Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (2024)

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Delicious crispy and flavoursome air fryer frozen Brussel Sprouts. You will love how easy and quick sprouts cook from frozen in the air fryer and our best ways to serve these sprouts at mealtimes.

Frozen sprouts are one of the easiest frozen veggies to air fry and you will love the different flavours you can add to give them the wow factor for you.

Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (1)

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Air Fryer FrozenBrussel Sprouts

I was afrozen Brussel Sprouts virgin until the spring of 2019. I had never once boughtfrozen sprouts and cooked them in the air fryer and soon realised I was missingout on something special.

It all came about when I decided to do a big experiment in the cooking of frozen vegetables and led to me writing about instant pot frozen vegetables and instant pot frozen broccoli.

In all honesty, frozen vegetables cooked in kitchen gadgets blew my mind.

You could say that I was a bit of a snob when it came to frozen vegetables and always assumed that they were tasteless and why buy frozen when I can buy fresh????

But after trying out many vegetables last year in both the air fryer and the instant pot there was no going back.

Now when I buy fresh vegetables from the supermarket each week it is a lot more limited to what it once was.

I will buy fresh tomatoes, zucchini, mixed peppers, onions and most other vegetables will come from the frozen section.

Myfavourite frozen vegetables that I love to cook in the air fryer and theinstant pot include:

  • Frozen Broccoli
  • Frozen Cauliflower
  • Frozen Carrots
  • Frozen Brussel Sprouts
  • Frozen Corn

Today we are talking everything frozen brussel sprouts. How to cook frozen brussel sprouts, why sprouts are the best frozen vegetable in the air fryer, crispy frozen brussel sprouts and so much more.

Beyond our air fryer frozen brussel sprouts recipe, we have many more frozen veggies for you to try including: air fryer frozen cauliflower, air fryer frozen broccoli, instant pot frozen veggie soup, instant pot frozen broccoli, and let’s not forget about our instant pot frozen vegetables guide.

Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (2)

Can You Air Fry Frozen Brussel Sprouts?

Yes, you can air fry frozen brussel sprouts and you will love them. You can also cook fresh brussel sprouts in the air fryer and most veggies are good the air fryer way.

If you are wondering what frozen brussel sprouts in air fryer are like, then imagine them similar to oven roasted sprouts, you just need less oil for them to be magical.

Why Air Fry Frozen Brussel Sprouts?

I am one of those veggie loving people that isOBSESSEDwith brussel sprouts. I would eat them all year round if possible. I know many are either big fans of sprouts or hate them with a passion.

But sadly, when we lived in Portugal fresh had never been an option. Fresh sprouts were only available from 1 UK supermarket over there, and they had been shipped from the UK, so never looked fresh.

So for us to enjoy sprouts back then, it was either frozen or nothing and that’s when we tried air frying frozen sprouts and were amazed by how good they were and how easy prep they are too.

Plus, if you are an air fryer beginner, then sprouts are the easiest. Unlike when you cook air fryer frozen cauliflower, you don’t have to worry that some are bigger than others or that the small bits will end up burnt.

Or when you’re seasoning your frozen veggies after an initial air fry, you know that sprouts will keep their shape.

Best Way To Cook Frozen Brussel Sprouts?

The best way to cook sprouts (especially if you want them crispy) is cooking frozen brussel sprouts in the air fryer.

When you cook sprouts in air fryer, they taste much better than cooked in the skillet or baked in the oven.

It is like eating roasted sprouts that have been made extra crispy due to a lot of fats.

The only difference is that when you cook sprouts in air fryer, hardly any oil is used at all, and they are verySIMPLEto prep.

Plus, you can mix and match your ingredients to make your favourite type of brussel sprouts.

What About Ninja Foodi Frozen Brussel Sprouts?

Now this is an even better idea.

If you cooked Ninja Foodi frozen brussel sprouts you can use the pressure cook button first and do a zero pressure cook. This will then cook the sprouts. Then use the air fryer lid to finish them off and to create crispy sprouts and is also likely to reduce the cook time overall by at least 5 minutes.

Would you like easy & amazing air fryer recipes from air fryer experts? Click here and join the Recipe This Newsletter. We will then send you the BEST air fryer beginner recipes direct to your email inbox along with other useful air fryer resources.

Frozen Brussel Sprouts Air Fryer Ingredients

Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (3)

Sprouts – Let’s start with the frozen brussel sprouts. I have a big bag of them that I buy, and I roughly cook half a bag at a time. I aim to have one single layer of frozen brussel sprouts in air fryer. So, no need to weigh it, just use your own personal judgement.

Oil – If you would like crispy frozen brussel sprouts, then you will need some extra virgin olive oil. I have tried other oils, but they don’t do a good enough job.

Glaze – I much prefer a balsamic glaze on my frozen air fryer brussel sprouts. For this I will include some balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and pepper and dried parsley.

Though you can mix and match for your own favourite flavour or add in.

Can You Recommend An Air Fryer?

I often get asked which air fryers I recommend and which one I use. In 95% of our air fryer recipes, we use either the Philips Air Fryer XL or the Cosori XL because they are the best ones, we have found out of many air fryers we have tried over the years. You can click on the links above and read up on them.

Plus, we recommend you head over to our air fryer recipes category as we have more than 500 tried and tested everyday air fryer recipes and have been air frying for 10+ years.

How To Air Fry Frozen Brussel Sprouts In Air Fryer?

Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (4)
  • Load. Let’s cook frozen brussel sprouts. Place your frozen sprouts in the air fryer basket making sure you don’t over fill it.
  • Cook. Next air fry frozen sprouts for 15 minutes at 180c/360f.
  • Prep. Whilst you are cooking frozen brussel sprouts in air fryer, add the other ingredients to a bowl, mix well with a spoon and put to one side.
  • Fork. Then use a fork to check the sprouts is defrosted and fork tender. Then transfer the sprouts to a bowl and mix with the balsamic glaze.
  • Cook. Transfer the bowl of sprouts back to the air fryer basket and air fry for another 6 minutes at 200c/400f or until crispy to your liking.

And that is how easy air fryer brussel sprouts frozen are to cook.

How Long To Cook Frozen Brussel Sprouts In Air Fryer?

In this frozen brussel sprouts air fryer recipe we recommend a cook time of JUST 21 minutes.

This is divided into 15 minutes to cook this frozen brussel sprouts recipe, then another 6 minutes to make the brussel sprouts nice and crispy and more like the delicious crisp you get when you cook them in the oven.

How To Make Frozen Brussel Sprouts Crispy?

The art to a frozen brussel sprout recipe that is crispy, is what you do with the sprouts once you have used the air fryer to defrost.

If you don’t want a balsamic glaze like we have done, to make the sprouts crispy you can spray with olive oil and then do the final cook time of 6 minutes.

How To Season Frozen Brussel Sprouts?

Lets talk seasoning those frozen brussel sprouts and making sure you are not cooking boring sprouts.

There are lots of different ways to season frozen sprouts BUT you must season once they are defrosted.

Frozen sprouts struggle for seasoning to stay on them and its better to split up the cook time for air fried frozen brussel sprouts into defrosting and then seasoning and then finishing the air frying.

Our frozen brussels sprouts air fryer recipe is with a balsamic glaze but there are many other ways you can cook them including:

Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts With Bacon – To make bacon sprouts, when you go to finish with the final 6 minutes add little chunks of bacon. The bacon will then air fry with the sprouts.

Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts With Maple Syrup – To make the famous maple sprouts swap balsamic vinegar and honey for the same quantity of maple syrup.

Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts With Chestnuts – At Christmas I love air fryer roasted chestnuts. You can follow our chestnuts recipe, chop the chestnuts into little bits (think the size of bacon bits) and then add the chestnuts in with the glaze and then finish air frying for the last 6 minutes.

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Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (6)

This frozen brussels sprouts air fryer recipe is an updated post and was originally shared on Recipe This in 2020.

Learn how to cook frozen sprouts in air fryer below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free air fryer ebooks and useful air fryer cook time charts and so much more.

Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (8)

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4.50 from 2 votes

Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts

Delicious crispy and flavoursome air fryer frozen Brussel Sprouts. You will love how easy and quick sprouts cook from frozen in the air fryer and our best ways to serve these sprouts at mealtimes.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time21 minutes mins

Total Time26 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Air Fryer

Servings: 4

Calories: 116kcal

Author: RecipeThis.com

Ingredients

Kitchen Gadgets

MetricImperial

Instructions

  • Let’s air fry frozen sprouts. Place frozen brussel sprouts into the air fryer basket, careful that you don’t overfill it. Air fry frozen sprouts in air fryer for 15 minutes at 180c/360f.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (9)

  • In the meantime, add everything else into a mixing bowl and stir with a spoon.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (10)

  • Check that the sprouts are now defrosted, warmed through and fork tender.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (11)

  • Transfer the warmed brussel sprouts to the mixing bowl and mix well with the spoon.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (12)

  • Place the sprouts back into the air fryer basket are air fry for a further 6 minutes at 200c/400f or until crispy to your liking.

    Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (13)

Video

Notes

Swaps. You can swap the honey and balsamic vinegar for maple syrup. You can also make these sprouts your own by adding bacon or why not add some chestnuts for your Christmas lunch.

Thanks for reading frozen brussel sprouts in air fryer recipe on Recipe This. We have many more air fryer recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like to try more delicious sides do try our air fryer roasted potatoes next.

Nutrition

Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1273IU | Vitamin C: 144mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (14)
Recipe This | Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts (2024)

FAQs

Should you defrost frozen brussel sprouts before cooking? ›

While I've found success with steaming other frozen vegetables, I do not recommend it for Brussels sprouts. There's a higher chance of overcooking them, resulting in bitter flavors and unpleasant odors. There is no need to thaw the Brussels sprouts. Just add straight from the freezer!

Can you cook straight from frozen in air fryer? ›

Can I use my air fryer for frozen food? The answer to this question is, yes – anything is possible with these magical machines. We all know the hassle of waiting for something to defrost before you can cook it, but with an air fryer, you can simply pop the item inside, in its frozen state, and start cooking.

Why did my brussel sprouts burn in the air fryer? ›

Why did my brussels sprouts burn in the air fryer? If you don't shake the air fryer basket throughout the cooking process, you risk the sprouts burning before they are fully cooked. Can I air fry brussels sprouts without oil? While air-frying sprouts without oil will cook them, they won't be soft in the middle.

Why won't my brussel sprouts get crispy? ›

Not using enough oil.

The other secret to ridiculously crispy Brussels sprouts is tossing them in plenty of oil. We like to use olive oil, but plain vegetable oil is great too. If the sprouts are well-coated, they'll caramelize and char instead of simply softening in the oven.

Are frozen brussel sprouts good for you? ›

If you don't see them stocked in the produce section during the spring or summer, head over to the frozen food section where you'll likely find them there. Frozen Brussels sprouts pack just as much nutrition, if not more, as fresh ones because they are frozen when at their peak nutritional value.

What happens if you don t blanch brussel sprouts before freezing? ›

Can you freeze raw Brussels sprouts without blanching? You can you freeze uncooked Brussels sprouts, but you'll need to be aware that they may be a little softer than if you blanched them (so keep an eye on the cooking time). Plus, they won't keep in the freezer for as long.

What 5 foods should you not put in an air fryer? ›

Take a gander of this list of top foods that should never make their way into your air fryer.
  • Wet Batters. ...
  • Cheesy Items. ...
  • Large, Bone-In Meat Cuts. ...
  • Baked Goods. ...
  • Greens. ...
  • Raw Rice and Other Grains. ...
  • Too Much of Anything.
Apr 14, 2023

Can you put aluminum foil in an air fryer? ›

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

Is it better to air fry frozen or thawed? ›

As long as you have an air fryer, frozen steak is no problem. In fact, can be delicious. You can't always fire up the grill, but air frying can be a surprisingly simple way to prepare mouthwatering fresh steak. And some experts recommend cooking steak from frozen, as thawing can produce tougher meat.

When should you not use Brussel sprouts? ›

Throw out fresh brussel sprouts that have a foul odor, yellow or wilted leaves, a mushy or slimy texture, or dark spots. Use fresh brussel sprouts within 1–2 weeks of getting them. Store the brussel sprouts in a plastic bag inside your fridge, and wash them before cooking them.

When not to use Brussel sprouts? ›

If any of the leaves have brown spots or are yellowing, it's a sign of early spoilage. If you remove the blemished leaves and the interior looks OK, you can still use the sprout. However, if the interior leaves are also showing blemishes or yellowing, it's best to toss it (or compost it, if you can).

Why do Brussel sprouts taste bad sometimes? ›

Because PTC is prevalent in Brussels sprouts, these so-called "Supertasters" perceive them as intensely bitter. This is all connected to a taste-related gene called TAS2R38, which has a variant called AVI and one called PAV.

Why are restaurant brussel sprouts so good? ›

Brussel sprouts are roasted in lots of oil, then topped with pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and honey. It's that sweet, fatty, cheesy combo that makes it taste good!

Do you cook Brussels sprouts cut side up or down? ›

Roast 'em! Our two rules: place and space! Place them cut side down to create that slightly crunchy exterior and soft interior. Space them out evenly so they don't steam–a crowded sheet pan party is not where your brussels want to be.

What season is best for brussel sprouts? ›

A slow-growing, long-bearing crop, Brussels sprouts should be planted in early spring, or mid- to late summer for a crop that matures in the fall. The small heads mature best in cool and even in light frosty weather. Spring planting is also fine in cooler climates.

How do you thaw frozen Brussels sprouts? ›

In a single layer, add the frozen Brussels sprouts to the pan. Season them with salt and pepper. Allow them to cook for about 5 minutes. During this time they will defrost and it will add some moisture to the pan.

How long does it take for brussel sprouts to defrost? ›

*If using frozen Brussel sprouts, spread them out on a large cutting board and allow them to defrost for about 5 minutes before cutting them. Put the Brussel sprouts in a bowl, and toss with the olive oil until well coated. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Can you defrost frozen sprouts? ›

Transfer frozen Brussels sprouts to a bowl, cover, and let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Submerge bagged sprouts in a bowl of cold water, changing out the water every half hour until thawed. If you plan on using them right away, you can let Brussels sprouts thaw on the counter for 10 minutes.

Do brussel sprouts taste better after a frost? ›

Plenty of members of the brassica plant family (cabbage family) are also crops that taste better after a frost. Brussels sprouts are one of the best known examples, commonly enjoyed around Christmas when they have experienced a good few frosts and developed a somewhat sweeter flavour.

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