Bacon Apple & Caramelized Onion Brussels Sprouts

Continuing with our month of sugar-free eating.

Just kidding – did you see the latest post for The Easiest Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake? It’s SO NOT sugar-free. I’m still over sweets though, for the most part, and I’m sharing a ton of savory recipes this month. Save for the occasional donut (like yesterday, and another one today), I’m really into non-desserts at the moment.

I have to sprinkle in desserts this month because this is still a dessert blog, after all, but since we eat real food a lot of the time, here’s some real food for you!

These Bacon Apple & Caramelized Onion Brussels Sprouts are one of my favorite vegetable side dishes.

Brussels sprouts are my favorite veggie, hands down. The truth is, this sweet-tooth really isn’t a vegetable fan. I would take any and all fruit over vegetables, any day. Fruit is sweet! It has sugar! Of course I want ALL the fruit, but I know that vegetables are important for nutrition purposes, I must reluctantly admit, so I’ve found ways to love them. Or at the very least, like them.

These Bacon Apple & Caramelized Onion Brussels Sprouts? I love. Love, Love, LOVE.

I love Brussels sprouts, period. I never tire of them. I go through phases with vegetables where I eat them constantly for a few months, then I never really eat them ever again, but I never go through that with Brussels sprouts. There’s a million ways to prepare them too, so you have versatility on your side.

My cousin brought a side dish of Brussels sprouts to Christmas, and a lot of people were shocked by how much they liked them. Not me, I am a fan. I even liked them when I was little, and we’d have them for dinner because my Grandpa wanted them.

Until Christmas, I didn’t realize that brother had never really eaten them. He grows his own veggies and is a vegetable fan in general, so this came as a total surprise.

To my non-Brussels eating friends and family, give them a chance. They are the BEST. This recipe is the BEST way to eat them. This version takes a little longer to prepare, but they are so very worth it.

With crispy fried bacon, caramelized honey crisp apple chunks, caramelized onions, and brown sugar, these are a little sweet, and a little salty. They’re buttery and soft in the center, but have crispy, charred edges. Well, charred if you want them to be. I like my Brussels to be pretty damn burnt on the edges, but still soft in the middles. This Bacon Apple & Caramelized Onion Brussels Sprouts recipe is so loaded with flavor, and with flavor that all marries together in the most amazing ways.

This dish is beautiful enough for holidays, but we often eat dishes like this with weeknight meals too.

Bacon Apple & Caramelized Onion Brussels Sprouts

Sarah @ The Gold Lining Girl

With crispy fried bacon, caramelized honey crisp apple chunks, caramelized onions, and brown sugar, these are a little sweet, and a little salty. Perfect veggie!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course Veggie/side dish

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 8 oz. thick-cut bacon
• 2 tbsp. bacon grease
• 1 large yellow onion sliced
• 1 lb. Brussels sprouts rinsed, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 large Honeycrisp apple peeled, diced
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until browned and crisp.
• Reserve 3 tbsp. bacon grease in the pan, and discard the remainder.
• Set aside bacon to drain on paper towels.
• Crumble into pieces.
• Add the onion and Brussels sprouts to the pan.
• Cover with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and soft, 12-15 minutes.
• Add the apple, brown sugar, and butter.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, or until apple is golden and soft.
• Salt & pepper. Serve!