In my day Brussels sprouts were the Urkel of vegetables- not many people were drawn to them. Then a few years back you started to see a lot recipes using charred Brussels sprouts along with bacon for a more complex flavor. Since then these little round veggies have become a lot cooler…”glowed up” so to speak.

This recipe for sweet and spicy stovetop Brussels sprouts is another great one that uses some unique flavors to help this plain veggie out. The result is packed with flavor with just the right amount of crunch.

The trick to great Brussels sprouts is to sear them in a pan of hot oil as the first step. I used a cast iron skillet which always gives the nicest color for sautéing.

I had to do mine in 2 batches because my pan wasn’t big enough for all of them at once, so definitely use your biggest iron or stainless steel pan here.

Once you’ve cooked both sides and gotten some browning then throw them altogether along with some soy sauce and some Thai chili sauce. The name can bring up visions of heartburn, but this sauce isn’t all that spicy- certainly nothing like a true hot sauce.

This sticky sweet sauce coats each Brussels sprout for a kick in every single bite. The last step is to drizzle some sesame oil on top for a richer flavor.

This is one of the best ways to enjoy this veggie and it doesn’t rely on bacon to do the heavy lifting. Believe it or not, these Brussels sprouts will have you coming back in for seconds- no joke.