An amazing brussels sprouts & carrot casserole with pancetta and parmesan cheese. The perfect addition to a dinner party or holiday gathering. This side dish is sure to be a show stopper!
Let me tell you a quick story then we can talk about how amazing this casserole dish is, okay? So last year, I had my 3rd child, a boy named Connor. He is pretty much everyones favorite and has us smiling all the time. But back to last year. He was such a good baby and my easiest delivery so I was thinking 3rd times the charm right? Well, I had nursed my other 2 children & although nursing is always hard at first, at least for me, I was able to for a good 10 months. Well, Connor was another story. I won’t go into detail, this is a food blog after all! After 5 weeks (having mastitis twice) and even having a “specialist” come to my home to help figure out what was going on, we ended up switching to formula. I had all the “mommy guilt” etc. but finally snapped out of it and realized, fed is best! He was loved and I was doing the best I could.
Now are you asking how does this story relate to this recipe post? Well, my wonderful friend brought me over a gift soon after I had my baby (a gift for my daughter as well!) dove chocolate and a holiday Better Homes & Garden magazine full of so many awesome recipes. So, as I would sit feeding my sweet newborn babe, I would flip through the magazine and dream about making all the delicious food in it. Fast forward to this year, we are in a little better spot to be cooking around here and I am finally getting around to making some of the ones I book marked. I did do some baking and cooking last year but just didn’t get to try out all the recipes I wanted to. So many recipes, and so little time! haha
And now we can talk about this casserole. Oh my goodness! My husband and I both love brussels sprouts and carrots. It was kinda late on a Saturday evening when I made this so I dished my husband out some and ran to snap some photos real quick. My husband came and said, are you done taking pictures cause I gotta have more of that! Alright, I knew it was a winner. We ate almost the whole dish for dinner that night. We actually didn’t eat anything else with this. If you wanted to have a light (ish) supper this would work! You could add some crusty bread and butter on the side if you wanted.
I changed the recipe a little from the original and made this in a cast iron skillet so you can transfer to the oven to finish cooking without having to use another casserole dish. Also, I used pancetta (for the first time!) and it was delicious. A unique taste similar to bacon that we really enjoyed but you can use bacon in its place if you prefer.
The panko bread crumbs were perfect with the parmesan cheese. It added just the right amount of crunch to the dish. I highly recommend using panko bread crumbs in this recipe!
I sliced the brussels sprouts & carrots but you could chop them or dice them up, whatever you think you’d like best. The dijon mustard & crushed red pepper added just the right amount of kick and we just couldn’t get enough! I really hope you try this recipe out!
- 1¼ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed & sliced
- 1 cup carrots, peeled & sliced
- 3 ounces pancetta or 8 slices bacon, chopped
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese or asiago cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (can use coarse ground mustard)
- dash crushed red peppers
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large pot, cook the brussels sprouts and carrots in lightly salted boiling water for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Drain well and set aside. While the vegetables are cooking combine the whipping cream, dijon mustard and crushed red pepper. Stir till combined and set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet (I used a 12") cook the pancetta or bacon over medium heat until crispy. Using a slotted spoon or fork, remove the pancetta to a plate lined with paper towel to drain, but keep the drippings in the skillet.
- Add the onions & garlic to the drippings and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour.
- Add the vegetables, pancetta, ½ cup of the parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to the skillet and gently stir till combined.
- Pour the cream mixture over the brussels sprouts.
- Sprinkle the panko bread crumbs over the top and finish with the remaining ½ cup parmesan cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and topping is golden.
-I used a microplane to grate my parmesan cheese. It makes really fine cheese shavings. You can use whatever size grater you prefer.
Recipe Source: adapted from BHG Celebrate the Season Magazine 2014
I used this cast iron skillet in the recipe:
Here are some other great side dishes:
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