It’s that time of week where most of us are looking through the fridge thinking “Why didn’t I go to the store yesterday?” You’re wondering what’s for dinner, and you only have a few ingredients to work with. Well, no big deal – as long as you have a little bit of protein to go on the side, you’ll be set with this!
Brussels sprouts are a great way to get some texture into your dish for a vegetable, but you could easily do this with broccoli or cauliflower. You’ll have a nice crisp crust to break through to get to your ooey-gooey, cheese covered al dente Brussels sprouts.
You can use ANY type of smoked cheese you want to make this – smoked gouda, smoked cheddar, or smoked mozzarella. I absolutely love smoked cheese, but it does break the bank slightly, so I decided to go with the “cheaper” version while I was making this. Just be sure to not add the liquid smoke if you’re going down that route. Oh, and make sure you save me some, would you!?
Feel free to top with a little sprinkle of oregano. It’s sometimes known as Mexican mint or Mexican thyme, and really shines through when you grab a piece of that crisp crust with the Brussels sprouts – adding just the right amount of freshness to a side dish that is quite dense and heavy.
Yields 4 Servings of Keto Au Gratin Brussels Sprouts
The Preparation
Brussels Sprouts:
- 6 ounces brussels sprouts
- 1.8 ounces onion
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
Cheese Sauce:
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 1/2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
Pork Rind Crust:
- 1/2 ounce pork rinds
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
The Execution
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Chop all of the stems off of your brussels sprouts, then in half down the spine of the stem. I started with about 7.5 oz. of Brussels Sprouts.
2. Dice the onion and garlic.
3. Bring a pan to high heat and add 2 tbsp. butter. Let it start to brown slightly, then add the brussels sprouts and season with pepper. Let this cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add onion and garlic. After the onions start to get soft, add 1 tbsp. soy sauce and 1/2 tsp. Liquid Smoke. Set aside.
4. In a saucepan, combine heavy cream and butter. Season with 1/4 tsp. Paprika, 1/4 tsp. Turmeric, 1/4 tsp. Pepper, and 1/8 tsp. Xanthan Gum. Whisk together so that the xanthan gum can start to thicken it.
5. Add grated cheese to the sauce and stir in slowly.
6. Once cheese sauce is thickened and creamy, add to the brussels sprouts and mix together well.
7. Seperate into ramekins. In retrospect, I should have used smaller ramekins (to make 4 servings). I ended up breaking these into 2 servings because they were far too filling for 1 person. Before dinner, I ate half of one and was not hungry for dinner, so keep that in mind – this is a very, very dense cheese sauce.
8. Grind 0.5 oz. Pork Rinds, 3 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, and 1/2 tsp. Paprika in a spice grinder or food processor. Use the crumbs to top the ramekins.
9. Bake at 375F for 17-20 minutes or until the pork rind and parmesan crust is crisped slightly.
10. Serve warm!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin. Each serving comes out to be 316 calories, 28.2g fats, 5.1g net carbs, and 10.5g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 6 ounce brussels sprouts | 61 | 0.9 | 12.1 | 4.4 | 7.7 | 4.4 |
| 1.8 ounce onion | 20 | 0.1 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh garlic | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 2 tablespoon butter | 203 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 1/4 teaspoon black pepper | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1 tablespoon soy sauce | 8 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream | 405 | 42.9 | 3.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 1 tablespoon butter | 102 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon paprika | 2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon black pepper | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese | 286 | 23.6 | 2.2 | 0 | 2.2 | 16.2 |
| 1/2 ounce pork rinds | 81 | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.7 |
| 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese | 81 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 7.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon paprika | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Totals | 1264 | 112.8 | 27.5 | 7 | 20.4 | 41.9 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 316 | 28.2 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 5.1 | 10.5 |
Keto Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin
Ingredients
Brussels Sprouts:
- 6 ounce brussels sprouts
- 1.8 ounce onion
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Cheese Sauce:
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 ½ ounce cheddar cheese shredded
Pork Rind Crust:
- ½ ounce pork rinds
- 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Chop the stems off of the Brussels sprouts, and then chop them in half down the spine.
- Dice the onion and garlic.
- Heat a pan over high heat and add in the butter. Let it begin to brown slightly, and then add in the Brussels sprouts and season with pepper. Let cook for about 2–3 minutes, and then add the onion and garlic. Once the onions start to get soft, add in the soy sauce and liquid smoke (if using). Set aside.
- In a saucepan, combine the heavy cream and butter. Season with paprika, turmeric, pepper, and xanthan gum, whisking together to thicken it.
- Add the grated cheese and stir it in slowly.
- Once the cheese sauce is thick and creamy, add it to the Brussels sprouts and mix together well.
- Pour the mixture into separate ramekins.
- Use a spice grinder or food processor to grind the pork rinds, parmesan, and paprika. Top the ramekins with this crumb mixture.
- Bake for 17–20 minutes, until the pork rind and parmesan crust has crisped up slightly.
- Serve warm!
