Spice up your holiday table with these Honey Chipotle Brussels Sprouts. They’re roasted in the oven, then tossed with honey-chipotle sauce in the last few minutes of cooking for a spicy spin on a classic.
Holiday side dishes are tricky beasts. People expect what they expect—the classics: mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy. You don’t want to venture too far out of the standard realm of side dishes for fear of invoking disappointment or anger.
Still, I like to occasionally throw a curveball into the mix.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS FOR THE HOLIDAY TABLE
Brussels sprouts are always a standard on my holiday table. Mostly I keep them simple, either roasted with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of Parmesan, or shredded into a light starter salad and tossed with apple cider vinaigrette and dried cranberries.
These roasted honey chipotle Brussels sprouts will fit right in on your table spread, but they bring a fun twist. They’re slightly spicy and sweet, and they go well with any protein you would serve during the holidays, whether it’s roasted turkey or even something as hearty as prime rib.
HOW TO SHOP FOR CHIPOTLE PEPPERS
There are a number of options out there when you are looking for chipotle peppers. For this sort of application, I prefer the canned ones that come in adobo sauce, which is a deep, slightly spicy, red sauce.
The peppers are easy to prepare by scraping out the seeds and then mincing the flesh. You can also use the sauce itself in recipes, which this one does. A little goes a long way.
DOUBLE ROAST YOUR BRUSSELS SPROUTS
I like to roast Brussels sprouts at a fairly high heat so they caramelize, but this will burn the honey chipotle mixture if you leave it on the entire time.
So I recommend roasting the sprouts alone with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, then tossing with the flavorful sauce about halfway through and returning to the oven to finish roasting.
Since your oven will most likely be stuffed during the holiday season, you can do the first roast of the sprouts ahead of time. Then just toss them with the chipotle honey sauce and roast a second time right before serving!
SCALE THE RECIPE FOR LARGE CROWDS
As written, this recipe served four, but it’s easily doubled and you could probably get three batches of the recipe out of one can of chipotle peppers.
MORE IDEAS FOR BRUSSELS SPROUTS!
Honey Chipotle Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
This recipe is easily doubled and while leftovers are okay when you reheat this, the sprouts are best right out of the oven while they are still crispy on the edges.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 chipotle peppers, from a can of chipotles in adobo
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, from chipotle can
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Prepare the sprouts: Cut Brussels sprouts in half through the end and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out sprouts on an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes.
3 Prepare the honey-chipotle sauce: Using a small knife, split chipotle peppers in half and remove seeds. Then mince the peppers and add to a small bowl with honey and one tablespoon of adobo sauce from the can.
4 Finish the sprouts: Remove the sprouts from the oven and stir to ensure even cooking, then spread them again into an even single layer on the baking sheet. Toss with the honey chipotle mixture, but reserve a few tablespoons for finishing the sprouts. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
5 Serve! Drizzle with the remaining few tablespoons of sauce, and serve sprouts while warm.
