Sheet-Pan Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onion
One pan, one very hot oven: bacon and sliced onion get a head start, then halved Brussels sprouts go in cut side down and roast until deep golden and crisp at the edges. About 50 minutes, most of it hands-off.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Brussels sprouts went from the most-mocked vegetable on the plate to a restaurant favorite, and plant breeding is part of the reason. Wikipedia says sprouts were probably grown near Brussels, where they got their name, possibly as early as the 13th century; the first written reference is from 1587; French settlers grew them in Louisiana; commercial planting in the Louisiana delta began in 1925; and by 1939 much of the US crop had moved to California's Central Coast. In the 1990s the Dutch scientist Hans van Doorn identified the compounds that make sprouts bitter, sinigrin and progoitrin, which let seed companies cross old, mild varieties with high-yielding ones; Wikipedia says that is part of why sprouts became popular again. Roasting at high heat is the American way to finish the job: America's Test Kitchen's version starts the bacon and onion first, then presses the sprouts cut side down onto the hot pan.
🇺🇸 This one is American
One pan, one very hot oven: bacon and sliced onion get a head start, then halved Brussels sprouts go in cut side down and roast until deep golden and crisp at the edges. About 50 minutes, most of it hands-off.
🇺🇸 The original
The original is succotash: corn and beans cooked together, the Three Sisters of Native American farming with squash beside them. See the Three Sisters Succotash recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Head start for the bacon
The bacon renders its fat and the onion softens before the sprouts go in, so they finish at the same time and the sprouts roast in bacon fat (ATK).
Cut side down on the lowest rack
Flat faces pressed against a very hot pan near the heat brown deeply and sweetly instead of steaming (ATK).
🧰 You'll need 6 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
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Step by step
- Step 1
Set a rack in the lowest position and heat the oven to 475°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil spray.
- Step 2
Trim only a thin slice off each sprout stem so the leaves stay attached, then halve them. Toss the sprouts with 1 tbsp oil in a large bowl. Toss the onion with the other 1 tbsp oil in a small bowl.
- Step 3
Spread the onion on one half of the baking sheet and the bacon on the other half. Roast 7 to 9 minutes, until the bacon starts to brown and the onion softens.
- Step 4
Set the sheet on a wire rack. Add the sprouts, stir them together with the bacon and onion, then turn every sprout cut side down and press it into the pan.
- Step 5
Roast 15 to 17 minutes more, until the sprouts are deep golden brown underneath and the bacon is crisp.
✓ What it should look like - Step 6
Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, scrape everything onto a platter, browned bits and all, and serve.
Sheet-Pan Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onion
Serves 4 · about 4 cups · 50 min total
- 1 1/2 lb Brussels sprouts, similar in size, trimmed and halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Vegetable oil spray
Equipment: Oven, Rimmed baking sheet, Wire rack, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Mixing bowls
Method
- Set a rack in the lowest position and heat the oven to 475°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with oil spray.
- Trim only a thin slice off each sprout stem so the leaves stay attached, then halve them. Toss the sprouts with 1 tbsp oil in a large bowl. Toss the onion with the other 1 tbsp oil in a small bowl.
- Spread the onion on one half of the baking sheet and the bacon on the other half. Roast 7 to 9 minutes, until the bacon starts to brown and the onion softens.
- Set the sheet on a wire rack. Add the sprouts, stir them together with the bacon and onion, then turn every sprout cut side down and press it into the pan.
- Roast 15 to 17 minutes more, until the sprouts are deep golden brown underneath and the bacon is crisp.
- Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, scrape everything onto a platter, browned bits and all, and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Country, October/November 2016), "Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Onion" by Diane Unger (August 19, 2016), as written (ATK says 4 to 6; we call it 4). America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Make-ahead (ours): trim and halve the sprouts Wednesday and refrigerate them in a zip-top bag with a paper towel. Slice the onion and cut the bacon the same day.
- Pick sprouts of the same size so they cook evenly (ATK).
- For a crowd, use two sheet pans on the lowest and lower-middle racks and switch them halfway through the second roast.
- A drizzle of maple syrup or balsamic vinegar at the end is a popular finish; it is not in ATK's recipe.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Brussels sprouts come from Brussels. Disputed: Wikipedia says they were grown near Brussels, "possibly" by the 13th century, but the same article also says sprouts first appeared in northern Europe in the 5th century.
- Sprouts used to taste more bitter. Documented: Wikipedia says breeders crossed in low-bitterness varieties after Hans van Doorn identified the bitter compounds in the 1990s.
- Cut an X in the stem so they cook evenly. Folklore: Wikipedia says it is commonly believed and may be ineffective; it is not needed for halved sprouts.
- Roasting beats boiling. Folklore: a matter of taste, but the browning only happens in dry heat.
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