How To Cook The Crispiest Brussels Sprouts Straight From Frozen

If you're trying to get perfectly roasted frozen vegetables, Brussels sprouts should be at the top of your list. Extra crispy Brussels sprouts are delicious enough to convert even the toughest cruciferous skeptic. The combination of an al dente interior and slightly charred edges, along with the slight natural sweetness, makes for an unforgettable side dish. And if you can go straight from the freezer to the oven and skip some prep steps? That's even better.

For the crispiest roasted Brussels sprouts from frozen, there are three strategies you'll want to follow: skip thawing, up the temp, and select sprouts of equal size. This method proves almost as easy as steam-in-the-bag freezer veggies and perfumes your kitchen much more pleasantly than boiling. No judgment is intended on boiled or microwaved veggies, but once you go from frozen to roasted, you'll never go back. Besides, roasting boasts less nutrient lossthan boiling.

Temperature matters. Obviously, frozen Brussels sprouts will take longer to cook than fresh, but their convenience factor makes up for it. Not only will thawing your frozen Brussels sprouts prolong your prep time, but the process also results in sprouts that are likely to be mushy inside. This unfortunate texture change stems from water's expansion when it freezes, which bursts the cell walls of plants (like your Brussels), leading to structure degradation after thawing. 

Oven temperature is also of utmost importance for your crispiest crucifers. Cooking at low or moderate temperatures is one of most cooks' biggest mistakes when preparing Brussels sprouts. The ideal roasting temp is somewhere in the 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit range, which is hotter than the average recipe's instructions for chicken breast or casserole. High heat gets the crisp going strong on the outside while hastening the steam's escape from the inside.

Since you might lose a finger trying to hack frozen Brussels in half, it's important to choose whole sprouts that are uniform in size so you'll get consistent browning throughout the batch. Of course, you can't usually see every specimen ahead of time if you buy in bulk. So if you have the freezer space to spare, consider buying two bags of frozen sprouts and sorting them by size. Roast one batch of evenly sized sprouts now, and save the rest for a different roast. After all, as long as they stay frozen, they're safe to eat almost forever, according to the USDA. 

Some chefs suggest not adding oil to roasted vegetables until after cooking, but this dry-roast method can be a hard sell when you're scraping baked-on Brussels bits for hours after dinner. Coating the veggies with oil adds flavor while also keeping them from sticking to the pan. Plus, an oiled exterior will up the crispiness further because oils have a much higher heat tolerance compared to water's boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Embracing serious heat can lead to scrumptious sprouts.