Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts

These Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts are crispy Brussels sprouts served with a spicy, sweet, and sour sticky Chinese sauce famous in Chinese restaurants. This recipe is also gluten-free, dairy-free, and easy to adapt in a low-carb version.

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I love serving Brussels sprouts as a side dish to grilled meat or as a light dinner. It’s such a delicious, low-carb vegetable with a lovely crispy texture when roasted or air-fried. Of course, like any vegetables, Brussels Sprouts are even better when covered with a sauce!

Last time, I shared my Asian Brussels Sprouts, a pretty close recipe but less spicy or sweet. So today is time for a new Chinese-style recipe with brussels sprouts. Kung Pao is a popular Chinese sauce often served in Chinese restaurants to make stir-fry dishes, the most popular is a sticky sweet and sour chicken kung pao recipe. 

The sauce is spicy, made of chili and peanuts, and originated in the Sichuan Province that’s why the authentic kung pao contains Sichuan black peppercorn.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to make this recipe are:

• Brussels Sprouts – Trim the feet and cut in halves or check my post on how to cut Brussels sprouts for help.
• Soy Sauce – I am using dark soy sauce, but you can also use a soy-free option like coconut aminos.
• Sesame Oil – Use sesame oil or peanut oil.
• Garlic – Freshly peeled and crushed.
• Chinese Black Vinegar – Or classic vinegar if you can’t find black vinegar.
• Sichuan Black Peppercorn – It’s optional, but if you can find some at the store, this makes all the difference in a kung pao sauce.
• Ginger – Freshly grated.
• Dried Red Pepper Flakes – Or dried chili deseeded, but I found it easier to use chili flakes as the size of dried chili varies a lot, it’s difficult to make the sauce to the right spiciness.
• Hoisin Sauce – it’s made of fermented soybean a little bit like BBQ sauce but with Asian food flavors.
• Roasted Peanuts – or fresh crushed peanuts.
• Sesame Seeds – black or white.
• Brown Sugar or brown erythritol for a sugar-free option
• Scallion – also known as Green onions.

How To Make Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts

It’s very easy to turn your Brussels sprouts into a lovely kung pao dish.

1. Wash, trim the end of the sprouts and cut each of them halfway lengthwise, following my tutorial on how to cut brussels sprouts if needed.
2. There are two ways of roasting Brussels sprouts for this recipe, Oven-roasting or Air Frying. Overall it takes between 25 minutes and 30 minutes to make golden brown crispy Brussels sprouts. If some Brussels sprout leaves come out, remove them and turn them into Brussels Sprout Chips.
3. The best part is the kung pao sauce, and it’s ridiculously easy to make. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with water, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, black Chinese vinegar, ginger, and ground Sichuan peppercorn. Set it aside.
4. In a non-stick saucepan, over medium heat, warm sesame oil, then add garlic, and dried chili, and stir fry for 10 seconds until fragrant.
5. Add the soy sauce mixture, stir and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
6. Place the roasted Brussels sprouts onto a large mixing bowl, top with roasted peanut and the warm sticky kung pao sauce.
7. Stir well to combine and coat all the Brussels sprouts.
8. Serve with sesame seeds and freshly chopped green onions or scallions. Adjust with salt and pepper if desired.

Serving Suggestions

Serve hot with some extra salt and pepper if you like and freshly chopped scallions or dill. You can also serve it with a side of:

• Coconut Cauliflower Rice
• 3-Ingredient Keto Rice
• Black Pepper Angus Steak Stir Fry Recipe

Storage Instructions

You can store the cooked Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts in a sealed container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Rewarm in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat until warm or in a microwave-safe dish. This side dish can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Allergy Swaps

If you have some food allergies, you can pick some of the below options to adjust the recipe to your food preferences:

• Sugar-Free – Use a sugar-free granulated sweetener in the same amount of sugar and replace cornstarch with xanthan gum. Also, pick a low-sugar hoisin sauce or skip it.
• Gluten-Free – Check that your hoisin sauce and soy sauce are gluten-free, or use tamari sauce instead.
• Soy-Free – Skip hoisin sauce and use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
• Peanut-Free – Use sesame oil and cashews instead of roasted peanuts on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are your most frequent questions answered.

More Brussels Sprouts Recipes

Below are some more Brussels sprouts recipes to try: