Crispy Thai Brussel Sprouts

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These thai brussel sprouts are crispy and flavorful with a salty and sweet sauce, crunchy peanuts, refreshing mint, and a hint of spice from red jalopeños. There’s an easy side dish to make over the stove in just 15 minutes!

Remember that joke as a kid that brussel sprouts were gross? It’s funny how our taste changes over time (and cooking skills!) No more mushy, stinky brussel sprouts! These thai brussel sprouts are crispy and flavorful and wayyy better than those steamed ones you had as a kid. I’ll teach you how to make your brussels actually crispy and tasty!

If you love these delicious sprouts you need to try out these Candied Brussel Sprouts that are crispy and caramelized! For a fun twist on brussels, try out these Bang Bang Brussel Sprouts with a creamy sweet chili sauce.

Ingredients

• Brussel sprouts: fresh (not frozen) ~ 1lb
• Soy sauce: Can substitute for tamari if gluten-free. A lot of thai dishes have fish sauce or oyster sauce but we won’t be using that because this dish is vegan!
• Coconut sugar: Creates a mellow “caramel” flavor to our brussels
• Red Jalopeño: Slightly spicier than a green jalopeño and gives our dish more color! Find it by the other jalopeños and peppers at your grocery store. For a super spicy dish use thai chiles. For less spice use sliced red pepper.
• Fresh mint: This is a great refreshing ingredient to this dish!
• Crushed peanuts: Salted, crunchy peanuts are a great contract to brussels.
• Fresh lime: Finish off your dish with a squeeze of half a lime for some citrus

How to Make Thai Brussel Sprouts

1. Start by cutting off the stems of your brussel sprouts and cutting them in half. Save the extra stray leaves. Cut up your red jalopeño into some slices (1/4 inch thick). Make sure to remove scenes and the white part if you want minimal spice.

2. Mix up your sauce of soy sauce, coconut sugar, and minced garlic in a small bowl.

3. Heat a large saucepan over MED-HIGH heat with some olive oil. Once oil is hot add in your brussel sprouts FACE down in a single layer. Cook for 3 minutes.

4. Lower heat to MEDIUM, add in 1 tbsp over water and stir. Cover and steam brussels for 1 minute. Then add in sauce and red jalopeño slices and cook on MED–HIGH for 4-5 minutes until sauce is absorbed and mixture is golden brown and crisp.

5. Serve with lime wedges, crushed peanuts, and fresh mint.

Equipment

• Large frying pan or cast iron skillet
• Large bowl
• Small bowl
• Spatula

Substitutions/Variations

You can enjoy these thai brussel sprouts in many different ways by just changing up a few ingredients.

• Olive oil: You can use another type of vegetable oil such as grapeseed or avocado oil. I would not recommend coconut oil due to its sweeter flavor.
• Red jalopeño: For less spice, use a sliced red pepper. For more spice either keep the seeds and white part included OR try thai chiles (they are REALLY spicy!)
• Soy sauce: Use tamari or coconut aminos for a gluten-free option
• Coconut sugar: Use brown sugar or maple syrup
• Peanuts: Try crushed pistachios or almonds
• Mint: Try out fresh cilantro

Other spices:

• Black pepper or white pepper: Black pepper has a more pungent, hot flavor while white pepper is less hot and more subdued.
• Chile powder: Add in 1/2 tsp of chile powder for some extra heat.

What to serve with brussel sprouts:

This is one of my favorite recipes to make as a side for pasta, burgers, wraps, stir fry and more. They are also delicious on top of a salad! Serve this on your holiday table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and more!

Try it out with these recipes:

• Crispy Asian Tofu Buddha Bowl
• Sticky Tofu
• Miso Dumpling Soup

▶︎Love brussel sprouts? Check out these crispy Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts that are easy to make~

Need another delicious veggie side? Try out this Roasted Broccoli & Zucchini with Lemon & Garlic!