Sharing a wintery toast recipe today that will be the perfect appetizer for this holiday season: caramelized brussels sprout toast with burrata and bacon! It’s a slightly “elevated” toast with some special ingredients, but yet it’s very simple to prepare. The flavors are sweet + savory, with just a touch of creaminess from the burrata cheese and a crunch from the roasted hazelnuts.
I recently shared a very delicious roasted grape ricotta toast recipe over on Brightland’s website featuring their smooth and delicious olive oil. My love for unique and exciting toast is no secret, but this particular recipe made me realize just how necessary a festive toast recipe is for the holiday season! A platter of beautiful toast waiting to be devoured is such a fun way to entertain and start off a holiday party.
Plus, my creativity always seems to thrive when it comes to creating seasonal ingredient combinations to pile on top of toasted bread, and this caramelized brussels sprout combo is my latest result.
It’s sweet, savory, creamy, crunchy, rich, and bright all at the same time.
Bacon rendered until crisp, thinly sliced brussels sprouts caramelized in the bacon fat, creamy burrata cheese torn onto the toasted bread, roasted hazelnuts as a garnish, and honey + lemon to add lots of sweet and bright flavor.
My main tip for creating very flavorful toast is to make sure to season everything very well. I season the brussels sprouts when they’re cooking, the burrata when it’s torn onto the bread, and then the finishing touch is always a pinch of flaky sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper at the end to bring everything together.
I hope you get to recreate this caramelized brussels sprout toast (or maybe this ridiculously good french onion toast) sometime this winter and absolutely love it. Make sure to let me know how it turns out! I love hearing feedback from you and seeing all of your dishes over on Instagram.
PrintCaramelized Brussels Sprout Toast with Burrata & Bacon
toasted bread with creamy burrata cheese, caramelized brussels sprouts, bacon, hazelnuts, honey, and lemon
servings: 12 appetizer portions; 6 larger portions
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw hazelnuts*
- 6 oz raw bacon, diced
- 1 lb brussels sprouts (roots trimmed, halved, and thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp honey, plus more to drizzle
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- kosher salt
- 6 large slices crusty bread, about ½” each
- 2 balls burrata cheese
- freshly cracked black pepper
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the hazelnuts out onto a sheet pan. Roast for 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Let cool just slightly. Use a kitchen towel to rub off the loose skins. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set aside.
- Heat a 12″ cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and spread it into an even layer. Cook the bacon for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring often, until the bacon is rendered and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Raise the heat under the skillet to medium-high. Add the brussels sprouts. Stir well to coat the Brussels sprouts in the bacon fat and then spread the brussels into an even layer. Let cook until caramelized and tender, 6-8, stirring occasionally. Stir in the honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season well with salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, place the bread onto a sheet pan and drizzle both sides with olive oil. Toast in the oven for about 12 minutes until golden.
- Tear the burrata into pieces and distribute onto the bread, “spreading” it out so that it covers most of each slice of bread. Season the cheese with a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Mound the brussels sprout mixture onto each slice of toast. Sprinkle the hazelnuts and bacon over top. Drizzle each slice with more honey. Season with the flaky sea salt (if desired) and more freshly cracked black pepper. Cut each slice of toast in half to serve.
Notes
*If you don’t have hazelnuts, you could use any other nut for this. I think toasted pecans or walnuts would be just as good!
I am not a hazelnut fan, but I am going to try this with pistachios or almonds.
Thank you!
What a great recipe!
SO DELICIOUS!!
Amazing ?
Perfectly delicious!!!
This looks amazing but my mom isn’t a fan of that type of cheese do you have any alternate suggestions?
Hi Kate! What about ricotta? It spreads really well onto toast and would be a great substitute!