Another healthy & delicious Thanksgiving recipe, coming right up! I’ve been making my Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Pecans & Bacon for a couple years now, so I wanted to switch it up this year with these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Pine Nuts and Pomegranate. Ohhhh, toasted pine nuts aren’t just for making insanely delicious pesto anymore, you guys! But honestly, these two recipes so good, I may have to make brussels sprouts two ways on Thanksgiving day because I can’t decide, ha!
These poor little sprouts get a bad wrap, am I right? Up until a couple years ago when they became a “cool, trendy new food” and chefs went bananas over roasting them with bacon, balsamic and every which way, I never would have touched them. To be fair, I never really touched vegetables until college anyway (yikes, right?!) unless you count carrots and ranch dressing. And we’re not talking the totally junk-free, totally amazing homemade creamy ranch dressing or my favorite from Tessemae’s. Nope. There was a BUNCH of stuff hidden in that ranch, if you get the brand I’m talking about. And none of it was good stuff.
Even my parents grew up only knowing canned or plain boiled brussels sprouts. Can you blame them for hating them?! Until a few years ago when I introduced my Maple Balsamic Brussels at Thanksgiving. The skepticism was REAL, you guys. Until the first bite…and then I had convinced everyone at the table in under ten seconds flat. Because whenever you get the food stamp of approval from my dad of “Woah, this is really good,” what he really means is “holy craaaaaaaaap this is amazing and I’m going to eat the whole bowl unless someone stops me.” So everyone dug in. Except my little brother, who still can’t get on the brussels train. We’ll get there little bro, we’ll get there.
- 2 pounds brussels sprouts, stems trimmed, halved
- 1 Tbsp Whole Foods 365 extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (for Whole30: substitute Balsamic Vinegar)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup Whole Foods 365 pine nuts
- ½ cup fresh pomegranate seeds
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- Cut the stems off the brussels sprouts and cut them in half, lengthwise. In a medium-sized bowl, toss the sprouts with the olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and sea salt. Spread them evenly on a large baking sheet.
- When the oven is ready, pop them in the oven and roast the brussels for 25 minutes, until crispy but the stray leaves are not getting too black.
- While the brussels are roasting, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium low heat, shaking the pan to move them around about every minute. It should take about 5 minutes until they’re lightly toasted, then remove from the heat and allow them to cool until the brussels sprouts come out of the oven.
- Toss the sprouts with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds, and serve warm.
What are your family’s traditional holiday recipes? Check out more healthy holiday recipe inspiration with #MyHolidayTradish!
This post is part of a sponsored collaboration with Whole Foods to share healthy holiday recipes. More deilciousness coming soon!
