My son doesn’t like many vegetables. He won’t willingly eat most vegetables on his own. He eats what he likes first and then plays or walks around the dining table as I find ways to get him to eat the veggies. Most of the time, he negotiates for a piece of fruit for each spoonful of veggie that he eats. Not a bad compromise, except for the fact that I have to feed him! That’s why it was a surprise when he willingly ate these honey roasted Brussels sprouts on his own! These Brussels sprouts are kid-tested and kid-approved!
I used to call these vegetables “brussel sprouts”. Spell checker caught the error and after googling, I found that Brussels sprouts are named after the city of Brussels in Belgium. Brussels sprouts are super nutritious. They are low in calories, high in fiber and vitamin C, protects you from cancer, and more!
The first time I roasted these cute mini cabbages, the kitchen had a smoky burnt smell. The roasted Brussels sprout leaves were burnt and inedible. When the kids tried the bulbs, they were not happy. They complained this was the worst veggie ever. My husband and I had a hard time eating the Brussels sprouts ourselves so the kids got lucky and had a night off from vegetables. A couple of things I learned that night: 1) Roasting Brussels sprouts for too long causes them to become bitter. 2) The leaves of the Brussels sprouts roast much faster than the bulbs so you need to watch carefully or else they will burn in a matter of seconds! 3) Foil is NOT non-stick!
Now, here we are, many moons later, after making these honey roasted Brussels sprouts countless number of times. The kids get excited when they see that we’re having Brussels sprouts and will often fight over who gets the last of the crunchy, greenest of the green leaves. A mother’s dream come true? A win! Now I roast the bulbs for no more than 10 minutes (12 minutes tops). If the bulbs are too big, I quarter them. I separate the leaves from the bulbs onto different baking sheets so that I can take the leaves out earlier (usually at the 5 minute mark). And most of all, I use parchment paper so the leaves and bulbs leave the baking sheet easily, with no foil stuck to it!
Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Equipment
- oven
- parchment paper
- 2 baking sheets
Ingredients
- 20 Brussels sprouts we usually eat 5 sprouts per person
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F, with 2 racks, at the middle and lower position. Put parchment paper on the two baking sheets.
- Wash off any debris from the Brussels sprouts. Cut off the ends and halve the Brussels sprouts lengthwise and put them in a bowl. Don't throw away any leaves that may separate from the Brussels sprouts.
- Toss and mix the Brussels sprouts in olive oil.
- Toss and mix the Brussels sprouts in honey.
- Toss and mix the Brussels sprouts in garlic salt.
- Spread the Brussels sprout leaves on one baking sheet. Spread the Brussels sprout bulbs, cut side face down, on the other baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle a bit more garlic salt on the Brussels sprouts.
- Put the Brussels sprout bulbs baking sheet in the top rack and the leaves baking sheet in the bottom rack.
- Bake the leaves for 5-7 minutes. Do watch the leaves carefully as they can start burning without notice after the 5 minute mark. Bake the bulbs for 10-12 minutes. Use a fork to stab the largest bulb to see if it's tender. Larger sprouts may require longer cooking time. From our experiences, we've never gone more than 12 minutes.
