The Trick to Making Restaurant-Style Brussel Sprouts at Home - Nikki Vegan (2024)
Nicole Vranjican /
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Restaurant Brussel Sprouts are generally delicious. Salty and savory, with charred, crispy edges and a super caramelized exterior that almost makes you forget that you’re eating a vegetable.
I was beginning to think that it was some kind of weird law of nature, like gravity, or the one that says that the winged eyeliner on your right eye will NEVER match the left!
This particular law seem to state: Restaurant Brussel Sprouts are good, and homemade Brussel sprouts are soggy, flavorless wannabes that will never live up to their professionally made counterparts – which feels a bit like “Nature” shrugged and mumbled “deal with it” under its breath…😏
So I’ve been under the assumption that “that’s just the way it goes” until recently, when I stumbled upon this video, which taught me that the kind of pan you use is key because surface area is everything (Like learning how to do the Scotch-tape trick to achieve even eyeliner on both eyes, everything!)
Immediate contact with a very hot, flat pan is what it’s all about, and the best way to do this is to place a cookie sheet inside the oven before pre-heating it to 400 degrees. This allows the pan to become very hot before ever coming into contact with the Brussel Sprouts.
The initial interaction between the sprouts and the searing hot surface of the pan helps to caramelize the edges and ultimately leads to better flavor and a more enjoyable texture. The combination of techniques, searing then roasting, is what gives restaurant Brussel Sprouts the upper hand on the until-now pathetic homemade variety. Eureka!
Avoid using a glass baking dish with very high sides, as this will trap moisture inside the pan, causing the sprouts to steam rather than roast. A cookie sheet is ideal because it allows air to circulate properly. This small change makes a HUGE difference!
Use Fresh. Frozen veggies like peas and cauliflower rice are typically as good as fresh, if not better, but frozen sprouts are always going to be mushy. Read that again: always going to be mushy.
Make sure your Brussel Sprouts are dry before seasoning them. This goes for any veggie you plan on roasting 🙂
A very hot oven is more important than you might think! I’ve found that a 400 degree oven produces a significantly better outcome than one set to 350, for example, because it allows the outside to get really crispy while the inside remains tender and juicy.
Keep an eye on the oven! Give ’em a look every 15-20 minutes or so, stirring if needed, to prevent burning. This is a “your nose knows” situation, so you’ll be able to smell when they’re getting close to done. Trust those instincts 🙂
Below you’ll find the full recipe, which is a veganized restaurant classic: Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan. Nothing novel, no new spices or sauces, or fancy anything…just simple, delicious, CRIPSY Brussel spouts that actually taste good.
Serves 6 as a side dish
1 pound of medium sized Brussel Sprouts
2.5 tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
4-5 dashes of cayenne pepper
5 grinds of black pepper
3 tbsp of vegan parmesan cheese (I used VioLife for this + feel free to use more cheese if desired)
Place a cookie sheet into the oven and pre-heat to 400 degrees.
Wash and dry the Brussel Sprouts and cut in half.
Then add to a bowl with oil, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Massage for 2 minutes to ensure that they are well coated.
Carefully remove the hot cookie sheet from the oven and transfer the seasoned sprouts to the pan, cut side down.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally when needed (cooking time will differ depending on the size of your sprouts, so roast until they look good to you 🙂 )
Remove the sprouts from the oven and immediately sprinkle with vegan parmesan. Stir one more time.
Serve with an extra sprinkle of vegan parmesan and red pepper flakes if desired.
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Nicole Vranjican
Hey! I’m Nicole and I make practical vegan recipes for REAL life. I cook with simple, easy to find ingredients and I’m passionate about creating delicious plant-based meals that everyone will love!
I hope you enjoy my recipes and videos :) Happy Cooking!
The combination of techniques, searing then roasting, is what gives restaurant Brussel Sprouts the upper hand on the until-now pathetic homemade variety. Eureka! Avoid using a glass baking dish with very high sides, as this will trap moisture inside the pan, causing the sprouts to steam rather than roast.
Not only can soaking make the centers more malleable, but the water that's absorbed into them will create a steaming action, whether you choose to roast, saute, or make your Brussels sprouts in your air fryer. The steam can help to ensure the cooking is even throughout the Brussels sprout.
This is because they contain a complex sugar called raffinose. Raffinose is broken down by an enzyme called alpha-galactosidase. Our digestive system doesn't produce a huge amount of this enzyme and when we consume a lot of raffinose, in the form of those delicious balls of goodness, our body has to adapt.
A splash of lemon juice, or even apple cider vinegar, works wonders on bitter sprouts. Another key ingredient is fat, which helps Brussels sprouts to crisp up. This is why it's so popular to render bacon fat and cook Brussels sprouts in it, then add the bacon bits back in at the end.
Over the last twenty years, farmers have mellowed the "unpleasant" flavor of brussels sprouts by breeding a vegetable that contains fewer bitter compounds or glucosinolates. So, brussels sprouts just taste better than they used to when we were kids. The rub is that glucosinolates help protect sprouts against pests.
Let me start by saying that many restaurants deep fry Brussels sprouts, and that's certainly a delicious (albeit sometimes greasy) option, but in my opinion, you can get equally tasty results from the oven.
To maximize the flat areas, which get the most crispy surface area, cut your Brussels sprouts in half. If your Brussels sprouts are very small, you can leave them whole (and if they are very large, quarter them).
Brining is the process of soaking food in a saltwater solution to enhance its flavor and texture. Brining brussel sprouts helps to infuse them with flavor and ensure they stay tender when cooked.
Like other cruciferous veggies, Brussels sprouts have a type of carbohydrate that your body can't easily break down. This can cause you to have belly pain, gas, and either diarrhea or constipation.
Another issue with consuming Brussels sprouts excessively is that it can lead to gas and bloating. Therefore, those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be found to be suffering painfully from consuming Brussels sprouts due to aggravated symptoms of gas and bloating.
“Brussels sprouts are high in fiber, which can promote digestive regularity,” says Rifkin. She explains that eating fiber-rich foods, like Brussels sprouts, is important because it increases stool frequency and alleviates constipation. A full 95 percent of people in the U.S. don't eat enough fiber.
If any of the leaves have brown spots or are yellowing, it's a sign of early spoilage. If you remove the blemished leaves and the interior looks OK, you can still use the sprout. However, if the interior leaves are also showing blemishes or yellowing, it's best to toss it (or compost it, if you can).
Without oil, Brussels don't brown and soften—they dehydrate. Its also possible that they simply need more time in the oven. Cooking times vary depending on their size. A cooked Brussels sprout should be pierced easily with the tip of a sharp knife.
Some people swear by cutting a cross in the bottom of each sprout, which they believe allows them to cook all through – but it's not necessary, and you'll save time if you don't. As with all vegetables, wash the trimmed sprouts in clean water before you cook them.
For restaurant chefs, this means seasoning at every step and tasting as they go to ensure each component tastes great. Salt can help coax the natural flavor out of ingredients like vegetables and meat, while herbs and spices infuse them with additional flavors.
He selected seed varieties with lower levels of the bitter chemicals and bred new high-yielding varieties that tasted less bitter. And better-tasting brussels sprouts are good, not only for our appetites but also because most of us aren't eating enough vegetables.
Researchers determined that some of the older varieties — hundreds of them, actually — stored in the “gene bank” had lower levels of two glucosinolates called sinigrin and progoitrin, the chemicals that made brussels sprouts so acrid.
Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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