Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries

This side dish may just steal the show on your Thanksgiving or Christmas table. I mean, turkey is great and all, but these maple bacon brussels sprouts are legit. This dish may even convert the most adamant of brussels sprout haters. Because bacon. And cranberries. And maple syrup. And pecans. OMG, y’all. You just need to taste this to believe it.

Besides all the delicious flavors in this side dish, I just LOVE how simple and quick this is to make! It comes together in about 35 minutes with minimal prep time! In fact, you can actually prep everything while the bacon pre-cooks in the oven for the first 15 minutes! How awesome is that? I love an easy Thanksgiving side dish. Making a bunch of dishes for family and friends can be a little stressful at times, but easy recipes like this can help your cooking run a little smoother on the big day.

My Thanksgiving dinner this year is for sure going to include these delectable brussels sprouts, my Pumpkin Pie Sweet Potato Casserole with Coconut Pecan Crumble, my favorite paleo cran-cherry sauce from Nom Nom Paleo, an organic turkey made using my all-time favorite Alton Brown brining and roasting method (replace brown sugar with coconut sugar and canola oil with avocado oil or ghee to make it paleo), cornbread stuffing, and garlic mashed potatoes! YUM!! I can’t wait! And don’t even get me started on the pies! Oh the pies!! What’s your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas dish? Let me know in the comments!

As written, this recipe is paleo and gluten free. It can be made strict dairy free by replacing the ghee with avocado oil. And it can be made low carb by substituting Lakanto maple flavored syrup for the regular maple syrup! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that I love this stuff! So tasty and lots of great maple flavor! It’s amazing on pancakes, in dessert recipes, and even on veggies like in this recipe!

After replacing the maple syrup with Lakanto maple flavored syrup, you have a few options if you want to make this recipe keto: 1) leave in the dried cranberries and just eat around them if you’re keto and the rest of your guests aren’t, 2) Reduce the amount of dried cranberries 3) replace them with fresh cranberries and roast with the brussels sprouts and bacon, 4) make your own sugar free dried cranberries using a recipe like this one!

I hope you enjoy the recipe! Happy Holidays!

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Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries

• Gluten-Free
• Dairy-Free
• Paleo
• Low Carb
• Keto

5 from 3 votes

Print

This simple holiday side dish may just be the star of your Thanksgiving or Christmas table! It's so easy to make, super delicious, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and can easily be made low carb and keto! So everyone can enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 33 minutes mins

Servings: 8 -10 servings

Ingredients 

• 3 lb 1.4kg brussels sprouts, washed and patted dry, halved (leave small ones whole)
• 1/2 lb 225g organic, pastured bacon, chopped into 1/2" pieces*
• 2 Tbsp 28g grass-fed ghee or avocado oil, melted
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup**
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup 70g naturally sweetened dried cranberries**
• 1 cup 100g pecan halves, chopped (leave a few whole for topping)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425ºF (218ºC) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Spread out bacon pieces on parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until it just starts to brown. Prep remainder of ingredients while bacon is cooking.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine brussels sprouts, ghee, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Toss to coat evenly.
• Once the bacon is done, add brussels sprouts to baking sheet and stir well with a spatula to combine. Roast for 13-15 minutes for medium-sized brussels sprouts. Adjust cook time based on the size of your sprouts. 
• In the same large bowl, combine brussels sprouts, bacon, cranberries, pecans, and maple syrup. Stir gently to combine.
• Spoon the maple bacon brussels sprouts into a 9x13 baking/serving dish and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

Did you love the recipe? I would love it if you left me a 5-star review below!

Notes

*Can increase to 1lb if you really like bacon and don't mind the extra calories 😉

**For low carb/keto replace maple syrup with Lakanto maple flavored syrup. For keto, you can omit the cranberries, replace with fresh cranberries and roast with brussels, OR make your own sugar free dried cranberries (see notes in text above for recipe!).

This recipe cannot be pre-made ahead of time because the brussels sprouts can get soggy. But you can certainly precook the bacon and get everything prepped ahead of time so that when your turkey comes out of the oven you can just throw this in! 

Category:

• 45 minutes
• American
• Bacon
• Casseroles
• Christmas
• Dairy-Free
• Dinner
• Fall
• Gluten-Free
• Keto
• Low Carb
• Paleo
• Pork
• Sheet Pan
• Side Dish
• Thanksgiving
• Winter

Author: Kit

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How did you like it?? Let me know in the comments below and leave a review if you enjoyed it! xx Kit