Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

Name: Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: Brussels Sprouts:; 2 lb brussels sprouts (, washed, trimmed and cut lengthwise); 4 tbsp olive oil divided; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; Sweet and Sour Sauce:; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1/2 tsp rosemary; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 2 tbsp unsalted roasted pumpkin seeds ((pepitas))

By Lyubomira

5 from 6 votes

Dec 14, 2014, Updated Jan 05, 2023

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Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts. Pre-cooked, then roasted, tossed in sweet-and-sour sauce and topped with roasted pepitas. Perfect for a side dish or light vegetarian (vegan) meal.

Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts Side Dish Mini Cabbages — Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

Hi everyone! How’s your Sunday going? Getting a little stressed out with holiday plans and holiday shopping? I sure am!

I’m also in a mood to eat healthier before Christmas, that’s why today I made these tender sweet and sour brussels sprouts. I know that you either love brussels sprouts or hate them, but I’m trying to do my best and experiment with as many different recipes as possible, to find out what the best and easiest way to prepare them is.

Since I enjoy cooking and eating these mini cabbages, I often roast them, eat them raw in a salad or precook (blanch) them and lightly roast them.

Stems can be really tough, even if you roast brussels sprouts and this is something my husband hates. In order to tenderize them, but not over cook or make them mushy, I like to blanch brussels sprouts and then roast them in the oven just a little, until golden.

Tender Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts Side Dish Christmas — Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

That’s exactly what I did with these tender sweet and sour brussels sprouts. After roasting them, I tossed them in a very simple and flavorful sauce. The sauce creates a sweet and sour counter balance with a slight tint of spiciness. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the flavors in this sauce, you can totally prepare brussels sprouts the way I did and then toss them in your favorite sauce. Italian salad dressing or reduced balsamic vinegar drizzle work great.

Toppings like cooked and crumbled bacon, shredded parmesan cheese or bread crumbs make a fantastic addition to this dish. I added some unsalted roasted pepitas for an even healthier crunch.

Blanching is a process, where vegetables (or fruits) are plunged into a boiling water for a short interval of time and then plunged into iced water to stop the cooking process. It is a popular method to soften brussels sprouts, it does remove a little bit of the flavor, but they still retain their green color. I always roast sprouts after blanching them, just to add extra texture and flavor. Then I add some sauce, in this case a sweet and sour one.

These sweet and sour brussels sprouts could make a nice side dish for your holiday menu. They take around 40 minutes to make and could be stored in the fridge with or without the sauce on, in air-tight contained for up to 3 days.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Have a great rest of the weekend! I promise this is my last brussels sprouts recipe for this year (for those of you, who are getting bored).