Tell me I’m not too late. That you haven’t already done all of your shopping. That your list isn’t already printed, finalized, and ready to go.
The calendar gods really pulled one on us this year – am I right? Thanksgiving feels SO early! I swear I was making a Halloween costume last week. I had a small panic attack last weekend when I realized that Thanksgiving is next week, and I hadn’t cooked (or even thought about cooking) a single thing.
I started jotting down recipe ideas, making grocery lists, and organizing myself for a big week of cooking. And then I took a second look at my calendar and realized Casey was headed to Dallas for the week. Womp womp. So that was part of the reason for my vague whiny post on Monday, as well as my lack of amazing Thanksgiving-ness this week.
But the nap gods heard my cry, and blessed me with the perfect trifecta of adequate photography lighting, a refrigerator with necessary ingredients, and most importantly – a three hour afternoon nap perfect for putting together this rustic bowl of deliciousness.
I don’t make green bean casserole on Thanksgiving. Nothing against it – it’s just not my thing. But I still always make sure we have some green on the table. And save me the talk about not liking Brussels sprouts until you have tried this dish. This is bright in both color and flavor!
Cranberry Orange Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients (4-6 servings)
- 1 stalk Brussels sprouts (or 1 large bag), trimmed and halved
- 1 pint fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- zest of one orange
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. If you are using stalk of Brussels sprouts, start by carefully trimming the sprouts off the stalk. Be careful not to lose a finger or two. If you bought sprouts in bulk or in a bag, you have saved yourself the step of lugging a huge stalk of Brussels sprouts home from the store, as well as the task of trimming.
Next, trim the individual sprouts. Cut the woody end off the bottom, discard any loose leaves, and cut each sprout in half lengthwise. Rinse and drain your cranberries, and add to a large mixing bowl along with trimmed/halved sprouts.
Toss berries and sprouts in 2 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread evenly onto a baking sheet and pop into the oven to roast for about 40 minutes (stirring once halfway through cooking).
While the sprouts are cooking, get the walnuts ready for toasting. If you have whole walnuts, do a bit of rough chopping. Add the nuts to a small baking dish. With about 5-10 minutes left on the oven cooktime, pop the dish of nuts into the oven along with the sprouts and cranberries. Watch carefully to make sure they don’t burn. You just want them to darken a bit.
When everything is roasted and toasted, remove from the oven and toss together in a large bowl.
Using a microplane grater, zest one whole orange over top of the bowl. Orange zest really brings this recipe to life, so the more the merrier, and definitely don’t skip it.
In a small dish, whisk together 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, orange juice, and balsamic vinegar. Pour over the mixture, and toss with a 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Serve immediately or room temperature.
A few notes for Thanksgiving prep: This dish can be made ahead of time. If you already have a heavy cooking load on Thursday and can’t spare any oven time, consider roasting the sprouts and cranberries the day before. Seal in a storage container and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to eat, spread the cooked mixture onto a baking sheet, and heat for 5-10 minutes while the walnuts are toasting. Then toss all components together just before serving.
Thanksgiving is known for feasts of comfort food, and afternoons spent slaving away in the kitchen. That’s part of the fun, right? But you have more complicated things to tend to – like mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. This dish is an easy side that comes together quickly, leaving you extra time to relax and watch the parade (or if you are in my house – the dog show!).
47 Comments so far
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oh wow, this sounds utterly fabulous! we won’t be home for thanksgiving & due to family stuff, we’ll actually be eating out which i’m a little sad about. BUT i do plan on making some yummy sides to just enjoy on our own before we leave so this sounds perfect. i’m not a green bean casserole fan either. :)
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Can’t wait until Thanksgiving! I am making this tomorrow night! It’s all my favorite flavors in one bowl. I can’t wait to try it. I have a feeling this will be a new staple. Thanks!!!!
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I was looking for something green for Thanksgiving! I just wrote this one down. Thanks for sharing!
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I am sending a link to this post to my sister-in-law right now! She and my brother-in-law (husband’s brother) are coming east (from the Seattle area) for Thanksgiving and they are cooking for us! She asked us if we had any preferences, and my side of the family usually cooks very heavy (traditional) foods for Thanksgiving. The kind of foods that leave you feeling so full you just want to take a nap. This sounds so tasty, still traditional, and so. much. lighter. than the typical fare. Mmmm!
PS – I had never seen Brussels sprouts on a stalk until our Trader Joe’s opened a few weeks ago. So pretty, but I would not want to cut them off!
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This looks great, Emily! Yum :) I just made brussel sprouts tonight, so I’ll have to make this version next round! :D
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Making this!
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Yum!! I will def be making this for my family Tgiving this year. Looks delicious!
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Yum! I found I actually like Brussels sprouts (thank you, former NYC office cafeteria!), but I haven’t felt adventurous enough to try cooking them at home. This recipe is quite inspiring, though. I hope to try it out!
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I am having a love affair with brussels sprouts right now. I’m definitely adding this to our Thanksgiving dinner list. Thanks!
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This looks amazing, Emily! I have a cranberry, orange and walnut pie in the oven right now… love those flavors together!
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Hahaha I can ASSURE you that I am even farther behind in Thanksgiving planning. This recipe looks incredible and will very likely make it to our table this year. Thanks!
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These look amazing! I love Brussels sprouts simply roasted but my husband is getting tired of them that way. This will certainly light up his taste buds.
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You’re not too late- the list hasn’t even been started yet. I am totally going to make this for our first Plant-Based Thanksgiving! (and so glad Cullen had a good nap, yay!)
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I love brussels sprouts and orange together! What a great combo!
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This is absolutely perfect because I was looking for a good roasted brussels sproats recipe for Thanksgiving! I think I’m going to try this one. Thanks for sharing!
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This looks gorgeous! I will definitely be adding this to the Thanksgviving menu. Love your sweet and sour brussels, too :)
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Love the cranberry photo! I currently have a bag of cranberries and a bag of brussel sprouts in the fridge…hmmm :)
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This looks great! As someone who won’t be able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year (working at the restaurant that day), I too am a bit sad about the holiday.
I read something really interesting about brussel sprouts the other day (in Harold McGee’s On Food & Cooking–great book, do you have it?). The inside core of brussel sprouts is where most of the bitter flavor comes from (which is what some people don’t like) and apparently cutting them in half or quarters before cooking helps get rid of it!
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These sound amazing! Last year, my mom made a brussels sprouts and grapes dish that was so good and balanced. Even though I am just contributing pumpkin pie to the table this year, I am totally adding this to my list of things to make, just for me.
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This looks promising! Thanks
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MM! Can’t wait to try this soon. Since you’re always sharing recipes with us, I thought I’d share a link with you for a few other brussel sprout recipes (for after Thanksgiving, obviously :) It feels weird sharing recipes with you, as if you already know of every existing recipe and combination… but I suspect that’s not a valid thought/feeling, so here goes nothing:
http://glutenfreegirl.com/brussels-sprouts-three-ways/
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I love you for making this up. I am making this for Thursday. I can’t wait.
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Yum! Roasted Brussels sprouts are my favorite. Can’t wait to try this one.
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Your timing is perfect! I’m going to a Thanksgiving potluck today and I was just thinking, what else can I bring that’s green? Time for the grocery store!
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Hi Emily! Thanks for this recipe, perfect timing. This rounds out my menu and I get to use up left over walnuts. Now off to brave Krogers. Happy Turkey Day to you guys!
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Perfect since brussels sprouts was one of the dishes I volunteered to bring to our friends’ house for Thanksgiving.
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Brussel sprouts are my new obsession…only problem is I don’t know anyone else who likes them. Whatever…I’m going to make this for myself sometime this winter. haha :)
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You’re awesome. My hubby and I love brussels sprouts, and I’m trying my darndest to convince those who think they don’t like them, that they’ve just never had them served well. I’m bringing this to the family get together :)
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My brothers would probably balk if I brought brussels with me to dinner – but I think it’s worth a try! Besides, Thanksgiving is the perfect time for everyone to try a little of this and a little of that and it might give them the courage to try a brussel and see what they think. :)
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I was looking for a brussels sprouts recipe! Thanks!
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Looks fab!! On the list to make in general (I’m Aussie). Happy Thanksgiving!
Heidi xo
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I made these on Saturday and they were DELICIOUS! I would put parchment under them next time because the burned cranberries made a mess, but I would totally make these again. Andy also loved them, maybe even more as leftovers.
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Belinda Reply:
November 28th, 2012 at 8:56 am
I made these too, and loved them! The parchment paper is a great idea, cause the cranberries were a mess once they burst :)
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I’m sure my husband will thank you once I make these. He is always begging me to bake brussel sprouts but I never had a good recipe so I just avoided his requests. No excuse anymore! Trying these asap!
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This looks delicious! I have a simillar recipe that I make, but I use pine nuts instead of walnuts.
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The orange vest really made this dish pop! My first time cooking brussel sprouts at home as I only learned I liked them last year. Great addition to our holiday meal but definitely a dish that will be made throughout the year.
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Made these tonight with leftover cranberries. What a delicious dish. I will def be making these for Christmas. The red and green colors together make it an extremely festive dish. Thanks Emily!
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Emily Malone Reply:
November 26th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
So happy to hear that you liked it!
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I’m not sure if I did this right – the bitterness of the cranberries really overpowered the dish. I love brussels sprouts, especially roasted. Maybe I added too many?
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Emily Malone Reply:
November 26th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Boo, I’m sorry. That sucks. The cranberries are definitely tart. Both times I made it I used a BIG stalk of Brussels sprouts, so the cranberries were pretty well balanced. I’m sorry it wasn’t a hit, but I’m glad you let me know!
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Erica Reply:
November 27th, 2012 at 3:53 am
I used two bags of sprouts. I think I want to try it again with just fewer cranberries (I used a whole 12 oz bag from TJ’s).
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I made this today and it was delicious. I used pecans and reduced balsamic. Great recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
December 1st, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!
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I made this the other day (but with dried cranberries since I had them on hand). It’s the best brussels sprouts dish I’ve ever had – thanks!
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I made this for NYE dinner with my husband, we devoured it! The orange juice and balsamic dressing was the perfect complement to the tartness of the cranberries. Thanks!
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[...] craving roast beef. Something a bit more traditional. I had been wanting to make Emily’s Cranberry Orange Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts ever since she posted the recipe and so I based my entire Christmas Eve dinner around this side [...]
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