Marinated Brussels Sprouts are coated in a shallot, rosemary, and honey vinaigrette for a savory, earthy, lightly sweet dish perfect for an appetizer for guests, a potluck, an easy side for dinner, or a salad on its own.
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Why You'll Love This Dish
Brussels Sprouts on their own can be a bit dull - like other cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli), they need a boost of flavor to become something worth talking about.
My favorite way to do this is with vinegar, fat, fresh herbs, and an allium, like shallots, onions, or garlic. In this instance, even though a love for garlic is indelibly etched in my DNA, shallots offered the slightly sweeter, milder flavor I was after.
The bright champagne vinegar, rich olive oil, and sweetness from the honey and shallot paired with earthy Brussels sprouts and rosemary create a beautifully balanced bite that will be sure to impress your family and friends.
What You'll Need
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- Brussels Sprouts
- Fresh Shallot If at all possible, don't subtitute. However, you can try a small amount of finely chopped red onion marinated for longer in the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper mixture to tame its bite.
- Rosemary Fresh rosemary is best here. I am not hugely fond of dried rosemary because its texture can be a bit poke-y. If you can't use fresh rosemary, try some fresh thyme or a bit of dried thyme in its place.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil Using high-quality extra virgin olive oil is always a treat, but any kind you have on hand will be fine here.
- Champagne Vinegar Again, champagne vinegar is a light flavor. You could try a bit of red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar instead, but be sure to taste as you go to ensure the marinade is not too acidic. If it is, add more olive oil and honey!
- Honey I prefer honey in this marinade, but you can also use a bit of sugar.
- Kosher Salt I always recommend using kosher salt in recipes. It is easier to control the saltiness and it coats food more evenly.
- Black Pepper These Malabar black peppercorns ground fresh are fantastic.
How to Make Marinated Brussels Sprouts
Step One: Prep your Brussels sprouts. Cut off the end as shown below and slice in half.
Step Two Finely chop your shallot.
Step Three Create your marinade by adding the olive oil, vinegar, honey, shallots, chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk together until combined.
Step Four Place a pot of salted water on a burner on high heat to boil. Once boiling, add the Brussels sprouts for 3 to 4 minutes, then strain.
Step Five Add the Brussels sprouts to a bowl and dress with the marinade.
Step Six Mix well, cover, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve either chilled or at room temperature.
Variations
Sugar Try using a bit of sugar in place of the honey for a slightly sweeter dish.
Thyme You can use thyme in place of rosemary for a lighter herbal note.
Different Cruciferous Vegetables This marinade would also be delicious on some blanched cabbage, as a dressing for kale, or over blanched broccoli or cauliflower.
FAQ
Brussels sprouts are cruciferous vegetables that grow as a stalk and are cultivated for their edible buds. Their taste is similar to other cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage.
This recipe is a perfect example of marinating Brussels sprouts, but you can also roast them, sauté them (like in this Garlicky Sautéed Cruciferous Crunch), or thinly shave them for a salad!
Absolutely! In fact, I recommend it. If you can marinate the Brussels sprouts for 24 hours before serving, the flavors will have melded perfectly and the sprouts will have taken on more of the delicious flavor from the marinade.
I am big on texture, so I personally would not. The texture of the Brussels sprouts will become much softer. If you do elect to freeze, freeze the Brussels sprouts separately and create the vinaigrette once they have been thawed.
Expert Tips
- Clean your sprouts well and remove any outer leaves with noticeable browning. Once you've peeled back a few layers the leaves underneath are usually just fine.
- Marinate longer for a more pronounced flavor. The marinade will have more of a chance to permeate the Brussels sprouts.
- Taste as you go to ensure the flavor is to your liking. Is it too sweet? Add more olive oil and vinegar. Is it too sour? More olive oil and sugar will help. Too bland? Try adding more salt.
How to Store
You can store this marinated Brussels sprouts recipe for about 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
If freezing, be sure to only freeze the Brussels sprouts, and be prepared for the texture to be much softer. Prepare the vinaigrette after you have thawed the sprouts in the fridge overnight.
If serving at a party, the rule of thumb for food safety is 2 hours without refrigeration. After that time, it is best to put them back in the fridge.
How to Serve
These Brussels sprouts will go with just about anything. Here are some suggestions:
Italian Chicken Cutlets Serve with a breaded, fried chicken cutlet for a delicious, hearty meal.
Appetizer Serve with toothpicks for an appetizer at your next party or potluck. Looking for more appetizer ideas? Try this amazing baked brie in a bread bowl, roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, almond pesto, or roasted garlic!
Protein Try with your favorite grilled or pan-seared steak recipe or serve with a ham steak brushed with maple brown sugar glaze!
Sandwich or Soup Serve with a half sandwich or a cup of soup for a satisfying lunch.
Pasta These are delicious as a side to any pasta dish, like this Aglio Olio e Peperoncino, or a pasta of your choice with this wonderful Almond Pesto.
Looking for a fun party cocktail? Try this amazing Christmas Margarita, this Espresso Martini or this Whiskey Sour recipe!
And how about dessert? We love these Chai Earthquake Cookies.
More Recipes You'll Love
Try these other cruciferous veg sides:
Air Fryer Broccoli and Cauliflower
Garlicky Sauteed Cruciferous Crunch
📖 Recipe
Marinated Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Brussels sprouts
- 1 shallot
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
Instructions
- Trim the ends of the Brussels sprouts, then slice in half lengthwise.
- Finely chop the shallots.
- Add the olive oil, vinegar, shallots, honey, chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper to a bowl and whisk to emulsify.
- Place a pot of salted water on the stove on high heat to boil. Once boiling, add the Brussels sprouts and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Strain the Brussels sprouts, then add to a bowl. Pour over the marinade and stir well to combine.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
- You can use thyme in place of rosemary.
- This marinade would also be delicious on some blanched cabbage, as a dressing for kale, or over broccoli or cauliflower.
- You can make this in advance. If you can marinate the Brussels sprouts for 24 hours before serving, the sprouts will have had a chance to take on more of the delicious flavor of the marinade.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- If serving at a potluck or party, the rule of thumb for food safety is 2 hours without refrigeration. After that time, it is best to put them back in the fridge.
- If you choose to freeze, freeze the Brussels sprouts without the vinaigrette for up to 12 months. Create the marinade once they have been thawed in the fridge overnight. The texture of the Brussels sprouts will be softer after thawing.
Cathie says
I am not a fan of sprouts, but like this they were delicious! Also very easy to do. I didn’t have champagne vinegar, but used good quality balsamic.
Genevieve says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Cathie!
Marnie says
I always wonder how the time estimates are calculated. Do you have assistants who do all the cutting and chopping? Gathering all the ingredients (including rosemary from the garden), peeling the shallots and chopping them, plus trimming the Brussels sprouts and halving them took me much longer than six minutes! It's marinating in the fridge now, so I can't comment yet about the results.
Genevieve says
Hi Marnie! Good question. We typically calculate this based on the time it takes when you have the ingredients gathered. It's too difficult to account for all variables - e.g., you had to go to the garden to get rosemary. What if someone needed to go to the grocery store? How far is it? How long would that take? We would have no way of knowing, so for simplicity, it's the amount of time once you already have the ingredients on hand. I could probably add more time to that prep number as I work pretty fast (but I don't have an assistant! 😉 )