Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

The best brussels sprouts and mushrooms recipe – good, easy pan fried brussels sprouts with onion and mushrooms for a good holiday side dish even picky eaters will love!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

If you love rich, buttery brussels sprouts as much as we do, this recipe will soon become one of your favorite holiday side dishes.

These brussels sprouts are good – a little salty, a little meaty, and are packed with flavor – but go from the fridge to the fork in less than 20 minutes.

Brussels sprouts pair perfectly with ribeye roastpork tenderloinand even baked chicken thighs – and this recipe is naturally keto friendly and low carb for those cutting back on sugars.

How To Cook Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are best when caramelized – allowing the bitter flavor to leave, and pulling out the buttery rich, slightly sweet flavor similar to fried cabbage.

Chopping the brussels sprouts and quickly cooking in butter (we prefer clarified butter for it's higher smokepoint)

How To Cut Brussels Sprouts

When you buy brussels sprouts, they come a few ways – either whole on the stalk, whole sprouts off the stalk, or sprouts that have the stem removed and are either cut, shaved, or chopped.

While we love to buy the bags of pre-prepped brussels sprouts, it is pretty expensive, and not always readily available – but thankfully brussels sprouts are incredibly easy to cut and prepare ahead of cooking.

Clean Brussels Sprouts

To clean brussels sprouts, you should discard any areas that have browned or outer leaves that seem a bit brown/yellow.

Soak in water and gently shake to remove any excess dirt (not common on bulk brussels sprouts, but can be found often on sprouts still on the stalk.)

Let dry on a paper towel to remove excess water from your sprouts!

Remove Brussels Sprouts Stem and Halve

The easiest way to prepare brussels sprouts for pan frying involves only two knife cuts per brussels sprout – trim the stem off at the base of the brussels sprout and then chop brussels sprout in half.

While you can eat much of the stem, it can be bitter and takes longer to cook to soft – we prefer to trim off as much of the brussels sprout stem as possible, but we also try to not worry too much about it and work quickly.

Shave/Chop Brussels Sprouts

For even more savory, crunchy, and caramelized brussels sprouts, we like to chop them into a “hash”, or even shave them with a mandoline (be careful with your fingers!).

Giving your brussels sprouts more surface area helps them cook quicker at a higher temperature so you can have a lovely caramelized flavor without making the brussels sprouts too soft or soggy.

How To Make Brussels Sprouts Not Taste Bitter

If you're trying to avoid bitter brussels, there are a lot of options to help pull out the buttery, sweet cabbage flavor brussels sprouts can have, including our tips below:

Cook Hot and Fast

The best way to make brussels sprouts not bitter is to cook brussels sprouts hot and fast – which usually means frying or pan frying.

Getting caramelization on the brussels sprouts, without making them over cooked (overcooked brussels sprouts often taste somewhat sulphuric – over boiled brussels sprouts are the top way to make them bitter) is the best way to pull out a rich good flavor and cover bitterness.

You want your brussels sprouts to brown and caramelize – not get soggy and soft – so cook on high heat, quickly.

Chop Finely For a Hash

The next easy way to get solid, never bitter brussels sprouts is by chopping, shaving, or dicing brussels sprouts.

This works by making the sprouts cook faster, and gives more surface area to crisp and brown, without becoming soggy.

Brussel sprout hash, cried brussels sprouts chips, and chopped brussels sprouts are all crunchy, rich, savory, and so good.

How To Pick solid Brussels Sprouts

If you're looking to cut down on the bitter flavor some brussels sprouts can have, starting with the right brussels sprouts can have a big impact on the final flavor.

When picking the most flavorful brussels sprouts, look for ones that are:

• Are bright, vibrant green.
• Are only around 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Smaller sprouts often have more flavor!
• Are tightly packed without loose leaves.
• Are free from yellowing or browning.

How To Make Brussels Sprouts Smell Good

Much like a sometimes bitter flavor, many people shy away from brussels sprouts because of the smell.

Brussels sprouts, like many cabbages, can have a rotten-egg or stale gas smell when. over-boiled – which is about the least appetizing thing you can think of.

Brussels sprouts should smell rich, buttery, and almost meaty when pan fried – and this dish delivers big time on a hearty and good smell that wont turn off picky eaters.

Why To Serve Brussels Sprouts at Christmas

We love learning the history of dishes that become so important to celebrations – and often wondered why exactly we serve brussels sprouts at Christmastime (and Thanksgiving, as well.)

There are often trends in dining, and despite many people claiming to hate brussels sprouts (which we won't anymore, because we took all that bitter flavor out of the equation with the tips above) – so why have brussels sprouts long been served at Christmastime?

It turns out that despite the Belgian heritage of these tiny cabbages, the popularity of brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner alongside a roast was largely popularized by Brits, excited by the newly imported vegetables in the late 1800's, when the idea of a big holiday feast was taking hold across the UK.

Since brussels sprouts season peaks in winter, it was only natural that serving them alongside hearty winter roasts, stews, and for big holiday dinners quickly became popular – and we've been serving them ever since.

Thankfully, we've progressed passed overcooked, bitter, and stinky brussels sprouts of old – this pan friend brussels sprouts recipe honors the culinary history of brussels sprouts, with a flavor everyone at your Christmas dinner will actually want to eat!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 lb brussels sprouts, halved, with stems removed.
• 1 white onion, skin removed, halved, and diced finely.
• 8 oz sliced cleaned cremini mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• ¼ cup chicken or beef stock

Method

1. In a large, heavy pan, melt butter until light and foamy.
2. Add diced onion to pan and let soften and become fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic and stir, let soften, about 1 minute.
4. Stir in brussels, fresh cracked pepper, and mushrooms.
5. Cook on medium high, stirring often, until brussels and mushrooms have browned and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Do not let burn.
6. Pour in chicken stock and adobo seasonings, mix well.
7. Turn heat to high and cook off stock, stirring to prevent burning, until stock has cooked off.
8. Serve and enjoy!