BBQ Brussels Sprouts

There’s definitely something super special about homemade sauces. I typically shy away from homemade stuff, but recently I purchased a bbq sauce that was just a little too sweet for my liking and in a bind for a sauce I really liked, I decided to just make my own. I knew I wanted a sauce that was a little more savory and had a vinegar kick, but not too much. My basis was to use this sauce and make BBQ Brussels Sprouts, which I’ve quickly become addicted to making.

So first, we have the bbq sauce. I’ve seen some very complex bbq sauces out there and what I was searching for was simplicity and 100% plant based, of course. So, I quickly scrambled around my kitchen searching for some ingredients and I believe this sauce recipe turned out to be a stellar fit for my BBQ Brussel Sprouts. I also thought about what was in season, and I get a pretty general understanding of that, from what my mystery box of produce has, upon delivery from Imperfect Produce.  If you haven’t checked out Imperfect Produce yet, I’d highly encourage it! They send out all the ugly produce to your door step at a fairly reasonable rate, and best of all you’re helping to consume unwanted food that’s produced simply because it’s ugly…and it’s never really that ugly!

In my box this weekend, they packed some fresh apricot, so I thought this would be great to add the sweetness and texture to my bbq sauce. For the base of the sauce, I used diced tomatoes, Tamari, Marmite and apple cider vinegar.

The cool part about this, was I just dumped it all in my blender and it was good to go! Well, almost…

It was pretty awesome to taste test the sauce right out of the blender because it felt 90% of the way there and that’s not bad at all for not even touching the stove yet. But I knew there needed to be that umph in the sauce and I’m not talking about just seasoning, but I’m talking about garlic! 

So, we’ll add some garlic to a sauce pan heating it until fragrant. Then dump in the bbq sauce straight from the blender and let it reduce down about 30%.  The final component is dropping a touch of liquid smoke in at the end to finish it off and what you’re left with is a simple, fantastic, bbq sauce that’s ready for coating the BBQ Brussels Sprouts.

Next up, the Brussels Sprouts! I gave them a quick dice in half, peeled off the outer layer which sometimes I will save for deep fried Brussels Sprout chips.

Once they’re cut, we’ll just toss them into a mixing bowl and coat them with olive oil and salt. I like to be generous with the oil here to really make sure every inch of the sprouts are coated. 

We’ll spread them out onto a pan and prep the oven to about 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The char on them is super easy to get when you roast them and I just love the oven for convenience. Once they are out of the oven, we’ll just flip them in a pan over medium heat and lay down the BBQ Sauce! For the bbq sauce, you can use as much or as little as your heart desires. You may even want to just dip them and have the sauce on the side! Either way, this dish is something that is super simple to make and can really shine as an entree and/or a side. If you have some leftover bbq sauce, save it for some bbq pulled jackfruit sandwiches.  And if you haven’t made those yet, stay-tuned for my version soon!

BBQ Brussels Sprouts

Nothing beats a simple meal with everything made from scratch. Oven roasted Brussels Sprouts, slathered in BBQ make for a perfect entree.

Servings 2 people

Cook Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Pitted Apricots Small
• 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes Canned
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 3/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Brussels Sprouts

• 400 g Brussels Sprouts
• 2 .5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Instructions

BBQ Sauce

1. Mince garlic and set aside. Measure out 3/4 tsp liquid smoke into a measuring cup and set aside. Pour all remaining ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 1 minute.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over low heat in sauce pan. Toss garlic in until lightly fragrant. Add bbq sauce and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or until sauce reduces 30%.
3. When sauce is reduced, stir in liquid smoke to finish. Transfer to a pouring container or a mason jar for use later.

BBQ Brussels Sprouts

1. Rinse all Brussels Sprouts and pat dry. Cut sprouts into halves and coat with 2.5 tbsp of olive oil in mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and lay evenly out on baking pan.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees and cook sprouts for 10 minutes. Shake pan and cook for another 10 minutes, or when sprouts have nice browning on them, to finish.
3. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add Brussels Sprouts. Layer on the BBQ sauce and give an even toss and stir. Coat with enough sauce to satisfy your preference. Plate and Enjoy!