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Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

A few years ago, Brussels sprouts became part of our Thanksgiving menu. We didn’t have them growing up because us children with picky taste buds outnumbered the adults. But now that the kids are adults, the adults outnumber the kids, and Brussels are on the menu. This year, I’m making my new favorite Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon.

Usually, I’ll just do Brussels sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions. Those are really tasty, but also … a little generic. I honestly think that’s the way everyone makes Brussels sprouts.

And that’s fine for a regular dinner. But for Thanksgiving, you want something with a little more pizzazz. And that’s why I’m breaking out our Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon.

Which I actually make for regular dinners. Because my new motto is, “no matter how bad my day is, at least I know my dinner will be amazing.”

And with these Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon, dinner really is so good.

Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

What You’ll Need:

  • 3 slices bacon
  • 12 oz. frozen Brussels sprouts
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz. Colby Jack cheese
  • Pinch of salt

What You’ll Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 375.

Defrost your Brussels sprouts. When they’re defrosted, cut them in half. Set them aside.

Cut the Colby Jack cheese into small cubes. Set them aside.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Chop your bacon into small pieces. Cook the pieces in a large oven-safe skillet until they’re crisp.

Use a small hand strainer to remove the bacon pieces. Set them aside to drip on a paper towel. Leave behind the bacon grease.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Place the Brussels sprouts, cut side down, in the bacon grease. Sprinkle them a pinch of salt. Cook them on medium heat for about five minutes until they start to brown.

Flip the Brussels sprouts over, sprinkle with another pinch of salt, and cook again another five minutes.

Remove from heat.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Pour the heavy cream on top of the Brussels sprouts.

Top with the bacon pieces, reserving a few for garnish.

Top with the Colby Jack cheese. Stick the skillet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the heavy cream is bubbly.

Crumble the remaining bacon and put it on top as a garnish.

Serve warm.

Do I have to use frozen Brussels sprouts?

When I’m making a recipe where I pan fry fresh Brussels sprouts, I always trim the stem, boil the Brussels sprouts, then immediately cool them in an ice bath. That stops them from overcooking. Once they’ve cooled, you can pan fry the Brussels sprouts.

But, no matter what, the Brussels sprouts just don’t hold up. The outer leaves start falling apart and the outside is always more tender than the inside. That cooking method is probably why most people don’t like Brussels sprouts. The texture can be a hot mess.

So, what I prefer, is to use frozen Brussels sprouts. Let them thaw in the refrigerator about eight hours or so. They won’t be completely defrosted, but pretty close. Slice them then, and they’ll hold their shape a lot better than if you sliced boiled than iced Brussels. And, when you use frozen Brussels sprouts, they’ll hold their color so your dish comes out a lot prettier than fresh.

I’m usually a big fan of fresh over frozen, but this is one of those recipes where frozen wins.

If all you have is fresh Brussels sprouts though, you can still make this. Your Brussels may just be a little mushier than if you made this Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon recipe with frozen, but it will still taste delicious.

What if I can’t find Colby Jack cheese?

Colby Jack cheese is a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack cheeses. You should be able to buy it as an 8 oz. or 16 oz. block in your local grocery store.

Colby Jack is a really mild cheese and it melts really well, which is part of why it’s so good in this Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon recipe. If you can’t find Colby Jack, you could either just go with Colby cheese, just go with Monterey Jack cheese, or you could just buy a block of each and make your own blend.

But stick with one of those two. Cheddar or mozzarella cheese would overpower the other ingredients and wouldn’t work at all.

A bleu or gorgonzola cheese wouldn’t melt right, so you shouldn’t substitute either of those.

Would shredded cheese work?

I love the convenience of shredded cheese, but it doesn’t melt as well. There are additives in shredded cheese to keep it from clumping together in the bag. When you try to melt shredded cheese, those additives stop the cheese from melting (mostly), so you don’t get a really great melt.

When you buy a block of cheese, it doesn’t have those additives. So I really suggest you invest in a nice cheese grater, then grate your own cheese. You could also just cut the block of cheese with a knife if you don’t have a cheese grater.

What can you substitute for heavy cream?

Heavy cream adds so much depth of flavor to this recipe. The heavy cream adds a really nice richness to the Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon recipe without making it really heavy.

If you don’t have heavy cream handy, you can use half and half as a substitute. It will come out a little lighter than the original recipe, but it will still taste good.

If you want to make an at home heavy cream, you can add 1/4 cup unsalted butter to 3/4 cup whole milk. I haven’t actually tried that in this recipe, but if you try it, let me know.

If you only have light cream available, that would be fine. Light cream has less fat than heavy cream, so it won’t add as much richness and flavor to the recipe as heavy cream does. But the Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon recipe will still come out just fine.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

What can I serve with Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon?

These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are a really mild side dish, despite looking very rich. The Colby Jack is such a mild cheese, so this doesn’t overpower your dinner. It really plays the perfect sidekick to your main course.

I like how Brussels sprouts and chicken play together, so I would recommend pairing Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon with the following recipes:

Pork Rind Crusted Chicken Fingers
Oven Roasted Chicken
Slow Cooker Ginger Marmalade Chicken

Want more Brussels sprouts recipes?

Bacon And Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts With Carnalized Onions And Prosciutto
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic

Yield: 10 Servings

Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect. Get the recipe on www.drugstoredivas.net.

Looking for a tasty, rich but light side dish? These Creamy Cheesy Brussels Sprouts With Bacon are perfect.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 slices bacon
  • 12 oz. frozen Brussels sprouts
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz. Colby Jack cheese
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F.
  2. Defrost your Brussels sprouts. When they’re defrosted, cut them in half. Set them aside.
  3. Cut the Colby Jack cheese into small cubes. Set them aside.
  4. Chop your bacon into small pieces. Cook the pieces in a large oven-safe skillet until they’re crisp.
  5. Use a small hand strainer to remove the bacon pieces. Set them aside to drip on a paper towel. Leave behind the bacon grease.
  6. Place the Brussels sprouts, cut side down, in the bacon grease. Sprinkle them a pinch of salt. Cook them on medium heat for about five minutes until they start to brown.
  7. Flip the Brussels sprouts over, sprinkle with another pinch of salt, and cook again another five minutes.
  8. Remove from heat.
  9. Pour the heavy cream on top of the Brussels sprouts.
  10. Top with the bacon pieces, reserving a few for garnish.
  11. Top with the Colby Jack cheese. Stick the skillet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the heavy cream is bubbly.
  12. Crumble the remaining bacon and put it on top as a garnish.

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 102Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 24mgSodium 149mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 5g

Cheryl

Sunday 20th of December 2020

I LOVE brussels sprouts! Not sure I'll make your recipe, though, it's a little too luxurious for my health but it looks divine! Thank you for sharing it with us, I'm now craving those little green balls!

drugstore diva lisa

Monday 21st of December 2020

It definitely looks heavier than it actually is.

Cindy Mom, the Lunch Lady

Tuesday 8th of December 2020

OMG your recipe made me stop in my tracks, it looks so good!

Claire

Monday 7th of December 2020

Looks like a tasty recipe :)

Michele Somerville

Tuesday 1st of December 2020

You had me at "cheesy" shared to my Facebook page before I even read the recipe. Will definitely be making this. Thanks so much.

drugstore diva lisa

Tuesday 1st of December 2020

Thank you for sharing, Michele. Please let me know what you think of it when you make it!

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