Super quick and easy pan-fried brussels sprouts tossed in a sweet honey soy sauce glaze! No need for ovens or a roasting pan for this one!
All my life, I had no idea what brussels sprouts tasted liked – I barely knew what they looked like. One thing I did know was that everyone I ever spoke to always seemed to hate them. They were apparently always vile things that are not meant to be eaten. I saw that as a challenge and I took my chances with it and have not regretted it since.
Brussels sprouts are definitely not your average looking veggie. To me they looked like a mini cabbage but tasted like a very common Chinese veggie I grew up eating – Gai Lan choy. I could see why people didn’t like the flavour – it was slightly bitter but it was a good bitter, a flavourful bitter but to be honest, I thought it tasted fantastic (and I don’t normally like vegetables!), you just had to make sure it was never overcooked or boiled. 🙂
For this pan-fried brussels sprouts recipe, I caramelized the onions, garlic and brussels sprouts, I found the caramelization toned the bitter flavour down a bit because it gave it a nutty flavour that almost hid the bitterness. Brussels sprouts also don’t need to be cooked for a long time, I find they taste best when they still have a bit of a chew to them. Lastly, I tossed it with a soy sauce honey glaze which worked quite well with the caramelization flavours.
INGREDIENTS FOR PAN-FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- Brussels sprouts – It’s a bit counter-intuitive but when you are shopping for brussels sprouts, try to use fresh ones and pick the smaller ones. They have a sweeter flavour and tend to be more tender as well. 🙂 Also try to always buy fresh brussels sprouts – frozen brussels sprouts tend to be soggy and a bit waterlogged since it has been previously frozen which changes the texture of it.
- Garlic and Onions – The garlic and onions add a lot of flavor when combined with the brussels sprouts, especially when the onion is a bit caramelized and browned from the cooking.
- Soy Sauce – I use regular/light soy sauce for this recipe.
- Honey – I usually like to use honey for this recipe because I always have it on-hand but you can also use maple syrup as well if you have it.
- Butter – Try to use unsalted butter for this dish, since the soy sauce will be providing the sodium and you don’t want it overly salty.
- Corn Starch – I use corn starch as a thickener for the sauce so that the sauce can coat the brussels sprouts better for more flavor, however I have tried this without a thickener and it worked just as well – the sauce is just a bit runnier. If you’re okay with that, you can definitely skip the corn starch.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Brussels sprouts are pretty easy to work with, peel off any yellow outer leaves and cut off the ends if they look super dirty. A few leaves may come off, you can keep them or discard them – I don’t like to waste food so I usually just keep them.
Generally, brussels sprouts are very clean, but I have found a few in the past with sand or grit stuck in between the leaves, so when you wash these, throw them in a bowl of water and dunk them up and down a few times for good measure 🙂
GARLIC SMASH!
Whenever I cook with garlic, I tend to smash them instead of finely mincing it – I find they stay intact more and have a bigger surface area so they burn less.
FLAT SIDE DOWN MAXIMIZES THE YUMMINESS!
When you are browning the brussels sprouts, try to keep them flat side down as much as you can to maximize the caramelization. That’s where all the flavours come from! 🙂
I converted a brussels sprouts hater with this honey glazed pan-fried brussels sprouts recipe – do you have a brussels sprouts hater you want to convert? Try it with this recipe! 😛
LOOKING FOR MORE SIDES RECIPES LIKE THESE PAN FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS? TRY THESE!
- Sweet Ginger Soy Fried Cabbage
- Roasted Okra Recipe
- Honey Miso Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Curtido (Salvadoran Pickled Cabbage Slaw)
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Super quick and easy pan fried brussels sprouts tossed in a sweet honey soy sauce glaze! No need for ovens or a roasting pan for this one!
Ingredients
- 1 lb brussels sprouts (approximately 25 small ones – raw)
- small onion (half)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoons butter
Honey Soy Sauce Glaze
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Instructions
Honey Soy Sauce Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine cold water and starch and mix until the starch has dissolved.
- Then add the soy sauce to it, and then the honey and mix together. Set aside.
Prepping & Browning the Brussels Sprouts
- Remove any yellowed outer leaves from the brussels sprouts and slice off the dark ends.
- Cut them in half length wise.
- Give them a good soak in water and dunk it a few times to remove any dirty or soil from between the leaves. Drain them once they are clean.
- Slice the onion up and set aside
- Smash the garlic to flatten it with the side of your knife and set aside.
- In a skillet or frying pan, set to medium heat and add a little oil and the butter
- Once the pan is hot, and the butter has melted, add in the onions and cook them for approximately 1 minute
- Add in the brussels sprouts and garlic and try to keep the brussel sprouts flat side down to brown them (this will take approximately 3-5 minutes depending on how hot your stove is)
- Once the brussels sprouts are brown on the flat side, stir everything a bit (so the onions and garlic don’t burn) and then flip the brussels sprouts and brown the rounded side of the brussels sprouts for a minute.
- Once both sides are brown, stir them with the onions for a few more seconds. Try not to overcook the brussels sprouts, the goal is to toast and brown them and still maintain a rawness to them which will give it a bit of a raw crunch.
- Once it is brown, and bright green, transfer everything off the frying pan onto a plate.
Putting It Together
- With the same pan, set the heat to medium low
- Mix the sauce with a fork again (the corn starch may settle on the bottom)
- When the pan is hot, add the sauce to cook it. We want to reduce it about so it thickens and gets sticky. If the sauce boils too violently, turn down the heat very slightly. You still want the sauce to bubble but on a mild level. Depending on how hot your stove is, this should take about 1-3 minutes. You will know the sauce is done when it has thickened.
- Drizzle the sauce over the brussels sprouts, or put all the brussels sprouts back into the pan and toss it with all the sauce.
- Enjoy! 🙂
Notes
- Always try and always use fresh, raw brussels sprouts and avoid frozen brussels sprouts if you don’t want soggy brussels sprouts
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 205 kcal
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 781 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 6 g
Keywords: fried brussels sprouts
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I love to eat brussel sprouts , but I haven’t try to do your way (use honey for cooking). It is a simple way and a stimulating photo as well.
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Hope you enjoy this! 🙂
I am literally salivating over these gorgeous photos – who knew brussels sprouts could be so pretty? 😛 And that honey soy sauce glaze sounds to die for delicious! I’ve never tried doing anything with brussels sprouts other than roasting them with some olive oil, S&P, so this sounds like an exciting new twist I absolutely MUST try! Love that you caramelize them too, along with the onions. Bookmarking this recipe for sure, cannot wait to try it out!
Aww thanks Shannon, you’re too kind. The sweet definitely gives this a interesting flavour and I love caramelized onions in everything haha 🙂 So much flavour! Hope you enjoy this!
Like you, I’ve learned to love brussel sprouts later in life. What a lovely surprise to find out how delicious they are, and your recipe sounds divine! I can’t wait to try it.
It’s funny how our taste buds change as we grow up, I wondered sometimes if I started eating them when I was younger if I would feel the same about them now…haha 🙂 Definitely surprised me how much I enjoyed them.
These sound fantastic, and I love your tip to look for the smaller brussels sprouts when shopping – will definitely do that in the future!
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It’s actually kind of funny how we should be getting the smaller ones right? Seems so backwards but it makes sense you want the less stronger flavored ones! 🙂
There are right and wrong ways to eat Brussel Sprouts, and this is certainly one of the right ways. Sounds utterly delicious and the perfact way to take away any bitterness. A great idea for a Christmas side dish.
I will definitely be serving this on Christmas as well 🙂
I’m obsessed with brussel sprouts these days. Honey glaze sounds so perfect ?
It’s definitely my a fave part!
I am a huge Brussels sprout lover…unfortunately my family is not. Maybe this recipe will convince them to try again.
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I had this problem too haha 🙂 I think the sweetness combined with the less ‘brussel sprouty’ flavours by picking out the smaller ones helped in the convincing of eating them in this house. haha