veg evenly. Add a little water then put the pan lid on and turn the heat to low. Let it steam cook at medium heat for about 3 minutes until the sprouts turn translucent.

Generously season the sprouts with salt and pepper. Toss around again. Then add the honey (or the maple syrup if you like). Toss to coat evenly all the veggies and the honey balsamic glaze caramelize.

Continue cooking until you get the right texture of Brussels sprouts that you like. I prefer mine slightly bitey on the inside and crispier on the outside. So I usually cook at high heat for about 10 minutes in total, without the lid. But if you would like your sprouts to go softer on the inside and extra crispy on the outside, you can cook them a bit longer. 

Just make sure you keep tossing and turning the veggies so they don’t get burned at the bottom.

Top tips to make roasted Brussel sprouts get crispy

• Roasting on a pan can make the sprouts go brown and burn quickly as they touch the heat straight from the pan. So, you want to cook at moderate heat and not too high to ensure it doesn’t burn your Brussels sprouts.
  
• At the beginning you want to cook them at medium heat with the lid on. To steam cook the sprouts. Make sure you rotate the pan now and again, and toss the sprouts around so they will get cooked and get crispy evenly. 

Storing matter

You can keep the cooked Brussels sprouts in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

Technically, you can always freeze the cooked sprouts for up to 2 months. But being so easy to cook, I think it’s best to freeze the raw Brussels sprouts instead. And when you need them, you can cook them using this recipe. The only difference is that the veggies take a bit longer to cook, and you may not need to add water to cook.

So, thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you’ll try it. When you do, I’ll appreciate it if you share what you think about it in the comments below (leave a reply).

And last but not least, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Take care and all the best.