I made these balsamic bacon Brussels sprouts in just 10 minutes in an air fryer. It’s a tasty low carb appetizer or even snack using only a few ingredients. Each piece has only1.1 g net carbs and you can make them in the oven too!
You might also like these creamy herb filled bacon rolls.
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I am a kitchen gadget person and I have just about gadget you can think of. I put off buying an air fryer for about year but a few friends rave about it and so I broke down and bought one. First thing I made was French fries and they were awesome. I only used a tablespoon of oil and it took 8 minutes with minimal cleanup. The only problem was that fries are not low carb. So these balsamic bacon Brussels sprouts are my newest experiment. My husband and I ate them for lunch but they’d be a great low carb appetizer.
What type of bacon should you use?
For this recipe I wanted to use thick bacon because it holds it’s shape well and it will take about the same time to cook as the Brussels sprouts. As you can see below I bought a thick cut peppered bacon from Aldi. You don’t have to use peppered bacon but I personally like the added spice. If you use thinner bacon I would suggest precooking your Brussels otherwise the bacon will burn or the Brussels won’t cook through.
How does the air fryer work?
The air fryer is really just a convection oven that circulates air around the food and therefore cooks your food quickly. To use it you just need to use a tablespoon of oil or use cooking spray. Then place your food on a removable basket and cook at desired temperature. This recipe only took 10 minutes to cook and the fries were only 8 minutes. So you can see how you can save time using it. You can find more information about air fryers here and here.
Balsamic Bacon Brussels sprouts Recipe
The first thing you want to do is make the balsamic sauce. In a saucepan melt butter, sweetener and balsamic vinegar. Once it starts to simmer, whisk it well to combine and then pour over your cut Brussels sprouts. Mix well to coat then individually wrap in bacon and spear with a toothpick.
I tried this recipe a few times. I started with 1/2 piece thick bacon and wrapped it completely around the sprouts however this was too much bacon and it over powered the sprouts. So I ended up with just 1/4 a piece of bacon and placed it on top. As I mentioned above you should use thick cut bacon so everything cooks together well.
Now you set your Air fryer to 400 degrees F and cook for 10 minutes. You can always take out the basket and check them before they are done and then just place the basket back in without hurting the recipe. It’s also easy to add a few minutes to the cooking time if you want.
You can make these in the oven too
To make in the oven, I would precook the Brussels sprouts in the microwave for 4 minutes. Then toss them in the balsamic sauce and top with bacon. Place on a cookie sheet and cook in a 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. Check halfway through to watch that the bacon doesn’t burn.
By the way I bought this Air Fryer and have been very happy with it. I like the size because you are able to cook quite a bit of food in the basket. And from what I had read that is important. I’ll be experimenting more and letting you know how it goes. They nutritional information for 1 piece of these balsamic bacon Brussels sprouts is:
38 cals / 2.3g fat / 1.7g carbs / 0.6g fiber / 1.3g protein = 1.1g net carbs
Balsamic Bacon Brussels sprouts - low carb appetizer
I made these balsamic bacon Brussels sprouts in just 10 minutes in the Airfryer. It's a tasty low carb appetizer or even snack using only a few ingredients. Each piece has only1.1 g net carbs!
Ingredients
- 5 pieces thick, peppered bacon**
- 10 Brussels sprouts, halved (about 2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sweetener (I used Swerve)
Instructions
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Preheat Airfryer to 350 degrees F.
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On the stove, add the butter, balsamic vinegar and sweetener to a small sauce pan. Whisk and let it come to a simmer, whisk well and take off the stove.
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Cut your Brussels sprouts in half and cut the thick bacon into fourths.
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Toss the Brussels sprouts in the vinegar mixture and then take each and top with a piece of bacon using a tooth pick.
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Place in the Airfryer pan and cook for 10 minutes. Check to see that your sprouts are cooked through and the bacon is done. I used thick cut bacon and 10 minutes worked for me.
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Serve immediately.
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I bought my thick peppered bacon at Aldi. You can use another kind of bacon but I suggest it is thick cut. If it's thinner your bacon will burn before your Brussels sprouts cook. If you use a thinner bacon, try cooking the Brussels sprouts in the microwave for 4 minutes before cooking in the Airfryer.
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To make in the oven, I would precook the Brussels sprouts in the microwave for 4 minutes. Then toss them in the balsamic sauce and top with bacon. Place on a cookie sheet and cook in a 400 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes. Check halfway through to watch that the bacon doesn't burn.
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