These aren’t your mother’s (or grandmother’s) brussels sprouts.
They’re upgraded brussels sprouts with apples and blue cheese. Brussels 2.0, if you will. The sweet apples and savory onions naturally pair well together offset the sulfurous, cabbage-like flavor of the brussels. Toss in a few crumbles of piquant and creamy blue cheese and you’ve got a recipe for a marriage proposal.
When I met my husband more than 13 years ago I knew almost right away that one of the ways to his heart, like that of many men, was through his stomach. But this recipe confirmed that. We were both relatively “new” to eating brussels sprouts at that time, having had them growing up, but never really embraced them (who can embrace the flavor of boiled brussels?)
But this recipe changed that. When they hit the table I could see I had his attention. He took a bite and from the look on his face I knew I’d found the surest way to his heart and it wasn’t long after that that a ring showed up on my finger. Now to this day when I make them he’ll often say, “I’d marry you all over again.”
Weeknight dinner, Dish to pass or Holiday table
Even if you’re not looking for marriage proposal this side dish is where it’s at. Sweet, salty, savory and creamy. Pretty much everything you could want in a food. They’re delicious hot or cold and come together quickly when you’ve trimmed and cut the sprouts, onions and apples ahead of time. I just toss them all into a covered container and refrigerate them up to 2 days before tossing them with oil and popping them in the oven to roast.
These brussels sprouts with apples and blue cheese make a regular appearance on our weeknight table and holiday celebrations because they’re just that good. And the leftovers are great served with a fried egg for breakfast or served cold atop a mixed green salad with drizzle of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
If you want to make the dish dairy-free, Paleo or vegan, just leave out the blue cheese and add an extra pinch of salt or a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
Delicious and Nutritious
Brussels sprouts are great sources of vitamin K (blood clotting and bone health), vitamin C (immune system support, healthy skin and teeth and wound repair) and folate (blood cell formation, energy metabolism and heart health) and are particularly rich in glucosinolates, a phytonutrient that is the chemical starting point for many of the protective anti-cancer substances produced by the body.
If you’ve been a brussels sprouts abstainer it’s time to revisit this powerhouse vegetable. These are nothing like the strong-smelling and bitter brussels you may have been forced to eat growing up. Because they’re roasted at a high temp for a relatively short time, they get sweet not bitter.
Overcooking causes the release of sulfur which is responsible for the ‘rotten egg’ smell you sometimes get from boiled cabbage or other cruciferous vegetables. Roasting also improves the cholesterol-lowering properties of brussels which is yet another reason why you’ll want to add this dish to your regular meal planning rotation.
Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Blue Cheese
Sweet, salty, savory and creamy. Everything you could want in a cancer-fighting superfood that’s equally at home on your weeknight table as it is on a holiday table or dinner party.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
- 1 small apple, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 ½ Tbsp. olive or avocado oil
- 3 Tbsp. (1 oz.) crumbled blue cheese
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Trim outer leaves and bottoms from sprouts and slice in half lengthwise (quarters if they’re really big). Place on baking sheet.
- Add chopped apple and diced onion to baking sheet with sprouts. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
- Roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time, until sprouts are tender and lightly charred on the edges.
- Remove from oven and toss with blue cheese crumbles before serving.
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 7g
- Sodium: 124mg
- Carbohydrate: 16g
- (Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 6g)
- Protein: 6g
Dietary
Are you brussels sprouts lover? Tell us all about it and share your favorite way to enjoy them in the comments below.
And now I know how I’ll be doing my Brussels for thanksgiving this year!!! Sounds delicious! Thanks!!!
These Brussels Sprouts are simply amazing! Your family won’t know what hit them! We’d love to hear your thoughts.
My husband HATES brussels sprouts. And I don’t use the ‘H-word’ lightly – it’s actually forbidden in our household with rare exception! But he truly does feel so strongly about brussels sprouts that he has granted himself the right of this descriptor for this vegetable. (I, however, am a vegetable enthusiast – wouldn’t know it to look at me though!) ; ) However, without advance warning for the household, I made this dish. Of course, initially my husband pouted. How could I be so inconsiderate as to make a dish of a vegetable that he so despised?! However, we do have a 3-bite rule in our household as well, that states you must take 3 bites before determining like or dislike. Our daughter hesitantly tried first, for no other reason than she wanted to show her dad who was the braver. By her 7th forkful, and still going at it like she would never be fed again, my husband conceded to his first bite. I had to prep the fork for him so the bite contained a li’l bit of each ingredient, else he was content to try to take only a single, partial leaf. He chewed slowly, then swallowed. “Hmmm?!” he said in closed mouthed disbelief. Then he went in for a 2nd bite, and then a third! I had to take the fork away from him so that he would stop eating from the tray! A TRUE HIT – A FANTASTIC SUCCESS!! ***Caveat: My husband still insists that he hates brussels sprouts, but when I make this dish he says, “These aren’t brussels sprouts. The are little mini cabbages, roasted with magic!”
★★★★★
Okay, this comment made my night! I LOVE it! My husband is such a picky eater too and I do the exact same thing. I will fork the food for him and pretty much give him a motivational speech before he actually gives it a try. Crazy! Thank you so much for sharing! We love hearing ‘real food’ successes such as this one 🙂
Oh my! I’m dying over here reading your comment and I just had to chime in. As the creator of the “mini cabbages, roasted with magic” I can attest to their power to convert even the most die-hard brussels haters. I originally developed this recipe for my brother to prove to him just how amazing brussels can be. Like your hubby, I did get a thumbs up from him but not without a wary, sidelong gaze across the Thanksgiving dinner table. So that leads me to this question – what is it about men and brussels?! (Thankfully I married a vegetable equal opportunist.)
Thanks again for sharing! I’m still laughing.
I haven’t tried this dish yet but am making it tonight. I just wanted to add, as a current nursing student, that I really appreciated your attention to the very important detail of the health benefits of brussels sprouts!
Hi Heidi,
I hope you loved this dish – thanks for giving it a try. I’m married to an RN and Brussels are his spirit animal. Seriously, he could eat them everyday. Though I doubt his coworkers would appreciate that.
So easy, and so tasty. Perfect for any meal – holiday or everyday. My hubby now makes a this side dish his main meal! I’ve used all different types of apples with no issues. And sometimes I’ve swapped out the onions for shallots. Either way – Yum!
★★★★★