Brussels Sprouts With Bacon And Honey Mustard For Full GAPS

These Brussels sprouts with bacon and honey mustard are a skillet side with three different textures: still-firm green sprouts, cooked bacon pieces and a smooth mustard dressing spooned over each serving. The sprouts cook in the bacon drippings, so the pan you start with is the pan you finish with.

Keep the dressing separate until you serve. The bacon and sprouts need stovetop heat; the honey mustard is mixed in a jar and added afterward. That gives you a savory vegetable side with a sweet, tangy finish, without simmering the dressing away in the skillet.

I cook before second shift, and I want the different parts of a meal to be easy to see before I start. We do not have a settled bulk-prep routine right now. For this dish, having the bacon and dressing ready means the skillet work can stay focused on cooking the bacon, then checking the sprouts.

Start with homemade salt-only bacon that has completed its preparation and is ready to cook. Have one batch of three-ingredient honey mustard dressing ready in its jar. Those are separate preparations; the directions here begin with those ingredients available.

What You Need

Brussels Sprouts

Use four cups fresh Brussels sprouts. Rinse them, trim the dry stem ends and remove blemished outer leaves. Halve smaller sprouts and quarter larger ones so the pieces are closer in size.

Keep enough of the stem to hold the leaves together. Cutting deeply into the base can turn a firm half into a pile of loose leaves. Some loose leaves are normal, but the halved or quartered centers are what you will check for doneness.

Salt-Only Bacon

The base amount is four slices homemade salt-only bacon. If you want more bacon through the vegetables, use up to half a pound for the base batch. Slice thickness varies, so four slices should not be treated as a fixed half-pound weight.

Cut the bacon crosswise into pieces about one inch long. Cooking the smaller pieces first gives you bacon to scatter over the sprouts and drippings to cook them in. Keep the drippings in the skillet when you lift out the cooked bacon.

The linked bacon recipe takes time to prepare before this meal. It starts with pork belly and salt, rather than a package of bacon seasoned with sugar or a curing blend. This skillet recipe begins after that preparation is complete.

Prepared Honey Mustard Dressing

Mix the linked dressing before the bacon needs your attention, or use a covered jar you have already prepared. Stir it again before spooning it onto the plates. The honey should be mixed evenly into the mustard rather than resting in a sticky layer at the bottom.

Use the dressing on individual servings and keep any extra covered in the refrigerator. You do not have to pour the entire jar over the bowl of sprouts. Serving it separately also lets each person choose how much mustard flavor they want.

Optional Almonds

You can finish the dish with half a cup chopped almonds. Use almonds that have already been soaked, sprouted or fermented as appropriate for GAPS, then fully dried. Measure the chopped prepared nuts, rather than adding wet soaking nuts directly to the skillet.

The almonds are optional. Leave them out for a version without nuts; you still have the sprouts, bacon and mustard dressing. Nut preparation is a separate job that needs to be finished before this cooking window.

How To Cook Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

1. Cook The Bacon Pieces

Put the one-inch bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for ten to fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally so pieces do not stay stuck against one hot spot.

As the bacon cooks, its fat melts into the pan and the pieces become firmer. Watch both the bacon and the heat. A steady sizzle gives you a useful cooking pace; a pan that is smoking and darkening the pieces too quickly needs less heat.

Lift out the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Leave the rendered fat in the skillet. It is the cooking fat for the Brussels sprouts, so there is no separate measured oil to add.

2. Add The Halved Or Quartered Sprouts

While the bacon cooks, rinse and trim the sprouts and cut them to size. Add them to the skillet after the bacon has been removed. Stir so their surfaces pick up some of the bacon fat.

Keep the heat at medium. Stir roughly every minute to move the pieces around the pan and prevent sticking. Pay attention to the small leaves as well as the thicker centers; the leaves respond to the hot pan faster.

Use a skillet that gives the sprouts room to move. If doubling makes the pan too full, use separate pans or cook in batches. A larger ingredient list does not make the cooking surface larger.

3. Stop While They Are Still Firm

Cook the sprouts for about ten minutes, until they are bright green and still fairly firm. Test a larger piece rather than judging only by a loose leaf. The cut center should have softened from its raw hardness while still holding its shape.

Do not wait for every piece to collapse. The sprouts continue softening a little after leaving the pan. Transfer them to a serving bowl when they reach the firm texture you want for this dish.

4. Finish At The Table

Top the sprouts with the cooked bacon pieces. If using the prepared chopped almonds, scatter them over the top. Spoon the mixed honey mustard dressing over individual servings.

The dressing should coat the food where you spoon it, while leaving the green sprouts and bacon visible. Serve with the remaining dressing nearby. Refrigerate any extra in its covered jar.

Where This Fits In GAPS

This recipe is for Full GAPS after Brussels sprouts, salt-only bacon, mustard, honey and cider vinegar have been introduced. The optional almond topping also needs its own introduction and preparation.

Dr. Natasha’s 2020 Gut and Physiology Syndrome names Brussels sprouts among recommended foods and includes bacon made with salt only. Use the linked homemade bacon rather than treating every commercial bacon product as the same preparation.

The dressing uses natural honey, pure prepared mustard and cider vinegar. It stays separate from the skillet cooking. The bacon fat supplies the cooking fat for the vegetables; no seed oil or bottled dressing mix is needed.

The measured dish has no dairy or egg ingredients. Omit the optional almonds when serving a nut-free version. This is not an early Introduction Diet preparation, because the sprouts remain fairly firm and the mustard dressing is added when serving.

It is not a No-Plant recipe, and the honey mustard version is not presented as ketogenic. Keeping that placement clear lets you choose this side for the meal you are making without changing the whole recipe around a different GAPS variation.

Serving And Cooking Ahead

This recipe serves four to six as a side. Divide it into four larger portions or six smaller portions when there are other foods on the table.

Allow ten to fifteen minutes for cooking the bacon, followed by about ten minutes for the sprouts. Washing and trimming can happen while the bacon cooks. Preparing homemade bacon, dried almonds and the separate dressing comes before that skillet window.

For a dinner with a longer main dish, have the ingredients ready and cook the sprouts close to serving. Keeping the dressing in its own jar makes it easier to finish the vegetable side without another mixture to measure at the last minute.

Storage And Reheating

Transfer leftovers to a covered container and refrigerate promptly. Store unused dressing separately so you can stir and portion it when serving again.

Reheat the sprouts and bacon gently in a skillet, stirring and watching the already-cooked leaves. They will soften further as they warm. Add the dressing after reheating rather than cooking the honey mustard in the pan.

If using almonds, keeping some prepared nuts separate lets you add them when serving the reheated portion. They are an optional finishing texture, not an ingredient the sprouts need in order to cook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Drain The Bacon Fat?

Leave it in the skillet when you remove the cooked bacon. The sprouts cook in those drippings. Lift out the bacon pieces and keep the cooking fat for the next step.

Why Are Some Sprouts Still Hard?

Check their size. Larger sprouts may need quartering while small ones only need halving. Test one of the larger centers before taking the pan off the heat.

Should The Sprouts Be Completely Soft?

This preparation finishes bright green and still fairly firm, rather than collapsed. They continue softening after leaving the skillet, so transfer them before they reach a mushy texture.

Can I Skip The Almonds?

Yes. They are an optional topping. The sprouts, bacon and linked honey mustard dressing make the dish without them.

Can I Make A Double Batch?

Yes. The 2× control gives eight cups sprouts, eight bacon slices, one cup optional prepared almonds and two batches dressing. If using the larger bacon option, the base half-pound allowance becomes up to one pound. Use enough skillet space or cook in batches.

Recommended Equipment

Use a large skillet, slotted spoon, stirring spoon, knife and cutting board, measuring cup and a serving bowl. A Le Creuset Artichaut skillet or a stainless-steel skillet suits this stovetop job. Keep the hot pan supported when transferring the sprouts.

Have the dressing jar and a serving spoon ready, along with a covered container for leftovers. Choose the skillet size before doubling so you have room to stir the vegetables.

More Vegetable Sides

For a different cooking method, sheet-pan Brussels sprouts with bacon roast together in the oven. The separate Brussels sprouts with crispy onions use their own measured roast preparation.

My upcoming Large-Family Batch Plan is for arranging larger portions and the meals that follow. Watch the WFLI shop for it if planning the different parts of family dinners would help your week.