Name: The Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 lb Brussels sprouts; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 4 garlic cloves, smashed; 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tbsp honey; 1/3 cup grated Parmesan; 1 lemon, zested and halved; to taste flaky sea salt (for finishing); 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

The Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Prep

10m

Cook

30m

Total

40m

Bigly says

OK, here we go. Brussels sprouts. And I can hear it already, the groaning, the chairs sliding back from the table — you're picturing some gray, floppy, sulfur-smelling pile your aunt boiled for forty-five minutes in 1987 and called a side dish. That wasn't food. That was a hostage situation on a serving spoon. A disgrace to the sprout, a disgrace to the cabbage family, a disgrace to dinner. Whoever taught a generation of Americans to boil these things owes us all damages.

The sprouts we're making? Different planet. CRISPY. CARAMELIZED. The loose leaves fall off in the pan and turn into these little salty chips, dark and shattering, and I'll say it right now — those chips alone are better than most appetizers at most restaurants. My grandmother — and she was a tough woman, a tough woman, you did not bring her bad vegetables — she made hers exactly this way. The neighbor who taught her lived to 102. Could be coincidence. Probably not.

Here is the real deal. HIGH HEAT. Hot oven. Cut side DOWN on a screaming hot pan. And — and this is the part most so-called chefs skip, they skip it because they don't respect the vegetable — DON'T CROWD THE PAN. Crowded pan equals steamed sadness. Give every sprout its own zip code. They roast like they were always meant to roast, the cut faces go mahogany, the leaves go crisp, the kitchen smells like a place people actually live. It's just a fact.

Ingredients

1.5 lbBrussels sprouts(look for tight, bright green heads, not the yellowing sad ones)
1/4 cupolive oil
1 tspkosher salt
1/2 tspblack pepper
4garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbspbalsamic vinegar(good balsamic, not the gas station stuff)
1 tbsphoney
1/3 cupgrated Parmesan(real Parmigiano-Reggiano, the green can is a war crime)
1lemon, zested and halved
to tasteflaky sea salt (for finishing)
1/4 tspred pepper flakes (optional)

Steps

1
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C). Put a heavy rimmed sheet pan in the oven while it heats — a hot pan is the difference between crispy and steamed.
2
Trim the stem ends off the Brussels sprouts and remove any loose or yellow outer leaves. Halve them lengthwise through the core. Quarter any that are larger than a golf ball.
3
In a large bowl, toss the sprouts with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and smashed garlic until evenly coated.
4
Carefully pull the hot sheet pan from the oven. Tip the sprouts onto the pan in a single layer, then use tongs to turn every single one cut-side down. This is the step that makes the recipe.
5
Roast undisturbed for 18-22 minutes, until the cut sides are deeply browned and the loose leaves are crispy and almost-burnt. Do not stir early. Resist.
6
While the sprouts roast, whisk balsamic vinegar and honey in a small bowl.
7
Pull the pan from the oven. Drizzle the balsamic-honey mixture over the sprouts and toss to coat. Return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes, just to set the glaze.
8
Transfer to a serving platter. Shower with grated Parmesan, lemon zest, a generous squeeze of lemon juice, flaky salt, and red pepper flakes if using. Serve immediately.

One more thing

And there it is. The vegetable kids used to hide in their napkins is suddenly the thing your in-laws ask for SECONDS of. The platter empties before the turkey. Before the stuffing. Before everything but the mashed potatoes — the mashed potatoes are untouchable, we don't even start that fight. Sprouts get their crowning moment. Make them once, the whole family relationship with this little green cabbage marble is rewritten for good. Beautiful.