They may not be everyone's favorite vegetable, but in our home, Brussels sprouts make happy dinners -- and diners. Especially when I serve them in this creamy, easy Brussels sprouts stew with the creamy goodness of coconut and cashew nuts.
Over here, dinners are more often than not cooked in short order. (Jay, poor kid, knows not to question the PBJ when it puts in a familiar appearance, because it means mom is up to her eyeballs with a work deadline, and needling her at a time like that will very possibly result in "annoyed mom.") So I get to sigh in guiltless relief when I can feed us something healthy and tasty that takes under 30 minutes to make from scratch. Like this Brussels sprouts stew.
The winner here is the creamy sauce: it's silken and rich and it coats your tongue with the sparkling flavors of spices, herbs and garlic. The cashewnuts add some protein muscle, and the Brussels sprouts themselves are cooked to a velvety softness that almost melts in your mouth. You could use this sauce for almost any vegetable: cauliflower would work, so would zucchini or even carrots.
The reason Brussels sprouts get a bad rap is because they are widely -- and correctly -- known as a "healthy food" and somewhere in our crooked brains we have equated that term with "tasteless" or "boring." Cooked the right way, though, Brussels sprouts are neither boring nor tasteless; in fact, they are spectacular. I love roasting them with some garlic, or pan-frying them with some lentil paste and Indian spices. But this stew, an easy recipe if there ever was one, is quite possibly my new favorite way to eat this mighty veggie.
Even if you are only an occasional Indian cook, you likely have most of these ingredients in your pantry already. Black mustard seeds, turmeric, and garam masala (or curry powder would do too) are the only "specialty" ingredients you need here. The curry leaves are optional, although they do add some delicious, fresh flavor, so use them if you can. And one more secret: don't shy away from using frozen Brussels sprouts in this recipe, if you can't find them fresh. No one will be able to tell. 😉
Looking for more vegan Brussels sprouts recipes?
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Garlic Rosemary Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Creamy Vegan Orzo Risotto with Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts Stew Recipe
Easy Brussels Sprouts Stew
Equipment
- Saute pan or wok
Ingredients
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts (use the smallest you can find. If you can only find large ones halve them for quicker cooking)
- 1 medium red onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoon cilantro minced
- 4 cloves garlic smashed with a knife or in a mortar and pestle until they are almost a paste
- 1 sprig curry leaves (about 12 individual leaves, optional)
- 2 medium tomatoes (diced)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (or paprika)
- 2 teaspoon garam masala (can sub with curry powder or even sambar powder-- they will all result in flavor differences but will all be delicious versions of each other)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 14 oz coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- Juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide saucepan and add mustard seeds. When they sputter, add the cilantro, curry leaves if using, and garlic. Saute for a minute.
- Add the onions and saute for a minute until they begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes and powdered spices-- the garam masala, cayenne and turmeric. Saute, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes release most of their liquid and get pulpy.
- Add the cashews, Brussels sprouts and some salt to taste. Cover the saucepan to let the Brussels sprouts get tender, around 5-8 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. If necessary, add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pan.
- Add half the coconut milk and let the sauce come to a simmer. Check if the Brussels sprouts are tender by piercing one with a fork in the center. Add the remaining coconut milk and just warm through without letting the stew boil.
- Check salt and add more if needed.
- Serve the stew hot with some rice or bread. Squeeze on some lemon or lime juice over the stew while serving.
Amy Crowther
Thank you, I came across this recipe today and have just made it for our lunch. It was so so tasty, hearty and warming. My family and I loved it, even my 9 year old who is not a fan of sprouts!
Vaishali
Hi Amy, so happy to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
Linda
Is it better with full fat coconut milk or light coconut milk?
Vaishali
Full fat would work best for flavor!
Shal
I made this today and it was delicious. Great recipes-I'm so excited to try more of them!
Vaishali
Thanks, Shal.
Desiree
This is one of my favorite recipes!!! I am making it for the 3rd time. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Vaishali
So happy to hear. 🙂
Giovanna
This is AMAZING! Got a deal on Brussels sprouts and needed something different than roasted or pan-sauterd. I had almost everything, had to sub canned diced tomatoes for fresh. Left out the coconut oil, just used water. Will definitely make this again!
Vaishali
Awesome, so great to hear you tried an oil free version! 🙂
S
Very good recipe. Family liked it. Great alternative for brussels sprouts instead of roasted or poriyal.
Vaishali
Thanks, S!
Am
Hi sorry I forgot to rate this delicious stew -I really enjoyed it and would appreciate it if you can let me know if it is suitable for freezing. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Vaishali
Yes, freezing should be fine, although anything with coconut milk will get a little grainy looking after being frozen. Still it won't hurt the taste.
Lynn Arrowsmith
Can l freeze this soup? Thanking you for a delicious recipe
Am
Can leftovers be frozen?
Isabella
I made this for my husband tonight and he loved it! The broth was bursting with flavour without being too heavy. Winter time is coming here in Australia and this was a perfect, warming meal. I will definitely make this again sometime in the future. Thank you so much for your lovely recipes! I look forward to making more of them soon. 🙂
Susan
OMG! This is amazing! I had all the Hesse leftover Brussels sprouts from another dish that was okay, but was boring reheated. I thought, ' what am I going to do with all these brussels sprouts? I don't want to toss them.' I made your recipe as is, then added just a few cooked black lentils I had left over to fill my tummy tomorrow at lunch. I'll look forward all morning at work to lunch? Next time I might add some mushrooms instead of lentils. Brussels sprouts should stay the main event as you have been hem. Thank you for this recipe!
Susan
Made this for dinner tonight. Heaven in a bowl! Thank you so much for a delicious meal that brings new flavors to remind us that it's a big world full of possibilities .Can't eat cashews, so used 1/2 pine nuts and 1/2 hemp seeds. Didn't have black mustard seeds, so used white, but will definitely get some black so that I can use it next time. So delicious!!
Nicolette Chartier
Hi Vaishali, I made some modifications to this recipe - blended the raw cashews with soy milk before pouring in veggies, did not have enough Brussels Sprouts so added some chopped up kale, used whole dried chili peppers instead of cayenne, used part sun-dried tomatoes because I was low on fresh, and used one tsp each of Garam Masala and Curry powder instead of two tsp Garam Masala. Such a satisfying meal! I have tried a lot of your recipes and am certain if more vegans cooked like this they would stay vegan.
Nicolette Chartier
BTW, the cashews and soy milk were substituted for the coconut milk.
John Bliss
That was so delicious!!!! Thanks for the recipes and I am really glad I found your site!
Mine didn't turn out that yummy yellow that you have in your pictures above.... but it was soo good!
Karen Sullivan
I went on a random search for something to do with my Brussels and wow am I ever glad I found this recipe. It was outstanding, and now I've seen you have a blog and Twitter and everything I am excited and look forward to trying out more in future, thank you so much for sharing.
Michelle
This was sooooo good! Perfect way to use the small sprouts from my garden. I doubled all the spices because I love lots of flavor, but this recipe is perfect.
Christine
I googled brussel sprout soup on a whim and your recipe came up. I made this tonight and it is amazing!!! Thank you so much.