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Up your vegetable game with these easy to make Brussels Sprouts with bacon and a sweet and spicy onion vinaigrette.

Vegetable side dishes are pretty much the bane of my existence. It isn’t that I don’t like them because I do. It’s because I can never think of anything different to make.

In the summer we have about 5 vegetable sides that we rotate and in the winter we have 5 different ones. My husband and I both tend to get bored with them and then I go looking for something new.

We eat a lot of Brussels Sprouts because they are easy to cook and we like them. They are one of those vegetables that I can grab on Sunday and whenever we need a vegetable I take them out, toss them with salt, pepper, and garlic, and roast them until they are finished.

But we even get bored with those so I went looking for a new recipe that was just as easy and I found these Brussels Sprouts with bacon and an onion vinaigrette that sounded interesting.

Ingredients:

bacon
Brussels Sprouts
onion
garlic cloves
cider vinegar
hot honey

To Make the Brussels Sprouts: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, reserving the remaining bacon grease. Add the Brussels Sprouts and saute for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are cooked and starting to brown. Remove from the pan and place on a platter tented with foil. Pour 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon grease back into the pan and add the onion to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the cider vinegar and hot honey and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour the vinaigrette over top of the Brussels Sprouts and sprinkle with the cooked bacon.

So the original recipe calls for the Brussels Sprouts to be roasted in the oven but I didn’t want to turn on the oven and dirty more pans so I made the whole thing in one skillet. It worked out totally fine.

The bacon is cooked first until it’s nice and crisp. Then the Brussels Sprouts are cooked in that same pan with the bacon grease so they are just amazing when they come out. I had to sample a few before I made the onion vinaigrette.

Can I make my own hot honey?

Yes you can! In fact, I ended up having to make my own because I didn’t have any at home and I wasn’t running out to get any. The easiest way to do it is to put 1/4 cup of honey and 2 teaspoons of hot sauce in a pan and heat over medium heat for 5 minutes until combined. A better way to do it is to put 1/2 cup honey, 2 teaspoons cider vinegar, and 1-2 Tablespoons hot chili flakes in a pan and heat for 5-10 minutes on medium heat. Either one will work in this recipe.

Can I roast the Brussels Sprouts?

You can! If you want to roast them throw them on a baking dish with 2 tablespoons of bacon grease and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes, turning the Brussels Sprouts once.

Do I have to use the bacon?

You really do as the flavor from the bacon is used in the Brussels Sprouts and the vinaigrette as well as for the actual bacon. I would not use a substitute.

How can I store this?

Place in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat in the microwave for 1 minute or you can put them in the oven on 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Finally I made the onion vinaigrette. It’s a hot vinaigrette and it’s sweet and spicy and sour and it’s just so good with the Brussels Sprouts and salty bacon. There’s so many different flavors going on and just minimal ingredients which is awesome.

The hot vinaigrette is drizzled over top of the Brussels Sprouts and is tossed with the bacon. Everything should be served warm.

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes:

We really enjoyed this dish and it didn’t take a ton of time. I liked that the Brussels Sprouts were soft but weren’t mush. The bacon added a saltiness while the hot honey added that sweet and hot flavor to the Brussels Sprouts.

Overall this was an easy to make and different vegetable side dish that we will be making again. The onion vinaigrette can be poured on other roasted vegetables as well and would taste great as well.

If you’ve tried my Brussels Sprouts with Onion Vinaigrette or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on: