Brown Sugar-Glazed Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

IBacon makes everything better—Brussels sprouts included! This 7-ingredient recipe will be a big winner on your Thanksgiving sides table for several key reasons: It's fast (20 minutes, tops), it's easy (we weren't kidding, it really has only 7 ingredients), and it's downright tasty! To paraphrase a line or two from one of our favorite Thanksgiving episodes of Friends (Rachel's Meat Trifle!), "Bacon? Good! Brown sugar? Good! Pecans, Good!"

If you're having trouble envisioning Brussels sprouts as "good," then maybe you've never had the pleasure of trying them cooked in a cast-iron skillet. Unlike steaming, which unfortunately is how many of us first experienced Brussels sprouts, cooking them in a skillet renders all the layers of tiny cabbage-like leaves crispy, caramelized, and delicious.

On top of that, this recipe goes the extra mile by sautéing them in rendered bacon fat, which is a wonderful Southern powerhouse ingredient. To top it all off, a little brown sugar, butter, and seasonings go in at the end, along with some chopped pecans for crunch. The result is a fantastic stovetop side that delivers big flavor without taking up any oven space, which is quite the blessing on Thanksgiving day!