Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze

Oven roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic glaze are the best healthy side dish for the holidays or year round. Bold flavors and tender.

Brussel Sprouts Bacon Balsamic

OH yes, you can add bits of pig into these babies too and/or dried cranberries. Add all the goodness I tell you. The more flavors the better if you ask me. Baked so they are so tender, you can tell your kids they are baby cabbage heads (that worked for me when they were little).

This is for oven roasted but you could use the same glaze and make air fryer brussel sprouts instead first. It’s sort of a two step process anyway. First you want to slice in half, toss with some oil and get them real tender. Then the sauce goodness comes together to coat them.

It takes a bit of time to oven bake these babies but low and slow is kinda necessary in this case. The other other way I have achieved the perfect tenderness is using a microwave. I did this before making our grilled brussel sprouts. Since the barbecue wouldn’t soften them enough, you have to nuke them a bit beforehand.

It is not super convenient that way because you can’t make a bunch at a time and they don’t get nice and crispy at all. You really want some crunch on the edges at least for perfection. You will need:

1. Fresh brussels sprouts with ends cut off and sliced in half lengthwise.
2. Your favorite balsamic vinegar
3. Olive oil
4. Sugar to add a bit of sweetness
5. Kosher salt and pepper
6. Sheet pan for your roasted vegetables

Seasonings beyond that like Old Bay, garlic powder, onion powder etc…are up to you. It’s kinda’ like a warm version of our shredded brussel sprout salad.

Best Brussel Sprouts Recipe

Other additions are many. You can see here that dried cranberries were tossed into the mix but that is just the beginning. Use your taste buds to make that decision. There is NO wrong answer as far as that part goes. If you would like a few yummy suggestions though, here are some:

• Chopped nuts
• Precook air fryer bacon and crumble, toss that in
• Diced up dried fruits of any kid really
• Yellow raisins are another sweet option

Another add in or on for that matter is cheese. I mean we can’t get enough of it but feta or parmesan on the top are the best choices for us. If you want to make it creamy, follow our cast iron brussel sprouts recipe here. The possibilities are endless with this veggie if you aren’t getting that drift.

If you veered away from them as a kid you should try them this way again, you may be surprised. I was in my late thirties as I attempted to like them again and now we make them pretty often with dinner.

Brussel sprouts in the oven are easy because you toss everything together, throw it on a baking sheet and let it bake. There are tons of ways to cook brussel sprouts but everyone basically has this appliance. If you want to use these same flavors / sauces you can translate it to other methods too easily.

Or you can make it just like this and throw them into your Ninja Foodi at the end to really crisp the tops up.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with foil.
• In a bowl add veggies prepared with olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss to coat and then pour on to baking sheet with cut side / flat side facing up (ideally) without overlapping.
• Bake for 25-30 or until tender.
  • quicker method is 400 degrees for 20 minutes but will brown more
• In a saucepan whisk together rest of ingredients for sauce and heat on medium high heat until sugar dissolves.
• Continue cooking until it reduces and thickens so it coats spoon, then turn off.

Toss sauce and cooked balsamic brussel sprouts together so they are nicely coated. Can sprinkle on shredded parmesan at the end when served with your bacon wrapped salmon or chicken.

If you can only find frozen, follow our frozen brussel sprouts air fryer recipe instead.

I love making one of our many Instant Pot cabbage recipes as well, they’re so yummy.

What if you have leftovers? How should you save them? Especially during the holidays you may make a double batch of these and have 1-2 servings left. Do NOT throw them away, they save great and can reheat well. Make sure they are cooled completely first and then spoon them into a pint size freezer bag. Suck all the air out first off.

Then you should store them in the fridge to eat the next day or 2 days is fine too. Transfer to a microwave safe dish and reheat for about 1 minute. The best option though is to throw them into your air fryer. Spray olive oil on top and set to 380 degrees for about 4 minutes tossing halfway until warmed and crispy. Then enjoy with other goodies.