Sauteed brussels sprouts and toasted hazelnuts are mixed together with a little balsamic vinegar and lemon juice for an elegant and healthy side dish!
Before I start, I’m really excited to say that I’ve been accepted to be a Fitfluential Ambassador! Pumped to be aligned to the program alongside some really awesome healthy lifestyle bloggers.
Every time I make brussels sprouts for my dad he says something along the lines of “they must GROW brussels sprouts differently these days because they don’t taste like they used to!” Brussels sprouts started to have their moment a few years back, and they are still going strong. For years, though, brussels sprouts were those vegetables that the little kids turned their noses up at at the dinner table - they have kind of a bitter taste. But oh, how these little cabbages are some of my favorite things to cook. Or even eaten raw! This side dish was gobbled down immediately, and we had zero leftovers. So I feel comfortable in saying that either they are growing brussels differently these days, or maybe just the recipes have gotten better :).
I bought a whole bunch of these babies from the farmer’s market and then grumbled for 10 minutes about chopping them up into pieces. You can buy pre-shredded brussels from Trader Joe’s, but these tasted so fresh and crunchy, so I have to recommend going fresh with these. But it was hard work. I did that as the hazelnuts toasted in the oven. When I pulled these out of the oven, I had no idea what was in store for me but they smelled absolutely HEAVENLY. I had some leftover from the recipe that we have in a bag in the kitchen, and sometimes I open up the bag to smell these homemade toasted hazelnuts. They still smell divine. Use a dishtowel to rub the skins off the hazelnuts after you take them out of the oven. To get a rough chop of these guys for your brussels, I put them in a plastic bag and then smashed them up a bit using an ice cream scooper. There are definitely more civil and glamorous ways of doing this (i.e. food processor) but that’s not my kitchen.
When the hazelnuts are done, sautee your brussels sprouts for 5-7 minutes in some olive oil or butter in a pan. Before serving, mix the nuts, the vegetables, and add in the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. And then serve! I recommend serving these just warmer than room temperature. I also recommend waiting to mix in the hazelnuts until you’re ready to serve, as they can get soggy if you you mix these up and wait a few hours beforehand. So there you have it! An easy, delicious, healthy, light, and sure-to-impress even the grumpiest of brussels eaters.
- 3-5 cups chopped brussels sprouts
- ⅔ cup hazelnuts
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil spray
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F
- On a baking sheet, spread out your whole hazelnuts (skin still on OK) and spray on a little olive oil
- Put baking sheet in oven for 5-10 minutes. Watch to check for browness - these are very easy to burn!
- In the mean time, chop up your brussels sprouts lengthwise into rough strips. This is time consuming!
- Heat your olive oil or butter in a large pan over medium heat, and toss in your brussels sprouts
- Remove the hazelnuts from the oven once toasted. Using a dish towel, rub off the skins of the hazelnuts. It should be easy once the hazelnuts are out of the oven
- Place hazelnuts in a plastic bag, and cover with a towel. Using something like a meat pounder/ice cream scoop, give the hazelnuts a good pounding until they are roughly chopped. This also can be done in a food processor, but it's such a small amount and you are really looking for a rough chop. I like having different sized hazelnuts
- Continue to sautee your brussels sprouts for 5-7 minutes over medium heat
- Remove from heat
- Before serving, mix the brussels, hazenults with the lemon juice and drizzle on the balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste!
Thanks for stopping by! 
Love the combo of sprouts+hazelnuts! I never ate sprouts as a kid but I’m pretty sure that’s because my parents didn’t like them…. Ohhhh how times have changed. They’re the besttttt.
Isn’t it funny how we assume we don’t like things just because our parents don’t eat it themselves? That was like me and quinoa for a long time!
I have never cooked with hazelnuts, but they sound like the perfect addition to brussel sprouts. I’d love to try this!
I often forget that hazelnuts can be used outside of nutella 😉