Air fryer brussels sprouts pasta
Crispy, charred brussels sprouts from the air fryer tossed with pasta, garlic, lemon, chili flakes and a big handful of parmesan.
- 30 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.27 a serving
- 490 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 12 oz Brussels sprouts
- 12 oz gluten-free pasta, short shape; regular pasta works too
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp salt, plus ½ tsp
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 490 calories, 13 g protein, 78 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.27 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the air fryer to 380°F. Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the brussels sprouts and quarter them. with 1 tablespoon oil and ½ teaspoon salt.
Trim. Trimming means cutting off the parts you don’t eat, like stem ends, tough bits or thick fat. It keeps chewy or bitter bits out of the finished dish.
How you’ll know: What’s left is the good part, with no dry ends, woody stems or thick white fat.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Air fry 14 to 16 minutes, shaking twice, until and crisp outside and tender inside.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: The loose leaves go dark and crunchy first. Those are the best bits, so don’t pick them out.Meanwhile, cook the pasta until , tasting 2 minutes before the package time. Scoop out 1 cup of , then .
Al dente. Al dente is Italian for “to the tooth”: pasta cooked until tender but with a slight firm bite in the center. It holds up in sauce and keeps softening a little after you drain it.
How you’ll know: Bite a piece a minute before the package time: tender, with a slight firm bite in the middle and no crunch.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Warm the rest of the oil with the garlic in the empty pot over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic is pale . Stir in the pepper flakes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Low heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Add the pasta, sprouts, lemon , 2 tablespoons juice, the parmesan and ½ cup and until glossy.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Low heat
Taste, add salt if it needs it, and serve with the pepper.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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