Ina Garten-Inspired Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Most roasted sprouts fail in the same way: grey-green, a bit soft, tasting faintly of cabbage. The fix is not more heat or more oil.
Only the surface touching hot metal browns. A sprout tossed into a pan lands however it lands, and the round side conducts poorly. Halve them and lay every one cut-side down and you have turned a pile of vegetables into a tray of flat seared faces.
That is the entire difference, and it costs two minutes of arranging.
Jump to the recipe ↓Ina Garten-Inspired Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 6 · Side
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 45 min
Easyfew steps, few ingredients
Ingredients
- 900 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, to finish
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan, optional
Method
- Sheet pan into the oven, then heat to 220°C (200°C fan).
- Toss the halved sprouts with oil, salt and pepper.
- Pull the hot pan out. Lay the sprouts cut side down, one layer.
- Roast , undisturbed, until the flat faces are deep brown.25–35 minutes
- Balsamic over the hot pan, Parmesan if using. Serve straight away.
Why the pan goes in empty
Put the sheet pan in while the oven heats. Sprouts hitting a 220°C surface start browning on contact; sprouts placed on a cold pan steam in their own moisture until the pan catches up, and by then they are cooked through.
One layer, and it means one layer
Crowding is the other failure. Water leaving the sprouts has to go somewhere, and in a crowded pan it sits as steam. Two pans is better than one full one — a rule worth remembering for every roasted vegetable.
Do not stir them
The instinct at the halfway mark is to shake the pan. Resist it. Every sprout you turn loses the crust it was building and starts again on a cooler face.
The loose leaves are the point
Leaves that fall off go almost black and crisp. Some cooks pick them out; they are the best thing on the tray. Scatter a handful deliberately.
Storing
They soften within an hour and do not reheat well — the crust goes leathery. This is a dish to time for the table rather than to make ahead.
Questions people ask
Why cut side down?
Browning only happens where the sprout touches hot metal. A flat cut face makes maximum contact; a round side makes almost none.
Can I use frozen sprouts?
No. They release far too much water and will steam rather than roast.
Why preheat the empty pan?
So the sprouts start browning on contact instead of steaming while the pan warms.
What if mine came out soft and pale?
Crowding, almost always. Use two pans.
More like this
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Ina Garten-Inspired Beef Stroganoff: Not Stewing SteakStroganoff is a fast dish and stewing beef needs hours. Use fillet or sirloin, seared in seconds, or it turns grey and tough.
Ina Garten-Inspired Beef Tenderloin: Tuck the TailA whole tenderloin tapers from thick to thin. Fold the narrow end under and tie it, or that end is well done before the middle is warm.