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    Home » Recipes » Vegetable recipes

    Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon

    Published: Dec 9, 2023 · Modified: May 24, 2024 by VJ · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to recipe

    Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon is a fantastic side dish to serve with your festive meal. It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you can make it in one pan so there's less cleaning up to do on the big day!

    Close up of brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon.

    Hands down, my favourite vegetable is brussels sprouts, followed closely by sweet potato and butternut. I just love the nutty flavours!

    And this recipe for brussels sprouts gets an additional nutty element with the addition of roast chestnuts. Plus a little bacon for saltiness and caramelised onions for the delicious sweetness. I'm salivating at the thought!

    If you like brussels sprouts, I'm sure you are going to love this recipe.

    • Firstly, and most importantly, when you're cooking up a storm, this recipe is made in one pan so there's less cleaning up to do afterwards.
    • The sprouts get a delicious buttery taste thanks to the butter that the onions are cooked in. No bitter sprouts on my watch!
    • The salty bacon, nutty chestnuts and sweetly caramelised onions add an amazingly tasty extra dimension to the sprouts.

    This is a side that goes with everything - turkey, roast beef, chicken, gammon. Whatever you are cooking for your Christmas feast, these brussels sprouts are guaranteed to take it up a notch!

    If this recipe isn't quite what you are looking for, why not try this creamy leek and brussels sprouts bake? It's just as tasty - just doesn't have the nuttiness from the chestnuts.

    A white serving dish filled with brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon.
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • What to do
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tip
    • FAQ
    • Save for later
    • Related
    • 📋The recipe

    Ingredients

    **Get the ingredient quantities on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

    This recipe will serve 4 people, but you can easily scale it up or down depending on how many people you are cooking for.

    Ingredients for brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon.
    • Brussels sprouts - try and get a packet of brussels that are all evenly-sized, so that they all cook at the same time. I had brussels from hubby's allotment which were very unevenly sized so I had to put the larger ones in first for a few minutes before adding the smaller ones.
    • Chestnuts - you can use vacuum-packed chestnuts, or roast your own. See my guide on how to roast chestnuts if you would like to use fresh ones.
    • Onions - you can use a finely diced white onion, or if you prefer you can use shallots.
    • Bacon - once again, finely diced. You could use streaky bacon (more fat) or back bacon. The choice is yours.
    • Butter - this is used for frying the onions. I do recommend butter rather than oil as the butter adds a nutty element to the finished dish.
    • Salt - not pictured, but you may like to add a little salt for seasoning. I tend to cook the brussels in salted water but don't add any additional salt to the rest of the dish as the bacon is salty enough. It's all to your own taste.

    What to do

    Preparation

    • Peel the outer leaves from the brussels sprouts. There is no need to cut a cross into the bottom unless you want to do it for presentation. The cross was cut into the brussels back in the day when brussels took a long time to cook. These days vegetables seem to have been genetically modified so that they cook much faster.
    • Peel the onion and chop it into half-inch pieces.
    • Cut the bacon into half-inch pieces.
    • Cut the chestnuts into quarters.
    Brussels sprouts in a saucepan of water.

    Place the cleaned brussels into a saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and allow them to cook for 5 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. Drain the brussels and transfer them to a dish while you cook the remaining ingredients.

    Chopped onions being sauteed in butter.

    Heat the butter in the same pan until it is foaming and then add the chopped onions. Turn the heat down to low and let the onions saute until they turn translucent.

    Chopped bacon and onions frying in a black pan.

    Add the bacon and continue to fry until the bacon starts to crisp.

    Chestnuts with bacon and onions in a black pan.

    Stir in the chopped chestnuts and continue to fry until the chestnuts are heated through,

    Brussels sprouts with bacon, onions and chestnuts in a black saucepan.

    Return the brussels sprouts to the pan and continue to fry until the sprouts are hot. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot with your roast dinner.

    Hint: when cooking the sprouts, undercook them slightly. They will finish off cooking when you reheat them with the onions and bacon.

    Equipment

    You won't need much by way of equipment. All you will need is a saucepan for cooking the vegetables and a sharp knife and a chopping board for the preparation.

    Storage

    These sprouts are best eaten fresh. I always think that brussels sprouts develop a bitter taste after they have been cooled and reheated. But that's just my opinion. You could store these in a covered container in the refrigerator and reheat the next day.

    Top tip

    The main thing is to make sure your brussels sprouts all cook at the same time. If you have brussels of different sizes, either cook the larger ones first and add the smaller ones after a minute or two, or otherwise cut the larger sprouts in half.

    Close up of brussels sprouts with chestnuts, bacon and onions.

    FAQ

    Why do brussels sprouts sometimes taste bitter?

    Brussels sprouts used to have a reputation for tasting bitter. This bitter taste comes from compounds called glucosinolates which help protect the plant from leaf-eating enemies such as insects and slugs.
    However, since the 1990s scientists have been working to reduce the amount of these compounds in the sprouts, and the bitter taste is no longer as pronounced as it used to be.
    I find freshly cooked brussels sprouts (as opposed to frozen) have a sweet nutty taste. The bitterness only becomes apparent once the sprouts have been cooled and reheated.
    For this reason I don't recommend freezing them.

    Can I use frozen brussels sprouts in this recipe?

    Technically you can. However, for a really sweet and nutty taste, I would recommend using fresh sprouts.

    Save for later

    If you would like to try this recipe for brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon, why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily when you need it? Just click on the image below.

    Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

    Related

    Looking for other recipes using vegetables? Try these or browse my vegetable recipes page for even more ideas.

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    📋The recipe

    A white serving dish filled with brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon.

    Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon

    Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and bacon is a fantastic side dish to serve with your festive meal. It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you can make it in one pan so there's less cleaning up to do on the big day!
    Recipe by: Veronica
    Side Dish
    British
    Calories 194
    Prep 10 minutes minutes
    Cook 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time 25 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 people as a side dish
    Print Pin Comment Bookmark Saved!
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    5 from 1 vote

    (Click the stars to rate this recipe)

    Equipment

    • Saucepan
    • Sharp Knife
    • Chopping Board

    Ingredients

    • 2 - 3 cups brussels sprouts depending on appetite
    • 1 cup cooked chestnuts vacuum-packed or freshly roasted
    • 1 medium onion
    • 4 rashers streaky or back bacon
    • 1 ounce / 30 grams unsalted butter
    • Salt to taste

    Instructions

    Preparation

    • Peel the outer leaves from the brussels sprouts and optionally cut a cross into the base.
      2 - 3 cups brussels sprouts
    • Peel the onion and chop it into half-inch pieces.
      1 medium onion
    • Cut the bacon into half-inch pieces.
      4 rashers streaky or back bacon
    • Cut the chestnuts into quarters.
      1 cup cooked chestnuts
    • Place the cleaned brussels into a saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and allow them to cook for 5 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. Drain the brussels and transfer them to a dish while you cook the remaining ingredients.
      Salt
    • Heat the butter in the same pan until it is foaming and then add the chopped onions. Turn the heat down to low and let the onions saute until they turn translucent.
      1 ounce / 30 grams unsalted butter
    • Add the bacon and continue to fry until the bacon starts to crisp.
    • Stir in the chopped chestnuts and continue to fry until the chestnuts are heated through,
    • Return the brussels sprouts to the pan and continue to fry until the sprouts are hot. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot with your roast dinner.

    Notes

    These sprouts are best eaten fresh. I always think that brussels sprouts develop a bitter taste after they have been cooled and reheated. But that's just my opinion. You could store these in a covered container in the refrigerator and reheat the next day.
    Make sure your brussels sprouts all cook at the same time. If you have brussels of different sizes, either cook the larger ones first and add the smaller ones after a minute or two, or otherwise cut the larger sprouts in half.

    Nutrition

    Calories - 194kcal | Carbohydrates - 17.9g | Protein - 7.5g | Fat - 10.6g | Saturated Fat - 6g | Cholesterol - 26mg | Sodium - 276mg | Potassium - 354mg | Fiber - 2.4g | Sugar - 2.1g | Vitamin D - 4µg | Calcium - 29mg | Iron - 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

    Unless otherwise stated, a cup is the standard US cup containing 240 ml. In all my recipes this cup is assumed to hold 140g of flour. For help converting other ingredients between cups, grams, ounces and other measures, see my recipe conversion calculator.
    All my recipes are developed and tested at sea-level. For tips on adjusting recipes for high altitudes see my post on baking at high altitudes.
    Tried this recipe?If you made this recipe I'd love it if you could leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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    About VJ

    Before I started my food blog I was an IT Consultant. Now that I've swapped an office for a kitchen I have a lot more time to spend on things that interest me such as trying out new recipes. Most of my cooking is based around quick and easy meals, mostly made from scratch, using everyday pantry ingredients.

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