Brussels Sprouts for Peeps Who Hate Brussels Sprouts

This post is part of Vegan MoFo, the Vegan Month of Food.  Enjoy, and visit other MoFo bloggers this month too!

People love to hate Brussels sprouts.  I was one of those big sillies until last year sometime, when I read some tips online about how to roast them and season them and load them up with olive oil.  I was a convert and Wife converted right along with me; we made Brussels sprouts probably once a week for months.  Howevs, to paraphrase Forrest Gump (to Wife’s chagrin), life is like an oven of Brussels sprouts–you never know what you’re going to get.  Sometimes my sprouts were tender and delicious, sometimes they were tender and mushy, sometimes they were charred and crunchy-tasty, sometimes they were charred and nasty.  Also, the only way to make sure they tasted awesome was to load them up with 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil.

Well, my little lazies, I’ve converted again.  I will never ever ever again cook Brussels sprouts in the oven because THIS is the way to do it.  It’s almost oil-free and requires only slightly more babysitting than the oven roasting method.

Perfect Brussels Sprouts

Big bowl of Brussels sprouts

Olive oil spray

Salt, pepper, garlic to taste

1. Trim the tough ends from the sprouts and cut them in half from top to bottom.

2. Heat a nonstick pan on medium-high heat and spray with oil.  Add sprouts and 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Stir in seasonings and cover.  If you feel like it, turn the sprouts so they are cut-side down, which will allow them to char nicely right away.

3. Check out the sprouts every 2-3 minutes to stir, check for tenderness, and add more water if necessary.  The goal is to add just a bit of water at a time so they steam while charring a bit in the pan.  (Adding too much water at a time will boil the sprouts and prevent them from charring.)

4.  Once you have some nicely browned and tender sprouts, pop one in your mouth and add salt if needed.  SO GOOD.

Try not to be distracted by the amazing potatoes in this pic.