I love Brussels sprouts! They are one of my all-time favorite vegetables. I love them just roasted with some seasoning, but this recipe that dresses them in a delicious bacon gruyere cheese sauce takes something that was already good and sends it over the edge to amazing! The smokiness of bacon and nuttiness of the cheese pair beautifully with the Brussels sprouts. It really elevates this vegetable to a side dish worthy of a special occasion. I made them for Thanksgiving last year and they were a hit! There wasn’t a single Brussels sprout left at the end of the dinner, which is quite an accomplishment when you account for the sheer amount of competition the dish had. I’m sure I will be making bacon Gruyere Brussel sprouts this year as well. If you need a great side dish to bring to Thanksgiving dinner this is your recipe!
The Thing About Brussel Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are a very polarizing vegetable. People seem to either love them or hate them. While of course there will always be some people who will always not like something, I truly feel many people who claim to hate Brussels sprouts just haven’t had them cooked the right way. Heres the thing about Brussels sprouts, it is all in how you cook them.
Boiled or steamed Brussels sprouts are just terrible! They smell like dirty socks while they are cooking and they don’t taste much better. For some reason, however, this seemed to be a very popular way of cooking them for years. I know that’s the way my parents had them when they were kids and they grew up loathing them. My dad tells stories of trying to swallow them whole as a kid in order to clear his plate. It’s for this very reason that I was not introduced to the vegetable until I was in my teenage years. Luckily by the time I had them, more appetizing methods of cooking this vegetable such as roasting, grilling and sauteing had become popular.
This recipe, however, has the power to convert Brussels sprout haters. I know that was the case with my mom. She hated every way I made them until I made this recipe for Thanksgiving. Now she is the one requesting that I make them again. So if you make this for your family and you come across some Brussels sprout haters try and convince them to give them another try. They might just surprise themselves.
Tips for this Recipe
Roasting Time
In the instructions below I say to roast your Brussels sprouts for 20 to 25 minutes. Usually, that is all the time they take, but occasionally the Brussels sprouts still seem hard after 25 minutes so I’ll roast them a little longer. So just check them and use your judgment. Just be careful not to burn them if you decide to go past the 25-minute mark.
Making your White Sauce
Once you add the milk to the pan you want to make sure that you are stirring frequently to ensure that you don’t burn the milk and that the sauce doesn’t break. Also if you find that the sauce has gotten too thick you can easily solve the problem with another splash of milk to loosen it up.
Traveling with Bacon Gruyere Brussel Sprouts
This is a great recipe to bring to a dinner or to make ahead of time. If that’s the case just make sure that you are using an ovenproof pan, like a casserole pan, as your serving bowl. Mix the Brussel sprouts and cheese sauce as normal but hold the chopped bacon on the side. Just pop the casserole pan in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until sprouts are warmed through and top with chopped bacon before serving.
Bacon Gruyere Brussels Sprouts
Equipment
- skillet
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 2 lbs brussel sprouts halved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Gruyere Cheese Sauce
- 3 strips bacon
- 1 small onion diced fine
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 1¾ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ¼ cup Gruyere cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Half and rinse brussel sprouts and turn out onto a large cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss and put in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes. Once the brussel sprouts are roasting start on the cheese sauce.
Gruyere Cheese Sauce
- In a skillet fry 3 strips of bacon so that they are very crispy. Move the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain and set aside for later.
- Turn the skillet down to medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic into the skillet with the bacon grease and saute for 1-2 minutes or until onions become translucent.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute and a half or until flour just starts to brown.
- Slowly pour in the whole milk whisking to incorporate. Turn the heat to low and add salt, white pepper, and ground mustard and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the grated cheese and cook for another minute. Taste and add more salt or pepper if need be.
- Once the brussel sprouts are done roasting transfer to a serving bowl. Pour Gruyere cheese sauce over the brussel sprouts and mix. Top with chopped bacon. and serve.
Thank you for reading! I hope you like this recipe please remember to rate, comment and share!
