Take your brussels sprouts to a whole new level with this rich and cheesy keto brussels sprouts gratin with the salty pancetta.
I don’t know about you, but if I see “Cheesy” in the title of anything, I click on it.
I loooooveee cheese. Way more than it loves me because I get bloated when I eat too much. However, for the Holidays, isn’t being bloated a right of passage?
Having mentioned that, this year I will not put on 10 lbs like I do each year for the Holidays because I am following Keto (ok, last year I put on 60lbs from pregnancy but let’s not talk about that right now). The point is, it’s ok to overeat and feel bloated sometimes, as long as it’s not an everyday routine.
Let’s get back on track here. Ok, cheese is good, cheese is great, but combine it with heavy cream, brussels sprouts, and pancetta? That my friend is heavenly.
At first, I was skeptical because come on, Au Gratin is meant to be for potatoes, and maybe eggplant. Brussels sprouts are usually made two ways in my house, fried with bacon or shredded in a salad. I wanted to do something different with the mini cabbages this year for my Christmas party, so I decided to give this recipe a whirl.
Happy, happy, happy. That is how I felt when I took the first bite. The sprouts soaked up all the creamy goodness of the cheese and cream, and the salty pancetta was enough to break down all the richness. Not to mention, the walnut, thyme, and red pepper gremolata that goes on top of this casserole give the dish an added crunch with a bit of heat.
As always, Bon Appetit nailed it. I wish I could take credit for some of these fantastic recipes, but most of the recipes I have chosen for my dinner party are pretty Keto-friendly already, and I don’t have to change anything. I love developing my recipes, but for my dinner party, I’m a Bon Appetit snob, and I don’t see that changing for a while.
How to make Cheesy Keto Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Step 1- Get your ingredients ready
Step 2- Combined cooked pancetta (see full recipe), brussels sprouts, half of the thyme, shallots and butter into a large bowl
Step 3- Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until brussels sprouts get a carmelized
Step 4- Meanwhile, make the cream sauce by combining the cream ingredients (see recipe)
Step 5- Add the cream to the Brussels sprouts, the cheese and bake until melted
Tips on making the best Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Pancetta
- Fry the sprouts on the stove top in a large enough skillet that all of the sprouts get crispy and caramelized. When I roasted it in the baking dish, not all of them got the caramelization love.
- I would double the amount of pancetta I used, or find pancetta I can cube myself. My store only had pre-cubed tiny pieces of it, and I wanted to get more pancetta in the bites.
- Reduce the garlic, as always; I can’t control my garlic input. Ok, the main issue is that for some reason, I get enormous cloves of garlic and count it as one so three large garlic cloves will overpower the dish
- Add more dijon mustard. I barely tasted it with the heavy cream.
- I like spice so I would add more crushed red pepper flakes. If you are making this for a party, you should find out if your guest like spicy foods before you start pouring in the red pepper.
It’s best to bake this and let it sit for 20 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken before serving. Enjoy!
Cheesy Keto Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pancetta
- 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, quartered if large
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves, divided
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 ounces Gruyère, grated (about ⅔ cup)
- 2 ounces Parmesan, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°.
- Spread pancetta on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, tossing once halfway through, until lightly browned for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer pancetta to a large bowl; reserve baking sheet.
- Add Brussels sprouts, shallots, garlic, butter, black pepper, and 1 tbsp thyme to bowl with pancetta and toss to coat.
- Scrape Brussels sprouts mixture into a 13x9" baking dish.
- Roast gratin on the bottom rack until the tops of Brussels are browned 15–20 minutes.
- Carefully toss to expose green Brussels below, then continue to roast until the tops of Brussels are browned, 15–20 minutes more.
- Whisk cream and mustard in a large glass measuring cup.
- Arrange walnuts on the reserved baking sheet with pancetta drippings.
- Remove gratin from the oven, carefully pour in the cream mixture, and sprinkle cheese over.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375°. Return gratin to the bottom rack, then place the sheet with walnuts on the top rack.
- Roast, tossing nuts halfway through, until nuts are browned on both sides, 8–10 minutes, and cream are thick, vigorously bubbling, and browned around the edges, 15–20 minutes.
- Let gratin cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop walnuts and transfer them to a medium bowl.
- Add red pepper and the remaining 1 Tbsp. thyme and toss to combine.
- Top gratin with the walnut mixture before serving.
Nutrition Information
Yield 10 Serving Size 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving Calories 206Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 27mgSodium 170mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 8g
Want to see the rest of my Keto Christmas Recipes? You can find them HERE. You can also check my Keto Christmas Dinner Party Menu.
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Just throwing this out there, but do you check where your garlic is from? I started checking (like, reeeally checking) about two years ago. Like EVERYTHING ELSE on the planet, it’s often from CHINA, despite the fact that Canada and US have perfect conditions to grow garlic…Since we don’t know what they spray their garlic with, it’s best to stay away from it (support local). Farmers’ market garlic is best, but otherwise local is next best. The cloves are usually NORMAL in size. Anyways, I may try this recipe, though I will have to tweak it. I am one of the few keto-ers who doesn’t like bacon or pancetta and dairy…well dairy makes it so that I can’t go potty 😉 What, TMI?!
Wow I didn’t know that about the garlic, that is unfortunate. Thanks for sharing. I try not to eat too much dairy because it tends to bloat me, this dish is a holiday treat for me, not something I would make on a regular. Thanks for the insight Monika!
This is the best cheesy Brussels sprouts ive ever tried! I’ve never even thought of making them this way but they were delicious! Thank you for the recipe!!
You’re very welcome!
This is the best way to make Brussels sprouts!’ It is sooo good!!