As I have mentioned before, when I was growing up vegetables were cooked within an inch of their lives. If it wasn’t limp or soggy, it wasn’t done. As a consequence, I liked corn (not soggy) and beans and carrots (limp but OK). Very few others were good. The variety of vegetables I was exposed to was both limited by the season, or what was readily canned by the Green Giant. One vegetable I do not recall having until well into my adulthood, was Brussels sprouts.
First, an aside. Yes, it is Brussels sprout. Not Brussel sprout. Not brussel sprout. I didn’t believe it either, but it is Brussels sprout or sprouts.
One day I walked into the cafeteria at work and sat at a table with a friend and co-worker. He had his main dish, a drink and a bowl filled with steamed Brussels sprouts. On top, he had ladled creamy ranch dressing and topped with about a teaspoon of hot sauce. I gave this dish a look. Well, it was really more of a sneer. He noticed, smiled and asked if I liked Brussels sprouts. I replied I didn’t. I still had never tasted one, but the look and their reputation preceeded them.
His response was simply, “They are little balls of heaven!”
Years later I finally tried them. They were served at a local restaurant owned by a famous Celebrity chef and they had been featured on the Food Network. They were served as an appetizer deep fried. Not breaded, just sliced, dropped into hot oil and lightly salted. They were fabulous! I made them at home the next day.
Looking to eliminate some of the oil, but keeping the flavor, I soon learned to roast them.
Beautiful and tasty!
Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper are the only ingredients.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 40 min | Servings: 6 servings | Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Quarter them. Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 30to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries), and serve immediately.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
I love Brussels sprouts! We eat them often, and having them roasted is my personal favorite, I do occasionally saute them with some diced bacon and onion also, but roasting them is by far the best way to go. Thanks for reminding me to pick some up this week!
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These look and sound delicious, I will have to try these soon. 🙂
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Looks delish! The first time that I had them and actually liked them was at, get this: Disney World. The English restaurant in Epcot served them similar to mashed potatoes. Incredible, as I couldn’t believe what I was eating! This is definitely a vegatable worth revisiting.
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Delish! This is how I make the majority of my veggies, only thing I add that you did not is crushed garlic! YUM! Course, I think I add garlic to just about everything lol
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Thank you for setting the record straight. I have been calling them Brussel sprouts (as she walks away ashamed…)
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Yeah, I know – roasted. The little guys are so good that way! And I struggled with Brussels, too, on a recent blog post. I Googled it several times to be sure.
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Hahaha, I still have a hard time myself calling them brussels sprouts – It sounds so… unnatural to say. But these do look delicious!
There was a time when I started eating lots of steamed brussels sprout with olive oil, but let me WARN you, DO NOT eat too much, as in a plate full, especially if you don`t regularly eat brussels sprouts – You will whole heartedly regret it. I got really horrible stomache pains and THE MOST HORRIBLE burps I`ve ever had in my life. The nastiness lasted a couple of days. Ugh, I don`t even want to remember that… Anyway, you`re warned!
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Roasting Brussel sprouts is the ONLY way I can get DH to eat them!
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You had me at Brussels…I have always loved them. As a weird kid, I couldnt tolerate corn (go figure), but would eat the entire bowl of Brussels sprouts.
I like to reduce balsamic and maple syrup and then toss the sprouts in that. Deep fried sounds delicious
MMMMMM
Amy J
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Hi!
They look fine… Maybe I’ll give them a try 😉
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oh yummy, love brussel sprouts 🙂
sadly, the rabbits seem to get more than i do out of garden lol
Happy Sunday !
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Reblogged this on L'amore e forte come la morte.
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Those look BEAUTIFUL!
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I think we grew up in the same family. For years, I thought I didn’t like vegetables at all. Turns out, I didn’t like the way vegetables were cooked at the homestead. Roasting, however, was a magical discovery.
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I love Brussels sprouts but prefer the smaller ones either roasted or steamed.
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I’ve never acquired the taste myself. I couldn’t get over the smell of them when I was a kid and my parents would set a bowl at the table. Neither my brother nor I would try them. We would eat almost any other veggie to avoid the dreaded Brussels Sprout. Wonder if that’s where I got my affinity for green peas? Mmmmmmmm
Regardless of my tastes, it certainly looks good!
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Okay, these sound good, really good, but to do them without salt the suggestion of using vinegar, maybe as a sprinkle after cooking, will do the trick. I hadn’t even considered roasting brussels sprouts before this. Next trip to the store!
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yummi indeed
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They truly are balls of heaven! One of my absolute favorites. These poor little guys have such an undeserved bad reputation! I wanna make these …right now…for breakfast! Yum!
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Printed, thank you so much. I love these little balls of heaven. I finally got my boyfriend eating them.
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I love Sprouts! The best Sprouts I ever tasted were shredded and then stir fried with Garlic…yummy!
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looks great ranting chef ~ i didn’t care for them much until recently either
thanks for your interest in my blog ~ cheers!
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I grew up LOATHING Brussels Sprout. Uck. I did make the attempt of making it using a similar recipe and it didn’t come out so well. Alas, I will try again! Btw, Colavita is the BEST OLIVE OIL EVER!!!! Kudos to you! 🙂
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The title … sorry my mind was in the gutter. 🙂
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Love this!
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Hi, Love,Love your site. But not good before Breakfast!! I was busy and had not taken time to eat and your “like” (THANK YOU) came up on my site. So I stroll over and AaaH so DELICIOUS. 😉 Thank you for the tour and I shall return.
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yum!
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Great recipe.The sprout is vastly under estimated and ill treated.Thanks.
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Sounds delicious! I have been looking for a quick easy way to prepare them after having them at a local restaurant – this is it! 🙂
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Another way to do them is to halve them, do the olive oil, salt and pepper. In a pan melt a tablespoon or two of butter. Get it sizzling and put the cut side down and leave them there for about 3 to 4 minutes. THen de-glaze with red wine.
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So good! Brussels sprouts are one of my very favorite veggies. Sometimes we’ll drizzle them with a little balsamic or sherry vinegar, or a bit of lemon. Yum!
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yes.. sir… re…. I will have to try this recipe out, the only way we got accustomed to the sprouts as children was to have them steamed ,served with a cheese\cream sauce over the top. Glad you clarified the spelling!
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This looks great! Thanks for the post. I was wondering if you would be able to do a gammon recipe some time in the near future too if it’s not too much trouble? I love gammon but rarely do anything imaginative with it myself at home. Love the blog!
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They look delicious! The more I experiment with cooking and trying to get more veg in our diets the more I find out that sometimes it’s the simplest prep methods that are the best. Just uncomplicated goodness.
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I love Brussels sprouts (and am now checking my spelling on all my posts that mention them!) Love this recipe and this post!
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gonna have to try this with one of my egg cup recipes, thanks for the idea!
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I so wish I could get myself and my husband into Brussels sprouts, but it just isn’t happening. I even roasted them with bacon.
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I tried these tonight. I love them! And my husband, who normally doesn’t like them, commented on how good they were. What a hit! Thanks! I get so bored with my own cooking. Keep posting recipes that are this good and easy.
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Can completely relate to your childhood experience of vegetables! No wonder we hated them! Brussels sprouts and kale are two of my adult favorites. Can’t wait to try your recipe for roasting the “baby cabbages!”
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My family loves Brussel Sprouts. I grew up eating them and have never understood why people don’t like them. I make them for the holidays with bacon and chicken stock. They’re great. I’ve tried them in a similar way to your recipe before too and they’re yummy.
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I’m going to serve this with a fish dinner tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe. Love Brussels sprouts. And so worthy of my kitchen attention.
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LOVE them! I just can’t get them here in Ho Chi Minh City. 😦 Will have to wait until I’m back in the States. Love the mouth-watering photos of the Brussels sprouts!
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I cooked some this past w/e and lamented that I could not think of some new way to prepare them. Now I have an idea and love this method. Great stuff!
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I have never liked Brussels sprouts, but I may have to try this!
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I’ve had them once at a fancy Greek Restaurant. I thought since I loved their food they would be the ones that would “get” me to like them. And they did. I had just forgotten about them until now. They had been roasted and they were wonderful.
Thank you for the reminder!
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I adore Brussels Sprouts – more praise for them from chefs like you, please! Of coursse, they have to be steamed rather than boiled (my husband’s stepmother doesn’t believe they’re cooked until they’re grey and the water’s green) and the crunchier the better!
I’m definitely going to try roasting them in the future; since I already knew they worked in bubble and squeak and stir-fries I wonder that I didn’t think of this myself.
Did you know that the ability to enjoy sprouts (and not develop your own orchestral trumpet section) is actually a genetic mutation? Neither did I, but I’m very pleased to be a mutant if this is indeed the case 🙂
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Delicious and healthy! Brussels sprouts are a winner in my books for flavor and nutrition.
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Love Brussels sprouts this way, during the holidays I add those nice big juicey “Holiday Grapes” with the Brussels sprouts and roasted all together..everyone loved them, and added a little sweetness to the dish 🙂
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Hi, I love your blog. I especially like your comments. I have a food blog as well but can’t seem to get enough views (tops at 200 a day), comments or followings. What’s your secret? Thanks a lot, MERCI, and continue with your great blog.
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Thanks for the compliment. Make sure your blog is updated regularly and keep visiting other blogs and as you leave comments or likes, others will find you. Most of all content is king, so make sure you have a blog product that people like. Good luck!
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Thanks a lot!!
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I absolutely love roasting Brussels sprouts! And cauliflower! A little drizzle of olive oil, some garlic and paprika and you’ve got yourself a tasty little treat!
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I love them fixed any way at all, yours sound delicious! I have made them as a snack–it takes a little time, but it’s worth it. One removes each of the leaves (after cutting off the stem portion), sprinkles with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roast in the oven. (I think it is a low carbohydrate diet recipe, to tell you the truth.) The thing is, it takes a while to do this, but it is a pretty healthy snack and the leaves are particularly sweet this way as one has had to spend all that time taking them apart! Diet tricks! ha!
Thanks for visiting my website today. Love yours!
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How funny– I just made this exact recipe on Saturday, and it is the first time I’ve ever made Brussels sprouts! I, too, was amazed to learn that it’s Brussels, not Brussel. When you eat a lot of veggies, it’s always good to find new ones. I think for me, roasted is the only way to go. I love my cauliflower that way too. Well, I’ll be posting this same recipe soon 😉
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this looks so delicious! I am going to try it this week. Yum, hope it tastes as good as it looks
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When I make B.S. at home I always try to make extra and the next day I sautee them with crunchy bacon pieces and extra garlic. Then I mix this with some pasta, sprinkle pecorino cheese (or parmesano) and they are delicious!
http://www.pierotucci.com/clothing/new_collection/
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Are you talking about the fried Brussels Sprouts at Lola 😉 I want to go there so badly, but I guess I have to get myself to Cleveland first.
I loooove Brussels Sprouts, they are probably one of my top 10 veggies!
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I have never had Brussel Sprouts, but I’ve been wanting to try them. This recipe looks like it’s right up my alley. Thanks for sharing!
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Yum. Everyone in my family loves Brussels sprouts. I usually quarter them and saute them along with shallots in a little olive oil (or bacon fat if we’re splurging.) They’re quite tasty.
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Great recipe, I love these balls of heaven as well! They taste delicious with a little nutmeg seasoned on them!
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I think I could even get my husband to try these – that’s the same husband that said “if they wanted you to eat it, they wouldn’t have named it Squash.”
And thank you for stopping by; it’s nice to make your acquaintance.
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I love these! Thanks for sharing this, super simple but looks delish.
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I never knew that *that* was the correct way to write it- Brussels sprouts ( I am sure that somewhere deep in my subconscious I was always wondering about it…)
This is something I will have to make for my Brussels sprouts loving husband!
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Brussel Sprouts are amazing! I add rosemary while roasting them. This is a great simple recipe yet complex in flavour. 🙂
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Couldn’t agree more. Brussels sprouts are heaven on earth!
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Just discovered roasted brussels sprouts myself…delish!
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Those look great! I’ll have to try them that way!
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I’ll admit it, this is one of the very few veggies I have tried. I think when I was in preschool I was forced to eat them and maybe I threw up? Or was it terribly cooked spinach?? Either way. I have eyeballed these numerous times in the store. I think the next go round I break down and try them out.
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I’ve had one experience with Brussels sprouts and it wasn’t a good one. I was 7 years old. They were boiled and smelled horrible. I tasted one and it was as bad as it smelled. My dad told me I wasn’t going to get up from the table (Sunday lunch) until my plate was clean. I sat there until they were cold and impossible to choke down. Then I sat there some more. Luckily my mom’s friend came over and brought her daughter along to play with me. She sweetly asked my dad if I could please get up from the table. He relented, and Brussels sprouts were never put on our table again.
Lately (35 years later…) I’ve been feeling like I’m willing to give them another try. Roasting is exactly what I had in mind! Thanks for the little push! 🙂
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That sounds so good! I forget about Brussels sprouts, must make it a point to try this out
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Good laugh as I wonder how many of us didn’t know there were more than two or three of the standard limp, canned veggies growing up. It wasn’t until I took a job at a fine restaurant bussing (busing?) tables as a teen that I saw I’d only experienced about 5% of food until then. LOVE roasted Brussel (struggling) BrusselS sprouts!
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I’ve only had them steamed! This makes my taste-buds water… wait your whole blog does – minus the blue spinach… lol sorry I’m not into blue cheese!
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Love them! And thaks for the clarification on the pronunciation!
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Couldn’t have named this post any better…roasted brussels sprouts are roasted ball of heaven…and I thank God for their deliciousness…thanks for sharing 🙂
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Great idea … gotta try ’em this way!
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Reblogged this on how to walk in heels and commented:
i LOVE brussels sprouts and this is a perfect quick recipe. thanks to the ranting chef, enjoy!
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Brussels sprouts are my favorite veggie! I do a variation of corn beef cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day each year with them. I cut each sprout in half and mix with roughly diced red potatoes. Then I coat it all with a bit of olive oil and any herbs I have in my pantry (oregano, rosemary, etc). I spread it out on a cookie sheet. Then I slice and sprinkle thin sliced corn beef over the top. I will roast at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. It really can go as long as you want (depending if you like crispier or softer).
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Wow, I have been roasting kale recently for something different, this sounds lovely too! Will try it ths weekend with my British roast 🙂
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Brussels sprouts have such a bad rap! They are delicious. I’ve never actually made them, but I’ve heard on the grill is the absolute best way. I’m going to have to try this.
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I love any vegetable roasted, it makes such a difference! These look great. thanks for popping by – I will try to follow but still trying to work out how to do such things on wordpress!
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