Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash with Balsamic Glaze (bacon optional)

The holiday season is now upon us and this means spending a lot of time with family and friends.  If you follow any kind of special diet or lifestyle whether it be plant based, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, paleo or even just real food then you may find this time of the year more challenging.  When you are depending on others to make meals for you or if you have a family that doesn’t understand how you prefer to eat, it can be tough.  The goal of the holidays is for people to be harmonious together and not stressed out about food choices.  I have a great recipe here for roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash that will work well on all of the diets I listed and it is super tasty.

I made a version with bacon for my meat loving husband and he really enjoyed it but still packs in 95% vegetables.  The beauty about this recipe is that everything cooks in the oven together so if you want to make a bacon version and a vegan version then I would separate the vegetables onto two sheet pans and add bacon to one pan and not the other.  Now you have a great side dish for everyone from vegans to carnivores.  Nobody has to miss out and you didn’t have to put in much more effort.

I was inspired to make this dish from an appetizer that I had during a night out.  My Brussels sprout loving, Polish husband said that it was one of the best things he ever ate.  Wow!  I knew I had to try to make it at home.  Perfect timing too.  What doesn’t scream holiday meal like Brussels sprouts and butternut squash?  I feel like even a non Brussels sprout fan could get on board with this dish.  Roasting Brussels sprouts to a golden crisp is really the perfect way to eat them and the addition of butternut squash adds more flavor and texture.  The mixture of vegetables really makes this like two dishes in one.  So perfect for your holiday table.

Print

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 8

Author Sara

Ingredients

• 2 pounds brussel sprouts washed, stems and outer leaves removed, cut in half for 1/4 for larger pieces
• Medium butternut squash about 3-4 pounds peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1/2 in cubes
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2-4 pieces of bacon organic, nitrate free preferred diced
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Coat cut brussel sprouts and butternut squash in coconut oil.
3. Toss with salt and pepper.
4. Spread out on two lined sheet pans.
5. Toss in the bacon if desired. 2 pieces if using in half the batch or 4 pieces if using in the whole batch.
6. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. While the vegetables are roasting, in a small sauce pan over medium heat add balsamic vinegar.
8. Stir every couple of minutes until slightly coating a spoon, about 15-20 minutes.
9. The mixture will thicken more off the heat. Be careful because it can go from done to burnt in seconds-believe me I know.
10. Toss the vegetables and roast for another 5 minutes until tender and crisp.
11. Once the vegetables are done add them to the serving dish and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
12. Serve warm.
13. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Recipe Notes

*choose organic ingredients when possible.