If you’re a fan of quick and easy meals, you’ll love this ground beef and brussels sprouts skillet. You’ll only need 4 ingredients (not counting spices) and about 20-25 minutes to have this ground beef skillet on the table.
Every serving is packed with 27 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs, and just 270 calories. Leaving you with plenty of room for rice, noodles, or dare I say, dessert!
This recipe was inspired by my popular Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli recipe. Be sure to check that out if you dig this one!
Sweet Chili Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts Recipe Walkthrough
I’ll quickly run you through how to make this recipe below. You’ll find a few cooking tips and ingredient modification notes included as well.
How to Cook Ground Beef for Maximum Flavor
We all know how important it is to get a little crust development on your meat before crumbling. The flavor is better, and the added texture goes a long way in simple dishes like this one.
Here’s a handful of tips for cooking ground beef like a pro:
- use oil, even if it’s just a tiny bit on top of the beef before adding to the skillet
- season well and allow the spices to bloom but not burn
- cast iron or stainless steel > nonstick
- put it in the pan and leave it alone for a few minutes
For this ground beef and brussels sprouts skillet, you’ll be seasoning with ground ginger, black pepper, and chili powder. But you can use the same principles with any spice combination. Take my Nashville Hot Chicken Burgers or Hamburger Steak and Gravy recipes, for example.
How to Cook Brussels Sprouts
I used a fresh bag of washed and trimmed brussels sprouts that can be microwaved right in the bag. If you’re using 100% fresh, remove the sprouts from the stalk, wash, and add to a dish with a tablespoon of water. Cover and microwave for a few minutes until tender.
I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos, but the brussels sprouts I used were on the smaller side. If you’re using really large brussels sprouts, you might want to quarter them instead of just halving.
If you’re a fan of the crispy bits of brussels sprouts, check out the shaved sprouts I used for my chili crisp brussels sprouts with ground chicken and honey balsamic ground chicken and brussels sprouts recipes.
Final Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts Notes
Don’t take my cooking tips above as warnings—it’s virtually impossible to mess up this ground beef and brussels skillet. As long as you cook your beef and have tender brussels sprouts, you’ll be just fine.
Sweet Chili Sauce
I used Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce, but you can find this sauce in most grocery stores. Look for a Thai-style chili sauce. Or you could make your own using The Flavor Bender’s sweet chili sauce recipe.
You can also use more sweet chili sauce than the recipe calls for if you have picky eaters in the house. And feel free add it after tossing when serving.
Skillet Size
I used a 12″ cast iron skillet. If you use a smaller skillet, you may need to remove the ground beef after cooking to create space for the brussels sprouts to have enough contact with the skillet.
You can find the cast iron skillet I use, along with all my recommended kitchen tools and products, on my Amazon storefront. It’s a great investment and you could make my skillet pizza, loaded ground beef and potatoes, pan fried chicken thighs, and more exactly how they’re meant to be made!
Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts
You can definitely use other ground meats like chicken or turkey. If you’ve read this far but hate brussels sprouts, other veggies would work fine here. For ideas, check out my honey sesame ground chicken and broccoli and low carb cheeseburger skillet (radishes). And my Greek ground chicken and veggie skillet is a great example of how you could oven roast a bunch of veggies with your cooked sweet chili ground beef.
Green beans, zucchini, bok choy, and peppers all come to mind as other alternatives.
And if you wanted to use chicken breast, check out my air fryer sweet chili chicken and brussels sprouts recipe.
Okay, that’s a wrap! If you have a question about this sweet chili ground beef skillet, leave a comment below or join my Facebook group with more than 15k healthy home cooks that would love to give you some tips!
Sweet Chili Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef, I used 96/4
- 12 oz Brussels Sprouts*, halved
- 1 Tbsp 16g Chili Oil (or your choice of oil)
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 C 120g Sweet Chili Sauce**
Instructions
- Microwave the brussels sprouts for 2 minutes or until tender before transferring to a cutting board. Cut them in half once they've cooled.
- Mix the dry spices together and sprinkle half over the top of the ground beef.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the chili oil. Once the oil is hot, place the ground beef in the skillet seasoned side down. Sprinkle the remaining half of the spices on top of the beef.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom of the beef has developed a nice crust before flipping. Cook for another 2-3 minutes before using a spatula to break the beef down into crumbles. Cook until no pink remains.
- Push the cooked beef to the side of the pan and add the brussels sprouts to the skillet, cut side down. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they've developed a slight char.
- Remove from the heat and mix the brussels sprouts and ground beef together. Drizzle the sweet chili sauce over the top and stir until evenly coated. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice, chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds, or your choice of fixin's.
Love this dish over rice/cauliflower rice or substitute Brussels for broccoli.
This was so easy to make! We love to eat Brussels but always struggle with different ways to prepare them so we aren’t getting bored by the same ol’ thing. This combo was perfect! The flavor profile is so simple, but yet so good!
Honestly, most of these are staple recipes but this one really is super simple for a quick weeknight dinner. We always have some rice in the pantry, ground beef in the freezer all you need is some brussels sprouts and some sweet chili sauce and you’ve got a flavorful, quick dinner!
As always extremely simple to throw together and this included making my own sauce using “The flavor benders” sweet chili sauce recipe (omitted sambal oelek and subbed cornstarch for xanthan gum). We used what we had on hand so subbed in ground turkey, olive oil and omitted ground ginger. For the Brussels they were fresh so we did as the recipe recommended and microwaved them for a few minutes. Make sure to cook the meat as described as that crust really makes a difference! We served with cauliflower rice and then just ate the leftovers on their own and I actually prefer the latter!
I like to think i’ve tried a lot of Mason’s recipes, and this one is still my favorite. So simple, so easy, and it feels unique compared to all of the other foods we eat on a regular basis. I add curry powder to mine and I think it takes the flavor to the next level.
Another great way to eat brussel sprouts! I throw them in the AF for a few minutes to crisp up to. Not sure why people give them a bad rap…they are delicious.
I make this at least once a week, it is a family favorite and it can be substituted with another green veggie if you are out of Brussels! 10/10
I make this at least twice a month. It is by far the easiest meal to make but full of deliciousness! I always add extra chili sauce, we love it!
This meal is too good to be true! My husband is pretty picky and he gets excited every time I make this. It’s so easy and quick, and nearly impossible to mess up. 10/10!!
Thanks, Grace. Sounds to me like your husband has great taste!
This is one of our go-to recipes because we almost always have a ground meat of some sort, as well as frozen veggies. I’ve done ground turkey and broccoli instead and it is still just as satisfying!