Easy pan fried brussels sprouts with smoky bacon and balsamic drizzle! The perfect vegetable side dish for Christmas and Thanksgiving!
You'll never again need to endure soggy mushy sprouts with these beautifully tender pan-fried Brussels sprouts with bacon!
Pan frying Brussels sprouts ensure that they are beautifully caramelised on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside!
👩🍳 Have an air fryer? Try my crispy air fryer brussels sprouts too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best Brussels sprouts recipe!
- Quick and easy to make.
- Pan fried not boiled.
- Salty bacon complements the Brussels sprouts.
- Caramelised on the outside, tender in the middle.
- Perfect as a Christmas side dish.
🛒 Ingredients
- Brussels Sprouts - trimmed and halved. I like to use small button sprouts for this recipe, but if your sprouts are particularly large, quarter them.
- Bacon Lardons - use smoked lardons for more flavour.
- Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled and finely chopped.
- Olive Oil - for frying.
- Balsamic Vinegar - for drizzling.
- Salt - for seasoning.
- Water
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
Step 1: Heat the oil in a pan (with lid) and fry the bacon lardons until crispy. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Step 2: Add the garlic and halved Brussels sprouts to the pan and fry on a high heat for 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
Step 3: Pour in 100ml water, season with salt, give it a stir, and put the lid on. Simmer on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until any remaining water has evaporated and the Brussels sprouts caramelise (turn the heat back up when you remove the lid!).
Step 4: Sprinkle over the crispy bacon, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.
💭 Top tips
- Cooking the Brussels sprouts in the bacon fat gives them more flavour.
- Cook on a high heat to ensure the outer leaves caramelise. Stir often!
- Use a knife to cut off the tough stem end of each Brussels sprout. Then, remove any loose leaves, and cut each Brussels sprout in half lengthwise, from tip to trimmed end.
- Use a sharp knife to test when the sprouts are ready. They should be tender and the knife should glide in without resistance.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the pan-fried Brussels sprouts for Christmas lunch (or Thanksgiving), alongside roast turkey AND beef, polenta roast potatoes, garlic sweet potato mash, slow cooker red cabbage, honey roast parsnips and carrots, bread sauce, devils on horseback, cauliflower cheese, and sausagemeat stuffing!
Enjoy pan-fried Brussels sprouts with other meals too. My family love them with sausage casserole, slow cooker lamb breast, and even creme fraiche chicken.
📖 Variations
- Garnish with some crispy fried onions for added flavour.
- Swap the balsamic vinegar for lemon juice, or another type of vinegar.
- Grate over parmesan before serving.
- Sprinkle over toasted pine nuts for added crunch and texture.
- You might also like my cheesy Brussels sprouts gratin with bacon!
🥡 Storage
- To Store. Place the cooked Brussels sprouts in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Warm through leftovers in a frying pan on the hob, or for ease, microwave them until piping hot.
- To Freeze. Brussels sprouts can become soggy so I don't recommend freezing them.
❓ FAQs
It's not necessary to soak the Brussels sprouts before cooking, for this particular recipe. Make sure you use small bright green Brussels sprouts, for the best texture and flavour.
Brassicas like Brussels sprouts contain high amounts of compounds called glucosinolates which give them their characteristic sharp or bitter taste, especially when they are boiled. Pan-frying or roasting them helps to take away that bitter after-taste.
😋 More delicious side dishes!
Recipe
Easy Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 100 g Smoked Bacon Lardons
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 500 g Brussels Sprouts trimmed and halved
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 100 ml Water
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan (with lid) and fry the bacon lardons until crispy. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Add the garlic and halved Brussels sprouts to the pan and fry on a high heat for 4 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Pour in 100ml water, season with salt, give it a stir, and put the lid on. Simmer on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook until any remaining water has evaporated and the Brussels sprouts caramelise (turn the heat back up when you remove the lid!).
- Sprinkle over the crispy bacon, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.
Notes
- Cooking the Brussels sprouts in the bacon fat gives them more flavour.
- Cook on a high heat to ensure the outer leaves caramelise. Stir often!
- Use a knife to cut off the tough stem end of each Brussels sprout. Then, remove any loose leaves, and cut each Brussels sprout in half lengthwise, from tip to trimmed end.
- Use a sharp knife to test when the sprouts are ready. They should be tender and the knife should glide in without resistance.
- Garnish with some crispy fried onions for added flavour.
- Swap the balsamic vinegar for lemon juice, or another type of vinegar.
- Grate over parmesan before serving.
- Sprinkle over toasted pine nuts for added crunch and texture.
- To Store. Place the cooked Brussels sprouts in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Warm through leftovers in a frying pan on the hob, or for ease, microwave them until piping hot.
- To Freeze. Brussels sprouts can become soggy so I don't recommend freezing them.
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