Baked Brussels Sprouts w/Parmesan Cheese – Haters to Lovers
This is an open letter to anyone whose never quite caught on to the delicacies of brussels sprouts. I urge you or anyone you know who hates brussels sprouts to make this baked brussels sprouts gratin recipe because it will make any haters into lovers. I am *almost* so convinced this dish will be a hit on your holiday table that I’m willing to *almost* bet something on it! Let me go through my valuables and see what I can lay down as a bet and we have a deal.
Update: Click here for more fabulous Brussels Sprouts Recipes.
Baked Brussels Sprouts Recipe
I love that fact that I can eat a whole bowl of these bite size heads of cabbage as a full meal and know that I’ve had a years worth of my vitalizing digestive vitamins (if you know what I mean). Now in a utopian world, everyone would be munching on these brussels sprouts like candy, but unfortunately, I know of many haters who wouldn’t touch these with a ten-foot-chopstick.
I’m completely understanding of the distance that my brussels-sprout-boycotting friends keep from these scary green heads, so I’m always thinking of different ways to prepare them to help bring them over to the better, loving side. Brussels sprouts can be very cruciferous smelling (phew!) but when prepared with the right ingredients, they can be eaten like candy.
Lather cheese mixture over brussels sprouts, but save the good loose leaves for a salad later!
Todd makes a wonderful roasted brussels sprouts recipe with balsamic vinegar and I have a baked version that is equally, or maybe even more amazing only because my recipe has cheese in it! It’s a variation off my humbly famous baked sweet onion dip I wrote about last year with chunks of tender brussels sprouts as the main ingredient.
Granted, brussels sprouts baked to perfect tenderness in an oven, and lathered with parmesan cheese, mayo and more gut expanding love isn’t the healthiest alternative. But I’m of the opinion that a girl like me needs my occasional doses of cheesy indulgence and treating myself to a dish of baked brussels sprouts gratin with cheese is the perfect way to splurge.
For this holiday season, or any eating occasion for that matter, you must make this brussels sprouts gratin dish! It’s so fast, easy and most importantly, brussels sprouts haters will gobble these up in an instant. When baked slowly in the oven, the brussels sprouts become sweet, tender and fabulous. Just assemble the simple ingredients together, put them in a baking dish and forget about them for about the next 45 min. to 1 hour.
What appears later out of the oven is pure sweet, cheesy, fragrant, brussels sprouts bliss. This brussels sprouts recipe will turn all dissenters into lovers, gar-on-teed!
enjoy & celebrate cruciferous veggies,
diane
Note on cooking times: Brussels sprouts can very tremendously in size, ranging from the size of a large egg to as small as a 5-cent coin. Make sure to adjust your cooking times depending on the size that you end up cooking. Also, try to select all the same sizes for consistent cooking.
Update: Click here for complete list of delicious Brussels Sprouts Recipes.
Baked Brussels Sprouts Recipe with Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts (about 25 brussels sprouts)(680g)
- 8 ounces cream cheese (227g)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (120ml)
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (180ml)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (10ml)
- 1 small sweet onion (or any onion), chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Wash brussels sprouts and remove loose outer leaves. Trim thick stem bottoms then cut in half lengthwise.
- In bowl, place cream cheese in microwave and heat for bout 30 seconds, or until cream cheese becomes very soft, almost melted. Add mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, ground black pepper and onion. Mix well, making sure everything is combined well.
- Add brussels sprouts, combine well until brussels sprouts are evenly coated with cheese mixture.Transfer to baking dish, cover with aluminum foil.
- Bake covered for about 45 minutes. Then remove foil, gently stir to bring bottom brussels sprouts to the top.Bake uncovered for remaining 15-20 minutes, or until brussels sprouts are tender and until the cheese topping becomes a nice charred crust. Poke with a fork till they are cooked to you desired tenderness.
I’ve never seen brussel sprouts this way. Must give it a try, I have been wanting to try them anyway and this seems to be a very yummy way!
Thanks for sharing
This sounds wonderful. I already love Brussels sprouts, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be a convert to this recipe. But I know what you mean – when I serve my lima beans cooked in heavy cream, even lima bean haters weep with joy.
Honestly, I’ve never had brussels sprouts. I’m sure I’d love them, but my Mom’s never bought them, and I don’t know if I’ve seen them at the store – I’ll have to be on lookout in the future =D.
Lauren- Hope you do try brussels sprouts soon because they’re so wonderful and gluten free!
I love Brussels sprouts! I have yet to see them here in Japan, but I am always looking… This looks like a great dish and I think my husband would *love* it! I love the first photo in this post. The Brussels sprouts look like tiny, deliciously delicate cabbages…but way better!
I love Brussel sprouts and this recipe looks wonderful.
I am saliving for a taste. Ummm
I just posted about brussels sprouts, too and have noticed them wandering the food blogging halls. Your recipes up next…I’m thinking cheese would only make them that much better. Thanks for sharing.
We had brussels sprouts at the food buzz award dinner. I thought you should have won best photography. It’s not just the photography, it’s the styling and the art in your photos.
Angela – awww thanks. It was great to just be nominated, what an honor it was with that. We’re happy!
I have a friend who hated sprouts. I roasted them with some balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper until they caramelized and fed them to him. He now loves them. I have to try this recipe! Thanks Diane.
That surely would be a hit. I usually eat brussels sprouts plain. Amazing what you can do with this vegetable 🙂
Ohhhhh baby! I am loving the sound of this. I was a slow adapter for brussels sprouts, but now I’m loving them!
I love brussels sprouts too! I didn’t love them as a kid though but my mom got me to eat them by telling me that they were baby cabbages. Somehow that made me like them…I guess I was a pretty easy kid to fool. =/ Cheese would have worked too but I’m not sure my Chinese mom knows how to cook with cheese.
This recipe looks Fantastic! Brussel sprouts are a Must Have tradition on my family Thanksgiving table. Boiled, steamed, sauteed, however you fix them they’re “Good Eats.” Incredibly I have been a brussel sprout lover since childhood myself. Raised a city girl I was only familiar with them as tiny-baby heads of cabbage, already cut and ready to cook, fresh and frozen. Two years ago my husband and I added a few plants to our Fall garden. It’s amazing to watch their growth process as they “sprout” from their baseball bat stalk, and even yummier fresh cut. This looks like a great new variation! Thanks! And Happy Fall!
Joy- we’ve tried growing them ourselves, but the weather got too hot and they never did well. But we’ll certainly try them again this year. Thanks1
When I was in culinary school we made brussels sprouts and no one in my class would eat them. I think I ate everyone’s. Clearly, I adore brussels sprouts and have a problem. I just bought some that are still on the branch and I think I found the perfect use for them!
I was clearly a hater until this weekend – at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco I had brussel sprouts from Frog Hollow Farm that were roasted with guanciale, and boy were they good. I think brussel sprouts need a strong flavor – and this recipe of yours looks like it will do just that!
Michele- I heard about that brussels sprouts dish from the FoodBuzz festival! As a matter of fact, some bloggers that we had dinner with tonight raved about that dish. That’s something I’ll have to try to duplicate!
i’ve never met a brussels sprout recipe i didn’t like. this looks divine 🙂
YES! Brussels sprouts are endlessly awesome. No bets necessary, I’m convinced that this dish is a winner.