Brussels Sprouts Gratin
If you’re looking for a holiday side dish that’s rich, comforting, and guaranteed to win over even the Brussels-sprouts skeptics, this Brussels Sprouts Gratin delivers.
This isn’t your lightened-up veggie side dish – no, this Brussels sprouts gratin is unapologetically rich, cheesy, and perfect Thanksgiving or other holiday meal. With tender Brussels sprouts baked in a creamy Gruyère cheese sauce, then topped with crispy bacon and buttery breadcrumbs. It’s a crowd-pleasing side dish that feels right at home on any Thanksgiving or Christmas table.
Ingredients
- Brussels Sprouts: They’re halved and sautéed until lightly browned and tender.
- Bacon: This adds salty, smoky flavor and provides the rendered fat you’ll use to sauté the sprouts. In other words – a built-in flavor booster.
- Gruyere Cheese: The star of the show! Gruyere melts beautifully, adds nutty depth, and adds so much flavor to the cheese sauce.
- Breadcrumbs: A crispy topping to balance out the creamy sauce. Fresh breadcrumbs work best, but panko or dried breadcrumbs will work, too.
- Parmesan Cheese: This is mixed with the breadcrumbs for a toasty topping that browns perfectly under the broiler.
- Onion: The sauce is infused with onion flavor. Instead of chopping up the onion, I simmer it whole in the sauce and discard it after. That way the sauce stays creamy, but has the flavor.
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Milk and cream
- Salt and pepper
How to Make It
☑️ Cook the Bacon
Cook chopped bacon until crispy. Take it out of the pan and leave the bacon fat in the pan.
☑️ Sauté the Sprouts
Melt some butter in the pan with the bacon fat. Sauté the Brussels sprouts until tender. Take them out of the pan and set them aside.
☑️ Make the Sauce
Melt a little more butter in the pan, stir in flour, whisk in milk and cream, add the onion. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the onion half, and then stir in most of the grated Gruyere. Once the cheese has melted into the sauce, stir in the sprouts, and pour it all into a baking dish.
☑️ Make the Topping
Mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, melted butter, and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle the topping over the top of the sprouts and sauce. Sprinkle the chopped bacon over the top.
☑️ Bake
Bake the gratin at 375 °F for about 20 minutes. Turn the broiler on and brown the top until it’s golden and crispy.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon chopped
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter divided
- 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts stems and outer leaves removed and halved (if extra large cut into quarters)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 large yellow onion peeled
- 2 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs see note
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large pan, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until it's crispy. Remove it from the pan (leave the fat in the pan) and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the bacon fat. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Once cooked remove them from the heat and set aside.
- Turn the heat off until the pan cools off a bit before making the bechamel sauce. Once it's cooled, turn the heat to low and add another 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Once it's melted and frothy, sprinkle in the flour. Stir it all together until it forms a paste.
- Slowly pour in the milk and cream whisking continuously to ensure no lumps form and the flour and butter fully incorporate into the milk and cream. Raise the heat to bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Place the onion in the milk (you don't need to chop it first – place it in whole). Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes or so, or until it has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon. You will need to stir frequently to ensure the bechamel does not burn at the bottom of the pan. Once reduced remove the onion and discard it.
- Stir in 2 cups of the grated Gruyere cheese (save the rest for the top of the gratin). Once the cheese has melted season the sauce with the salt (be sure to give it a taste and add more to suit your taste). Stir in the cooked Brussels sprouts and pour it all into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Top with the remaining Gruyere cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and ground black pepper. Top the Brussels sprouts with the bread crumbs and sprinkle the cooked bacon over the breadcrumbs. Take the last 2 tablespoons of butter, cut it into small pieces, and spread them out evenly over the top of the breadcrumbs and bacon.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes turn the broiler on and move the baking dish to the top rack. Broil the dish for a few minutes, just until the breadcrumbs turn a brown and get really crispy (keep an eye on it!). Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
More Holiday Recipes
Happy cooking,
This post was updated from the archives. It was first published in October 2015.
Hello,
Could you use frozen brussel sprouts for this and what would the cooking difference be?
Hi Holly, I haven’t tried this with frozen sprouts, but you should be able to use them. You might need to cook them a little longer (20-30 minutes total), but keep and eye on them and as soon as they are cooked through you are good to go.
Can I make the whole dish the day before and then just sprinkle the breadcrumbs and bacon the day of when I bake it? Would the brussel sprouts be mushy?
Hi Sheri – You should be able to assemble this ahead with out the bread crumbs and bacon. You may have to bake it a little longer since it will be very cold from the fridge, so keep that in mind in your planning. It would probably need at least an extra 15 minutes in the oven. Let me know how it turns out!
I didn’t see where the recipe listed how much broth to use? How much broth and I assume its chicken broth?
Thanks!
Hi Lori, the recipe doesn’t include chicken broth – just milk and cream to make the bechamel sauce 🙂
This looks so good. I have never tried brussel sprouts but got some and want to try it but I already did my shopping this week. No gruyere! I have some cheddar, Gouda, parmesan and mozzarella, would any of those turn out a comparable dish?
Hi Megan – I think Gouda would work great. It’s a great melting cheese like Gruyere and would go well with the brussels sprouts.
Hi there,
I made this for our Canadian Thanksgiving. Let me just say… a complete hit! My family went crazy. I have been trying different Brussels sprout recipes for years to try and get my huge family to love them. I was told, I no longer have to try, that this was it, and I must make this dish for every holiday occasion. As my brother said “lock it down, this is the winner”
Thanks for the recipe! Christmas dinner here we come👍
That’s so great, Mindy! So glad your family enjoyed it 🙂