Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Toasted Pecans, and Dried Cranberries is an easy Christmas side dish that will add colors and vibrancy to your holiday menu!
This is such a perfect Christmas recipe. Roasted Brussels sprouts taste great combined with the classic holiday ingredients, such as pecans and dried cranberries. Dried cranberries provide a nice, sweeter contrast to the Brussels Sprouts. And, there is a little bit of crunch from toasted pecans and chopped cooked bacon. This side dish is bursting with colors!
If you enjoy colorful holiday recipes, you will also love green beans with bacon and butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.
What I love the best about this Christmas Brussels sprouts recipe is that it fits so well with the traditional holiday side dishes, such as green beans, potatoes, and stuffing. It’s a perfect recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or any other holiday!
This side dish is packed with vegetables and nuts. It’s healthy, gluten-free, and rich in fiber!
Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon have become one of my favorite holiday recipes.
Other holiday side dishes
If you want to discover other colorful and vibrant holiday side dishes, check out these recipes:
- Garlic and Bacon Green Beans – crispy and crunchy green beans sautéed with garlic and bacon in olive oil and butter on the stovetop.
- Creamy and Crunchy Salad with Peas, Bacon, and Pecans – easy and beautiful side dish for the holidays!
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries - this vibrant recipe will work perfectly for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!
- Winter Fruit Salad with Maple Lime Dressing – the holiday ingredient list includes red apples, pears, clementine oranges (or mandarin oranges), kiwi fruit, dried cranberries, and pomegranate seeds.
- Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate – perfect healthy holiday salad features Poppy Seed Honey-Lime Dressing.
Christmas main courses
Brussels sprouts and bacon will pair well with any Christmas main course. I recommend that you try one of these recipes for your holiday dinner, especially the duck:
- Roast Duck is a perfect holiday main course! This Roast Whole Duck has tender and juicy meat, crispy skin, and it’s glazed with the honey-balsamic glaze to give the duck a beautiful roasted look.
- Duck Breast with Cranberry Sauce - this recipe will make a perfect main dish for any special night, an anniversary celebration, or holidays, especially Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
- Lamb Chops with Cranberry Balsamic Reduction - this recipe features holiday ingredients, such as pomegranate seeds and pecans. Simple lamb chops marinade is made of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Roasted Cornish Hen is made with root vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes) and onions.
How to make Brussels sprouts with bacon
1) Start by cooking the bacon in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 20 minutes. After the bacon is cooked, drain it of fat and chop it up into smaller pieces.
2) Next, prepare the Brussels sprouts by tossing them with olive oil and salt. Add them to a baking sheet.
3) Roast the Brussels sprouts in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 20 minutes.
4) Finally, in a medium bowl, combine together roasted brussels sprouts, chopped cooked bacon, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries.
Tips and tricks
- To save time, roast both Brussels sprouts and bacon on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time, on the same rack in the oven.
- Optionally, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the final dish. The dish should already have enough oil from Brussels sprouts and the cooked warm bacon.
- Soak dried cranberries briefly in hot water to plump them up. This will make dried cranberries juicier, softer, and more vibrant.
How to make it ahead
- If you plan to make this dish a day ahead, don’t add nuts. Add nuts only when ready to serve (to make sure they are crunchy).
- Reheat this dish in a shallow pan, such as a sheet pan or a sheet cake pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the ingredients on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Reheat for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven at 350 F. Then add toasted pecans, when ready to serve.
Serve this cold or hot?
- This dish is best served immediately, warm or at room temperature.
Substitutions
- Don’t want to use pecans? Use pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or pine nuts.
- You can use dried cherries, raisins, or chopped dried figs instead of dried cranberries.
- What is a good substitution for regular bacon? Use prosciutto, duck bacon, or turkey bacon.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Pecans, and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 12 oz Brussels sprouts ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 1 cup pecans
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
How to Roast Brussels Sprouts
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Slice all Brussels sprouts in half.
- In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and toss to combine.
- Place Brussels sprouts on the baking sheet, cut side down.
- Roast in the oven at 400 F for about 25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning, the cut sides should be partially charred but not blackened.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
- Line the separate baking sheet with foil. Add the bacon slices in one layer. Bake in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 20 minutes or until the bacon is done. You can do it at the same time as roasting the Brussels sprouts.
- Drain bacon of fat and slice the bacon into small bites.
How to Toast Pecans
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add pecans in one layer.
- Toast the pecans for about 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) in the preheated oven at 350 F until they get darker in color.
Prepare Dried Cranberries
- For best results, briefly soak the dried cranberries in hot water. Bring a small pot of water to boil.
- Add dried cranberries to a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the cranberries and soak them for about 10 minutes. Drain.
Assembly
- In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, warm chopped cooked bacon, toasted pecans, and soaked dried cranberries. Toss everything together. The olive oil from Brussels sprouts and fats from bacon should be enough to coat the ingredients. If desired, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to mix with the salad (optional).
Notes
- Drizzle with a balsamic glaze. Make the balsamic glaze by cooking down the balsamic vinegar together with a small amount of honey or brown sugar until the mixture reduces by about half. For example, combine 1 cup of balsamic vinegar + ¼ cup of honey or brown sugar and cook it down. Consistency should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon but should not be overly thick.
- Drizzle with a very high-quality aged balsamic vinegar made in Italy. Aged balsamic vinegar is often sold in specialized stores or sections of foreign foods at some grocery stores. High-quality Italian-made aged balsamic vinegar is usually expensive but it does not need cooking down. Just use it as is. And, you don't need to use much.
- Or, use your favorite balsamic vinaigrette-based salad dressing.
- You can use white balsamic vinegar to brighten this dish!
Looking for more THANKSGIVING SIDE DISHES?
- I have created a comprehensive recipe collection of 60 Thanksgiving side dishes conveniently categorized by ingredient: Green Beans, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Potatoes, Acorn Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Asparagus, Broccoli, etc. It's a great resource to browse through for a last moment holiday inspiration! This side dishes will also work great for Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Looking for a complete THANKSGIVING MENU?
- Be sure to check out my 50 Best Thanksgiving Recipes (The Complete Holiday Menu) - it includes everything: Fall-inspired holiday appetizers, side dishes, salads, main courses, pasta recipes, desserts, and even breakfast. This holiday menu features proven, tried, and true Thanksgiving dishes that have been reader favorites for years (I've been publishing recipes since 2012).
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Made this dish tonight and it was absolutely delish! I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon and I drizzled a tiny bit of honey over all of it before serving. So so good!
Stacey, thank you for your tip about drizzling everything with a small amount of honey - that sounds delish!
This recipe had popped up on my FaceBook feed several times and when looking for something festive to do with Brussels Sprouts for Christmas dinner, I went searching for it. Such a beautiful dish and it got rave reviews. I made it exactly as your recipe suggests and it was incredibly well received. Definitely will make it again. Thanks for the excellent, well written recipe. It was easy to make and I was thrilled with the outcome.
Beverly, your comment truly made my day! 🙂 Thank you for this positive and thoughtful feedback. So glad you chose this recipe for your Christmas dinner and glad it was a success! 🙂
Any suggested reheating method besides crockpot? I’d love to make this ahead.
Trish, you can reheat this in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
You can also briefly reheat this in the microwave oven.
In either cases, when making this ahead, keep the pecans separate and add them only right before serving as they get soggy if left in the salad overnight. Enjoy!
Is this dish served hot, room temperature or cold?
Elaine, this can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature. But not refrigerator cold.
A great name for this - Holiday Sprouts! Love the recipe
Kaytlin, yes, I agree - Holiday Sprouts is a good name for it! 🙂
I just made this for Christmas and it was really tasty...I have a lot leftover. Could this dish be frozen?
Thanks
Kristy
Kristy, you can freeze this, but I would keep the nuts separate as they will get soggy if refrigerated or frozen.
Can this be made ahead and kept warm in a crockpot?
Christina, yes, you can make it ahead and keep it warm in a crockpot. I would keep toasted pecans separate (not in a crockpot) and add them only when serving.
I should also have said I cut bacon in pieces and cooked with the Brussel sprouts at the same time @400 degrees about the same time you suggested for the Brussel Sprouts. I also toasted the pecans in airfryer 5 min......to long had to throw them out. Make that 2 min with close watch. I didn't "puff up' the cranberries but will do Sunday when I make it again.
Terry, that's a great tip for roasting chopped bacon at the same time at Brussels sprouts - saves a ton of time! So sorry to hear about the pecans - they do burn quickly even in the oven, I always have to be very careful and watch them closely.
Top notch recipe! Planning to repeat for Christmas dinner so we did a practice run. It was beyond my expectations. I added a clove of roasted garlic to the mix and a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar. Absolutely elevated my Tuesday night roasted chicken to a new level!
Valerie, your comment made my day! 🙂 Glad you loved it - I love the addition of roasted garlic (I love garlic anything!). 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful review.
Do you have a book out?
Marilyn, I don't - just this website! 🙂
I prepared in air fryer. It was delicious. Only change I would make is 3/4 cup of pecans, a little more bacon and white balsamic to brighten the look of the dish.
Terry, thank you for sharing that you successfully made this in the air fryer - good to know for me and other readers! I love your suggestion about using white balsamic for presentation purposes - in fact, I just updated my recipe with this! 🙂
Turned out great!
Terri, I am so glad! 🙂
Made this for Thanksgiving, multiplied the recipe x 4. Delicious, everyone loved it.
Jean, WOW - 4 x the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback! 🙂
Hello!
Will this still taste good if I leave out the bacon?
Lizzy, yes, - this would still be delicious even without the bacon!
Can I make this the night before then add to crock pot to warm up ?
Tracy, yes you can! In this case, I would not add pecans to the crockpot and add them only when you're ready to serve so that they don't get soggy.
This is on my Thanksgiving list and I'm hoping to make-ahead. Should I re-heat in oven (covered) or simply microwave? I don't want to ruin it, but I'm concerned about my timing on the day. It looks divine!!
LeAna, here are some tips:
1)
If you plan to make this dish a day ahead, don’t add nuts and dried cranberries. Add them only when ready to serve (to make sure they are crunchy) and add the balsamic glaze right before serving.
2)
Reheat this dish in a shallow pan, such as a sheet pan or a sheet cake pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the ingredients on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Reheat for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven at 350 F. Then add toasted pecans, when ready to serve. And drizzle with the balsamic glaze (or balsamic vinaigrette).
3)
You can also reheat this in the microwave (without the balsamic glaze and without the pecans).
Hi Julia. Preparing this recipe for Thanksgiving was wondering could I substitute raisins for the cranberries or would that be too sweet? Ellen
Raisins would work well, too! You can also use dried figs or dried blueberries.
This looks divine! It’s now on the menu for this year’s Thanksgiving.
Glenda, I am glad you chose this dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu! Happy Holidays! 🙂