Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash Rice Pilaf

If you’re bored of your normal Thanksgiving side dishes, I’m with you. I don’t really crave stuffing anymore, I can eat mashed potatoes with gravy any day of the week (and do), and green bean casserole creeps me out. I just don’t crave Thanksgiving food like I used to. But after making this dish, I’m ready for a huge Thanksgiving day celebration. Give me all this rice pilaf and sweet potato casserole so I can mix in all together into one big mashed happy pile of love. That’s what I did all last week before I left for Cabo. These two dishes were a pair made in heaven.

Speaking of heaven, I’m currently in it right now. No, I’m not swimming in a heaping pile of casserole and pilaf…I wish. But I am sitting in the living room of our VRBO in Cabo. I love this place so damn much! I really got a bad taste in our mouth after our husband got us into a timeshare situation that I despise here in Cabo. Not a sore subject at all. So instead of going back to our timeshare we can’t get out of, we rented a house that looks over Land’s End, with the perfect little pool and hot tub, an awesome gym, and we are celebrating being such good friends with our neighbors. I don’t know how we got so lucky to have some of the coolest neighbors EVER, but we do. Which makes moving THAT much harder. We will still only be a 5 minute drive from our neighbors, but not being in convenient walking distance is getting us down.

Based on a poll I did on instagram stories a few months back – having cool neighbors is not common. But let me get one thing clear…the neighbors on the other side of us used to sell drugs out of their house. I think that moment in time has passed for them and I’m glad they’ve moved on to bigger and better things, like going to school, but they still aren’t people who we invite over for drinks. There is also a 654 year old woman on our street who walks up and down until she finds someone to b*tch at. She once caught me and told me our newly painted house stuck out like a sore thumb. Now there are 4 other painted houses on the block. I think she should call us trendsetters. I sometimes find her looking in people’s windows or backyards. It’s really a miracle no one has called the police on her, but I think that’s because she beats someone to it every time. But other than that, we have the coolest people. An interior designer, an orchestra teacher, a super sweet guy from South Africa…I could just keep going on and on. I’m getting soft in my old age. Nostalgic, if you will. Man I’m going to miss that block. But for now I must head to a couples massage with my neighbor. Our husbands are golfing together so we are getting massaged together. F*cking adorable, if you ask me. But before you go to make this rice pilaf, will you please tell me a neighbor horror story? BFF neighbors are cool and all, but the horror stories are where it’s at. Kthanksbyyyyyye.

Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash Rice Pilaf

• Author: juli
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound cubed butternut squash
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
• 3 tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pound breakfast sausage
• 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bundle of dino kale, massaged and roughly chopped
• 12 ounces frozen cauliflower rice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• flake salt, for garnish
• black pepper, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add brussels sprouts and butternut squash. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, maple syrup, and dijon mustard. Pour the mixture into the large bowl then toss the veggies until completely coated. Add a bit of salt and pepper, toss once more, then spread out evenly on the baking sheet. Place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes.
2. In a large, deep sauté pan over medium heat, add breakfast sausage. Break into small pieces and cook until no pink remains then set aside. Turn heat down to medium-low heat and add the sliced onion (if there is no fat left in the pan, add a bit of avocado oil to it). Let slowly cook and caramelize for 20-25 minutes, tossing frequently to keep from burning on any of the onion edges. 
3. Once the onions have caramelized and are a deep brown color, sprinkle with a bit of salt then add the kale and the cauliflower rice, along with the dried thyme, rosemary, and sage. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the kale is soft and cauliflower rice is cooked through. Add salt to taste.
4. Once the butternut squash and brussels sprouts have caramelized and cooked through, add them to the pan with the onion mixture along with the breakfast sausage and the cranberries. Toss to combined then sprinkle with flake salt and black pepper, before serving!

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More Veggie Side Dish Ideas:

Fall Butternut Squash Salad

Air Fryer Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Hasselback Butternut Squash

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash & Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Gratin

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