Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
On November 16, 2020 (Updated May 11, 2024)
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These Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts are a mouthful to say and a happy little mouthful to eat! Tender Brussels sprouts are lovingly wrapped in a layer of thick cut peppered bacon, dipped in a deliciously sweet brown sugar rub, and slow roasted on your grill until everything is a toasty, caramelized medley of sprout heaven.
Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
Bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts are the perfect appetizer for your holiday get-together. They’re also a fun little side to serve on Thanksgiving. I created this recipe with the entire holiday season in mind because they are perfect for parties.
My family is always looking for a fun new way to do our appetizers while waiting for the main event, and I thought these one bite delights would hit the spot. Bacon wrapped brussels sprouts will definitely be a hit on your holiday table! Plus, we can claim that they’re healthy too, right? I mean, there is definitely green stuff in there!
Brown Sugar Brussels Sprout Bites
These tasty brussels sprout bites are best when cooked over indirect grilling. I recommend cooking them on a smoker that was created for indirect cooking (like a pellet grill, ceramic grill, or other smoker) or arrange your charcoal grill into two zones with hot coals on one side and no coals on the other side. If you need a refresher on indirect heat, refer to my post on How to Cook with Two-Zone Grilling.
Indirect cooking is very important for these bites because of the high sugar content in the rub and the fat in the bacon. If the heat gets too high right on the brown sugar rubbed bacon, you will likely have flare ups and burned bacon. I also used extra long toothpicks to secure the bacon and act as the perfect little handle for easy serving.
Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
Here’s what you’ll need to assemble to make these delicious brussels sprout bites. Only 4 key ingredients are needed to make these guys, making them a total winner in my book!
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts. Try to make sure these are relatively uniform in size so they will all cook evenly.
- 1/2 pound peppered bacon. I like to make this bacon myself (see the next section for more info on this). It really adds an extra amazing element. You can also use any thick cut peppered bacon you get from the store.
- 2 Tablespoons Sweet Rub. There are two ways to prepare this sweet rub. You can either make a batch at home using this recipe for my Best Sweet Rub, or head to Patio Provisions to purchase some pre-made and delivered straight to your door!
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar. Even though the sweet rub already has brown sugar in the mix, this recipe calls for some extra sugar to caramelize the bacon when it’s on the grill.
Tips for Making Brown Sugar Brussels Sprouts
Hey sprouts fans! I have a few notes on making these Brussels sprouts that you might want to look into before diving into the recipe.
- Make your own bacon. I used my Homemade Smoked Bacon (the peppered version) for this recipe. I cannot emphasize the magic of homemade bacon with this recipe. It is unbelievable. If you’ve got time before the holidays to give it a try, I would seriously recommend it! If you don’t have time to make your own bacon, store bought will work just fine. Just make sure you get fairly thick sliced bacon. You need enough time for the Brussels sprouts to cook through before the bacon gets too done, and thin bacon will get too dark before the sprout softens.
- Don’t forget to soak the toothpicks. Anytime you use wooden skewers or toothpicks on the grill, soak them in water for a couple hours before grilling. The wood will absorb some of the water and help the toothpicks from scorching and burning while grilling. Also, don’t use those colored toothpicks. The dye will leech into your food!
- Make the Sweet Rub in advance. Making a bunch of food for a holiday event is exhausting and time-consuming. I highly recommend making the sweet rub (or buying a bottle!) in advance to streamline the whole brussels sprouts making process. Trust me, it’ll save you a ton of time and stress the day you’re planning on cooking these (especially if that day is a holiday or you’re cooking for a crowd).
More Bacon Wrapped Vegetable Recipes
One of my favorite ways to enjoy vegetables is to wrap them in bacon. My kids also love them as well. With the delicious taste of bacon, it’s hard to even notice you’re eating a vegetable at all! Check out some of my favorite bacon wrapped vegetable recipes below:
Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 pound uniformly sized Brussels sprouts ends trimmed and yellowing leaves removed
- ½ pound peppered bacon thick sliced, cut in half
- 2 Tablespoons Signature Sweet Rub
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Soak the toothpicks and preheat the grill. A couple of hours before you start cooking, soak your wooden toothpicks in a shallow dish of water. When you are ready to cook, preheat your grill for indirect cooking for 300 degrees F.
- Prep the Brussels sprouts. While your grill preheats, start preparing your Brussels sprouts. It is pretty important to get sprouts that are fairly uniform in size so they cook evenly on the grill. Trim the stem and remove any excess or wilted leaves.
- Wrap the sprouts in bacon. Wrap each sprout in a half slice of bacon and secure with a soaked toothpick.
- Season the bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts. In a small bowl, combine the Sweet Rub and the brown sugar. Dip each Brussels sprout bite in the rub mixture, covering all sides.
- Grill the Brussels sprouts. Place the Brussels sprouts on the grill grates over indirect heat, close the lid and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the bites as needed to ensure even cooking and to prevent any of the sugar from burning. The bites are done when the bacon is evenly crisped and browned and the sprouts are tender.
- Serve immediately. Remove the bacon wrapped Brussels sprouts promptly from the grill. Transfer to a serving platter and serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in November 2016. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
I could make a meal just out of these.
I will definitely be making these next time I’m grilling a good Steak. I’ll put them on while the steak is taking a Sous-vide bath.
Have you ever heard of Pesole before? I had heard of it, but didn’t really know what it was. I knew it as a Mexican soup with hominy in it. But I also didn’t really know what hominy was. Apparently I am a sheltered food blogger.
I actually have but I’ve never tried it!
I made these for the first time this weekend. Big hot around my house. The kids loved them. Super easy and sooooo delishious.
So happy everyone liked them! Thanks so much for coming back and leaving a review!!
Hi there!!! Would like to try these but in our smoker. Any recommendations to adapt this recipe??
Hey Marissa- you can absolutely cook these on the smoker! There aren’t really any necessary adaptations, since you’re cooking over indirect heat just like in the recipe. The recipe calls for 300 degrees, so if you can’t get your grill that hot, just plan some extra time for them to cook all the way through.
Thank you for such a tasty recipe. I have an unusual request. I’m a book cover designer and I love the font on the picture here that says “Brown Sugar and Bacon” and I need to know the name of that font. Could you, please, put me in touch with the designer? Thank you very much in advance.
Hi Iva- The name of the font is Allura, and I designed the image using Canva.com. Thanks!
Made these last night on my new Traeger and they were amazing!!
Thanks Becca!! I’m so glad you liked the recipe!!
great flavor combination! Also, good to know about recommended time for soaking toothpicks, have tried before but not long enough since they scorched (for wood chips), thank you!
I think bacon goes with everything! And yes, soaking the toothpicks is key.
I love Brussel sprouts! This looks awesome!
Thanks Megan! We love them too!
Brussels sprouts and bacon? Sign me up!
The best combo ever!
I love this recipe! I must make soon. However, I’ll have to adapt for apartment living and use my oven. 😉
These are totally adaptable for the oven! Just make sure you put them on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, the brown sugar in the rub can get really sticky.