Crispy Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Are you getting tired of broccoli? Give Brussels sprouts a try! 

This Crispy Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe will provide you with mind-blowing, rich, buttery, and nutty-tasting morsels that are caramelized and crispy on the outside and slightly tender on the inside in just 10 minutes.

This vegetable side dish is popular starting October through March in the Midwest region when Brussels sprouts are more readily available at your local market as they are a cool season vegetable. Brussels sprouts are a great alternative to broccoli.

If you have overcooked vegetables while roasting them in the oven like me, I highly recommend checking out the cookbook Mozza at Home, by Nancy Silverton with Carolynn Carreno. Reading this cookbook inspired me to improve the process of making the best-roasted Brussels sprouts in the oven at home by increasing my oven temperature and shortening the cooking time.

This is not really a recipe, but rather a procedure on how to cook the best Brussels sprouts using your oven. Yes, the oven temperature will be piping hot but not so hot that the smoke detectors go off.

Combine the heat with a nude cookie sheet (do not line your sheet pans) placed on top of a pizza stone and ghee for the cooking oil, which has a high smoke point and buttery, nutty taste. 

And then, we will ignore the sprouts for a little bit while they're in the oven. When you open the oven door and pull the cookie sheet from the oven, you will hear the little Brussels sprouts sizzling and lightly whistling from the heat quieting down as they recover from the sear.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• You can take a break from broccoli. 
• This 10-minute oven-roasted Brussels sprouts recipe is a fast, easy, and tasty weeknight vegetable side dish.
• You can double or triple this recipe for a large crowd.
• This restaurant-style oven-roasted brussel sprouts recipe can be made ahead and reheated in your oven.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts are a great side dish for your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.

Common Issues When Roasting Brussels Sprouts

• The Brussels sprouts are overcooked and mushy from cooking them too long.
• The finished dish is underseasoned and needs salt.
• Opening the oven door. Keep it closed while they are cooking so you don't risk lowering your oven temperature and reducing the caramelization.
• The oven temperature is too low for roasting and getting a char on the Brussels sprouts simultaneously.
• To get the best results, only buy fresh Brussels sprouts rather than frozen. Roasting frozen Brussel Sprouts results in a soft texture.

• Whole Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts need to be fresh, not frozen. They should be smaller in size than a golf ball with tight outer leaves and minimal browned edges.
• Ghee: Because of the higher oven temperature, Ghee is my recommended cooking oil for these Brussels sprouts. Ghee is clarified butter where butter is cooked to remove the water and strain the milk solids. You can find it in the baking aisle of your store. Since Ghee's smoke point is higher than olive oil, it provides a crispier texture and a nutty, buttery, rich flavor without smoking up my oven.
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper: Grinding your peppercorns the day of cooking is best.
• Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt: I prefer the brand, Diamond Crystal, because their shape is lighter and flakey and dissolves faster which helps prevent over-seasoning. If using Morton or table salt, reduce the salt measurements by half.

See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.

Substitutions

• Ghee - Instead of ghee, you can use a neutral oil like canola oil or vegetable oil. If you prefer to substitute olive oil for the ghee, that works, too. In my experience, my oven becomes very smokey when I use olive oil in this recipe.

Variations

Here are some suggestions to add to this oven roasted brussel sprouts recipe.

• Lemon - Squeeze half a lemon over the cooked Brussels sprouts and stir.
• Bacon - Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top before serving.
• Freshly Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese - Elevate this dish by grating this cheese right over the warm Brussels sprouts. Make sure it's the real cheese from Italy. Costco offers it for a reasonable price.

Equipment

If you haven't already, I suggest dedicating an aluminum 18 inch by 13 inch by 1 inch cookie sheet exclusively for high-temperature oven roasting vegetables. Over time, it will darken and perhaps become a bit distorted, but that's OK. It reminds me of my age-old cast iron skillet which now has great seasoning and is relatively easy to clean. Save your newer and sparkly aluminum sheet pan to bake your cookies and sheet cakes.

Do not line the cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper for this oven roasted Brussels sprouts recipe. Both types of liners will impede the high-temperature heat needed to sear the bottom of the sprouts. Also, parchment paper will start to burn at this temperature.

A rectangular pizza stone or baking stone is recommended in this recipe because it absorbs and retains heat which helps the searing and caramelization of the brussel sprouts in less time. If you don't use a baking stone, the caramelization is reduced.

How To Make The Best Crispy Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Ghee

Before you start: If you double this recipe or you get the feeling that your pan is too crowded, you are probably right and will end up steaming your Brussels sprouts before they are caramelized.

To prevent steaming, use two separate cookie sheets and cook each sheet one at a time or reuse one cookie sheet for each batch.

Storage

Room Temperature

You can also cook, cool, and store them on the same cookie sheet and return the cookie sheet to the oven to reheat before serving if it is within 2 hours. 

Refrigerator

You can make oven roasted Brussels sprouts up to 3 days ahead of time, allow them to come to room temperature on the cookie sheet before transferring to a covered container in the refrigerator.

Freezing is not recommended because their texture will turn mushy.

Reheating Instructions

The oven is the best method to reheat the Brussels sprouts. Reheat in a 350°F oven on a cookie sheet for 3-4 minutes.

I do not recommend using the microwave to reheat oven roasted vegetables because they lose their crunch and texture unless it's your leftover lunch the next day and the microwave is your only option.

If you need to microwave them before serving, use extreme caution so that you don’t steam them, and they become mushy and yucky.