Baked Brussel Sprouts with Onion and Herb Sauce

I typically don't use much frozen produce but Publix had Birdseye veggies on sale a couple weeks back so I grabbed a few bags. Topped with a creamy sauce made with sauteed onions, nutritional yeast, garlic, oat milk from the Rise Brewing Company, and some herbed cream cheese from Miyokos Creamery I honestly wouldn't have even known the difference between fresh and frozen.

One of the things that really upped my at-home cooking game in a big way was when I learned to master making a roux (pronounced rue)! Literally, the vault of all the soups and sauces you love, is guarded by the culinary gatekeeper that is, roux. All it takes is a little butter and a little flour, some liquid and seasoning…once you get this down, you’ll never buy cream sauces or soups from the can or jar again. The cream sauce for this recipe is no exception and was literally whipped up with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

What you are going to need to buy:

Brussel Sprouts - (these were the ones used in this recipe)

One medium Onion, diced

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)

Flour

Original Oat Milk from Rise Brewing

Nutritional Yeast - (If you don’t care about this recipe being vegan, you can use some grated parmesan.)

Butter - (We love THIS ONE from Earth Balance)

Herbed Cream Cheese from Miyokos Creamery

Salt & Pepper

Fresh Herbs, for garnish (pictured is Lemon Thyme)

What you are going to need to do:

Remove the brussel sprouts from the freezer and allow to begin to thaw.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

To begin, in a medium skillet, saute your onions and garlic with a little butter until the onions are soft and have taken on just a little color. Add 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and mix well.

Reduce heat to low and add another tablespoon of butter. Allow to melt.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of of flour over the top of the onions and the butter and with a large whisk, stir the flour into the onion until a paste is formed. Cook for 60 seconds and then gently add in 1 cup of oat milk, slowly, while you continue to whisk, so as not to get lumps.

Melt into mixture 1/2 cup of cream cheese.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove sauce from heat.

Remove the brussel sprouts from the bag. If they are still too frozen to cut in half, just pop them into the microwave for one minute. Cut all of the brussel sprouts in half

No need to drain any liquid from them. You sauce has likely thickened up and the moisture from the brussel spouts will help loosen it back up when combined.

It’s okay that your brussel sprouts are still cold at this point, even still slightly frozen.

Into an oven safe baking dish, mix the brussel sprouts with the sauce and top with another tablespoon of nutritional yeast (or parm.)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until bubbly. Broil for the final 2-3 minutes so the top takes on nice color.

Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Crispy Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Dates and a Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Anyone who thinks that they don’t like brussel sprouts, I dare you not to like this recipe. This dish is so good and so simple. It’s perfect for entertaining as we head into the holiday season because although brussel sprouts are often available year-round these days their peak season is from September to mid-February making them budget friendly for serving a crowd.

The trick to this recipe is, of course, fresh brussel sprouts, and really ripe dates! There is something kind of magical about the sugar content in the dates and how it almost caramelizes into a chewier crunch when they are roasted. If you are really time sensitive go ahead and get the pitted dates, but if you can spare a couple extra minutes I think buying dates with the pit in and removing yourself at home keeps them softer and sweeter. (I have no proof of this…it’s just been my experience.) With under 10 ingredients, including the spices, what’s not to love?

What you are going to need to buy:

Fresh Brussel Sprouts

Whole Dates

Pine Nuts

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)  

Maple Syrup - (The good stuff, not pancake syrup. You could also use agave or honey.)

Balsamic Vinegar - (I get mine locally here in Orlando from The Ancient Olive)

What you are going to need to do:

begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Remove all loose, witty, or soft outside petals from your brussel sprouts and cut in half length-wise.

Lightly oil, salt and pepper your brussel sprouts and place on a sheet pan or cookie sheet being careful that they are only one layer thick.

Cut your dates length-wise and remove the pit. Then cut each half length wise again so that you end up with 4 quartered wedges. Place on the sheet pan with the brussel sprouts. Roast at 400 degrees, on the middle rack for 25 minutes, flipping/stirring half-way through so that you can get some browning on all sides.

To make the glaze, mix equal parts of Olive Oil, and Balsamic Vinegar with minced garlic and maple syrup or honey, to taste. If you can’t find the thick balsamic vinegar, you can always take of of the extra soft and squishy dates from the package and scrape out the contents into the glaze. Use a fork or small wish to incorporate the date flesh into the mixture and it will thicken it up a bit. If you do this…you will need less maple syrup or honey because the dates are so naturally sweet.

After 25 minutes, turn oven on to a low broil and broil for another 5-7 minutes, checking every 90 seconds or so to make sure that nothing is burning. Note: The dates will get really dark in color, and you might be afraid that you have burned them…rest easy. You likely didn’t but this broil at the end is what makes them caramelize into a nice chewy crunch!

Once the brussel sprouts and dates are out of the oven, toss them with the glaze and allow to cool for 4-5 minutes before serving to let that glaze really thicken up. Garnish with pine nuts or chopped pistachios!

Enjoy!