Brussels Sprouts Mushroom Casserole

 

It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and I found myself at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for the traditional Green Bean Casserole. Having made the mistake of going out without a list – because, really? Did I need a list for green bean casserole? –  I of course became distracted by “other stuff”. When I got home, I unpacked a ridiculous amount of groceries (not what I went for!), and realized that, while I’d gotten everything else, I forgot the damn green beans! I refused to go back out for one ingredient, and looked around for something I could substitute. Thus, the Brussels Sprouts Mushroom Casserole was born.

 

And you know what? It turned out pretty darned good! My husband and my guests loved it and told me to keep it in my holiday repertoire. High praise, indeed! I never planned on turning it into a post, but an old friend asked for the recipe, so I made it again and decided to share it with the world. Because life is too short to limit a classic to just one vegetable.

You should know in advance that this recipe consists primarily of “convenience” foods – the popular brand of canned soup, packaged “french-fried” onions, etc., so if you find that sort of thing heinous, now would be a good time to look away. I’ll just say this: classics are classic for a reason.

 

Brussels Sprouts Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. fresh Brussels sprouts -or- 1 20 oz package frozen Brussels sprouts
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 can condensed Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic soup
• 1 can’s-worth milk
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp. chipotle pepper hot sauce -or- 1/2 tsp Hatch chile powder
• 1 package “french-fried” onions

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 375º F.

If using fresh Brussels sprouts, wash them and trim off the bottoms, and remove the tough (and usually damaged) outer leaves.  If using frozen sprouts, you can skip this step.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the still-wet (or frozen) sprouts in the hot pan. Sprinkle with a bit of additional salt, if desired. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium, and pan-roast the sprouts for 10-15 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally during cooking. They will not be cooked all the way through, but should turn bright green and maybe even acquire some lovely brown “roasted” spots. Remove from heat.

 

In a 2-quart oven-safe casserole dish, combine the can of soup, can of milk, the seasonings, and one (1) cup of the fried onions. Stir everything together until it is completely mixed.

Add the Brussels sprouts to the casserole dish and stir to combine thoroughly. Top with additional fried onions to your heart’s content. I love those things, so I wind up using pretty much the rest of the can. 😀

Bake for 30-35 minutes, uncovered. The casserole should be bubbly and the onions should be deeply golden brown.  Allow to sit for a minimum of 5 minutes before serving. Just enough to cool it down from “napalm stage”.

 

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If you don’t have chipotle hot sauce or Hatch chile powder, feel free to substitute with something else that has similar deep, smokey profiles, such as ancho chile powder or even regular Tabasco. You could even use smoked paprika. I don’t recommend sriracha, because its flavor profile is a little too vinegary or acid for this dish. It’s not about the heat, because you’re not going to pick up any heat from this small amount, it’s about enhancing the flavor with another layer.

I hope you’ll try using Brussels sprouts as a change of pace from your usual green bean casserole. You might even convert some “haters”!