Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Name: Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved; 1 lb bacon, sliced into bite-size pieces; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional); Splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)

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Bring some bacon “wow” to these traditional roasted brussels sprouts in this easy, flavorful, and healthy recipe that pairs well with roasted chicken, slow cooker pot roast, and a host of other savory meals. Made with 6 simple ingredients and serves perfectly as leftovers!

Everything You Need to Know About

1. Why Make Brussels Sprouts with Bacon?

2. Ingredients

3. Notes on Ingredients

4. How to Make Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

5. Best Tips for Making Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

6. Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Bacon FAQs

7. Other Great Veggie Sides

8. Bacon Brussels Sprouts

A cast iron skillet with freshly roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and onions. The text overlay reads, 'Bacon & Brussel Sprouts.'

When I married my husband 15+ years ago, he would barely eat anything I made for him. He turned his nose up to tomatoes (unless it was a sauce on pizza), all ground meat, all fish, and pretty much all vegetables other than canned green beans.

While he’s come a LONG way since then, I was still shocked when he told me my bacon Brussels sprouts recipe was his favorite side dish!

Granted, it’s hard to hate anything with bacon, but the fact that he’s been requesting this nearly every week for several years now means it really is his favorite. I’m hoping that this recipe becomes a family favorite in your home too!

Why Make Brussels Sprouts with Bacon?

If you weren’t sold at “bacon,” I can think of a handful of reasons why you should make this Brussels sprouts with bacon recipe:

My kids love it (which means yours will probably like it too)
My husband BEGS for it
It’s easy to make
Just 6 ingredients
Great way to enjoy bacon and stretch it further
Makes great leftovers!

Ingredients

Sliced Brussels sprouts roasted and stirred in a cast iron skillet with bacon, onions, and seasonings.

The ingredients for bacon Brussels sprouts are quite simple – only two main ingredients in addition to seasonings that you likely have on hand in your kitchen already.

Brussels sprouts
Bacon
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper (optional)
Balsamic vinegar (optional)

That’s it!

Notes on Ingredients

Bacon – We buy uncured bacon from ButcherBox (Click HERE for an exclusive special for Crumbs readers), but even the best bacon can make a lot of grease. If you have more than a few tablespoons of grease in your skillet, drain the bacon grease into a glass jar and set aside (we purposely keep peanut butter jars or jelly jars for this). That way you can add more bacon grease if you need it, but your vegetables won’t be too greasy in the end.

Brussels Sprouts – I like using large sprouts because there’s less to cut, but any size will work. Just be sure to slice them in half before cooking so they get tender on the inside as well as the outside!

Balsamic Vinegar – I don’t add the vinegar anymore, but you may need a splash if your family thinks the sprouts are bitter. Just a splash though!

How to Make Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon is pretty straight-forward and easy side dish, but give yourself 30 minutes if you’ve never made it before. (Don’t worry, most of it is stirring.)

Step 1. Slice the bacon into bite-size pieces and cook the bacon in a large skillet (I use my 12” cast iron skillet) on medium high heat until it’s done. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and keep the bacon grease in the pan. (See my note about excess bacon grease in the “best tips” section below.)

Sliced bacon being cooked in a cast iron skillet, before the Brussels Sprouts and onions are added to the recipe for bacon Brussels sprouts.

Step 2. While the bacon is cooking, trim the ends of the Brussels sprouts and cut them in halve from top to bottom. When the bacon is done, add the Brussels sprouts to the pan and stir well to coat with bacon grease. Cook until the Brussels sprouts are tender, about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Freshly washed and sliced raw Brussels Sprouts are placed into a cast iron skillet.

Step 3. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper and stir well. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you prefer additional flavor. Add the bacon, stir well, and serve!

(Exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.)

Best Tips for Making Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

A cast iron skillet with freshly roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and onions. A wooden spoon stirs the Brussels sprouts as they saute.

You’ll notice that we’re using TWO pounds of Brussels sprouts and ONE pound of bacon. That’s on purpose so we stretch our bacon and get more out of our grocery dollars. If you want to stretch it even further, sauté 1-2 diced onions in the bacon grease before adding the Brussels sprouts.

If you REALLY want to add flare to this recipe, add the onion I just mentioned above AND stir in 8 oz halved mushrooms halfway into the Brussels sprouts cooking time.

We use uncured bacon, but even the highest quality bacon is sometimes on the fatty side. If you have more than a few tablespoons of grease in your skillet, drain the bacon grease into a glass jar and set aside (we purposely keep peanut butter jars or jelly jars for this). That way you can add more bacon grease if you need it, but your vegetables won’t be too greasy in the end.

If you keep the bacon fat, be sure to use it in recipes like fried rice and fried sweet potatoes and runny eggs!

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Bacon FAQs

What meat pairs well with Brussels sprouts?

We love making Brussels sprouts with steak on Friday night as our “date-night in” meal, but you can’t go wrong with grilled chicken or pork chops either. We even serve this at Thanksgiving!
Psst! Quality meat is important to us, so we buy grass-fed and grass-finished beef from Butcher Box. Their steaks are AMAZING, and much more affordable than our local steakhouse!
Crumbs readers can save HERE with a special offer!

How do you make Brussels sprouts less bitter?

Brussels sprouts taste bitter because they come from the cabbage family, but you can tame this by adding acid. A quick splash of balsamic vinegar is a great idea, or even distilled vinegar or rice wine vinegar are good if you don’t want the balsamic flavor.

What size Brussels sprouts are best?

I’ve made this with all sizes of sprouts – small, medium, and large – and it doesn’t matter what size Brussels sprout you choose. What does matter though, is that you cut them in half from top to bottom. Otherwise the inside of the sprout will remain tough while the outside gets tender.

Other Great Veggie Sides

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