Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Breadcrumbs

Brussels sprouts gratin is an irresistible side dish of nutty sprouts, smuggled in a garlicky cheese sauce and sprinkled with breadcrumbs.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: British

Keyword: baked brussels sprouts

Servings: people

Boil the Brussels sprouts for 4 minutes. Drain and steam dry. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
While the Brussels sprouts are cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan or a saucepan and add the chopped shallots with the thyme leaves to it, sauté over low heat for 10 minutes without colouring it, then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer.
Stir in the flour and continue cooking while stirring until it smells a bit nutty, now pour in the whole milk while stirring with a whisk to avoid lumps, add the nutmeg and a pinch of salt and cook over low heat for 10 minutes stirring once in a while until the sauce thickens and coats a spoon. Now blend it with an immersion blender for a silky smooth sauce or leave it as it is. Stir in the grated cheese and continue stirring over low heat till blended. Then slowly blend in the white wine if you are into that delicious Swiss fondue taste. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Prepare the breadcrumb topping by mixing the melted butter with the breadcrumbs and chopped walnuts.
Butter a shallow baking dish ( or you can bake it in the same skillet you made the sauce in) and add the Brussels sprouts, then pour the sauce over them, and top with breadcrumb and nut topping the cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly and the breadcrumbs are golden.

Cook the Brussles sprouts before baking in the gratin. Mine only needed four minutes.

By roasting, the vegetables’ natural sugars are intensified making them sweeter, and temptingly crispy. Roasting longer will intensify the deep, nutty flavour.

I used one large stalk of Brussels sprouts, which equalled about 600g and which made for the ideal cheese sauce-to-vegetable ratio.

I prefer the cheese sauce to be smooth so there is more of a contrast against the sprouts. I used an immersion blender to blend in the onion bits, but you can skip this step if you are short on time and are happy with the chunks.

A splash of white wine will bring a little tang to cut through the creamy sauce, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer.

The sharp flavour of mature (aged) cheddar works best here, and it melts well. You could use any other cheese you prefer, but I advise against mild-flavoured mozzarella as it brings nothing to this dish.

This dish can be prepared in advance. Prepare the dish up to the point of adding the topping and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before oven cooking.