Firecracker Beef & Brussels

Firecracker Beef & Brussels

Firecracker Beef & Brussels sprouts served with a side of rice. The firecracker sauce is made using combination of red pepper flakes, hot sauce and honey for a spicy, sweet, and flavor packed bite.
PREP TIME
15 Minutes
COOK TIME
25 Minutes

Per Serving – Makes 5

620 Calories

63g C | 44g P | 21g F

How to Make Firecracker Beef & Brussels

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Firecracker Beef & Brussels

4.75 from 208 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 5 servings

Nutrition

Calories: 620kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 21g
Firecracker Beef & Brussels sprouts served with a side of rice. The firecracker sauce is made using combination of red pepper flakes, hot sauce and honey for a spicy, sweet, and flavor packed bite.
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Equipment

Ingredients

For the Rice

For the Beef and Brussels

  • 2 lbs (908 g) ground beef 90/10
  • 1 lb (454 g) Brussels sprouts
  • ½ medium (100 g) onion
  • 2 medium (200 g) poblano peppers
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp (6 g) red pepper flakes
  • 4 stalks (20 g) green onions optional for garnish
  • 1 lime optional for garnish
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) oil

For the Sauce

  • ¼ cup (60 g) hot sauce I use Frank's Red Hot
  • 1⅓ tbsp (20 g) apple cider vinegar
  • 5 tbsp (84 g) honey
  • tbsp (15 g) cornstarch
  • water to thin if necessary

Instructions

For the Rice

  • Make enough rice to yield  cups of cooked rice. 1 cup of dry rice will make between 2-3 cups of cooked rice depending on what type of rice you use.

For the Beef & Brussels

  • Wash and cut all of your vegetables first.
  • Cut the stems off of your Brussels sprouts and remove any of the damaged outer layers. Cut them in half.
  • Cut the onion, green onions, and peppers into a small dice. Mince your garlic if you're using fresh.
  • Place the Brussels sprout halves into a large bowl and drizzle over ½ tbsp of oil. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
  • Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
  • Place the Brussels sprouts into the air fryer basket and air fry for 5-8 minutes or until they have browned and softened. Watch them closely so they don't burn. If you don't have an air fryer you could cook them in the oven.
  • In a large skillet over medium high heat, add ½ tbsp of oil and add the onions, peppers, and 1 of red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-5 minutes to brown and soften. Add in the garlic.
  • Move the onions and peppers to the perimeter of the skillet and add in your beef. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the beef to brown.
  • When the beef is cooking, prepare your sauce. Mix the honey, hot sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch together. Stir well to incorporate the cornstarch so it doesn't clump up.
  • When the beef is about 90% of the way cooked, add in the Brussels sprouts, pour in the sauce and mix into the beef allowing it to thicken. Stir to combine. If you feel that your sauce is too thick, you can drizzle in some water to thin it out.

Plating

  • This recipe makes 5 servings. Divide your ingredients evenly into your 5 containers. Each dish gets ¾ (112g) cup of cooked rice.
  • Top each dish with green onions and a lime wedge if you wish. I like to squeeze lime juice over the dish after reheating.

Video

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American, meal prep
Keyword: beef, gluten free

NUTRITION INFO

The information in the following table are estimates for the total nutrition of the recipe, as written.  If you follow the recipe listed above, as written, you can use these tables to determine the nutrition information if you wanted to split the recipe, as written, into more or less servings than what is originally listed.  If you update the number of servings in the “Servings” field of the recipe above, the information in these tables are no longer accurate as you have updated the ingredients.

Servings
Carbs
314.2g
Protein
220.8g
Fat
106.4g
Calories
3097.6 cals

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This Post Has 113 Comments

  1. George Clark

    5 stars
    Probably my favorite so far! Didn’t expect this much flavor and preparation was a breeze

  2. Lorraine

    5 stars
    Delicious and quick meal prep. Thank you!

    1. S A

      One of the quickest and best tasting recipes on the site

  3. Kimberlita LV

    5 stars
    Just made this now – love it! Good mix of savoury with a bit of sweetness. I used sugar free maple syrup instead of honey, and frozen veggies – still very delicious

  4. Kiwi

    5 stars
    I didnt have all the ingredients (the specific hot sauce, the vinegar or the peppers) but it still tasted amazing even when I didn’t have all the ingredients and I had to improvise a little, but overall a 5/5 dish. (Super easy to make, cheap, flavorful, filling and nutritious)

  5. Jason Kern

    My favorite so far as well. Although I say that with every recipe of yours I try!

  6. Adam Rojas

    5 stars
    Just finished making this today and it came out well! easy to make, did not break the bank, and I honestly like the taste of the sauce a lot more than I thought I would!!

  7. Matthew Heatherly

    5 stars
    Really fantastic stuff here. I replaced the beef with lean ground turkey meat to make it more cut friendly and it still turned out great!

  8. Benedict Lane

    What would be good replacement ingredients if I can’t handle my spice?

    1. Josh Cortis

      I wouldn’t recommend this meal for you. It is called Firecracker Beef afterall

  9. Kevin Hester

    5 stars
    Love this one as much as I do the Firecracker Chicken. Definitely going to be a staple in my meal prep catalog.

  10. Leo Ravi

    5 stars
    This thing was killer, I used bison 90/10 and another commenter said used local fresh maple syrup instead of honey. Came out perfect! Thank you so much

      1. Jason Hornsby

        5 stars
        I made a few substitutes, like broccoli instead of sprouts, and I couldn’t find good hot sauces so I made a sriracha/teriyaki monstrosity instead, but I was absolutely blown away by this. I knew I’d like it, but I liked it so much that I’m leaving my first comment on a recipe, ever. Wonderful job, looking forward to making this many more times in the future <3

  11. Yoav

    5 stars
    I substituted beef for ground turkey, and brussels sprouts for a frozen veggie mix. Thought this was delicious. The sauce, for being as simple as it is, added a TON of flavor

  12. Garrett

    5 stars
    This slaps. Added some Serrano peppers for some more kick and it was amazing

  13. David Donohue

    This website is amazing. Please don’t ever stop doing this!

  14. Shikhar

    Can you use tofu for this recipe instead of beef, Turkey etc.?

  15. raoul

    thanks for this fantastic dinner!
    couldnt find brussels so i used broccoli instead, which worked very well.
    i zested the lime and out some on top as garnish.
    amazing fresh, sweet and hearty flavor.
    looking forward to the next four days!
    cheers from germany

  16. Yousef

    Got any recommendations for Frank’s Red Hot sauce substitutes? 😀

  17. W Bittrich

    5 stars
    I’ve been making this as part of my meal prep for the past month, and it’s delicious every day. You know you’re onto a winner when you never get sick of eating it! Greetings from New Zealand.

  18. Nicole Bradley-Lopez

    5 stars
    This was so delicious. I looked forward to it every day and didn’t get bored eating it. I don’t see how it’s 63g of Carbs though?

    1. Josh Cortis

      in addition to the rice there is quite a bit of honey

  19. Bart Malfliet

    Made an account because of this recipe. It’s delicious and easy to make. Subbed the beef with chicken meat and white with brown rice to make it a little healthier! Brilliant dish!

  20. Christian Quijada

    Hi Josh,

    What do you recommend as the best calorie friendly oil to use in recipes like this? Gonna prep this later today and excited to try it

    1. Josh Cortis

      All oils are virtually equal on a calorie basis

  21. Christopher Bellinger

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious, thanks!

    1. Dylan Smith

      5 stars
      sweet sassy molassy, this is what i got me to pay up for a membership. i normally steal everything that isn’t bolted down.

  22. Jany

    4 stars
    first recipe I tried, will def try some others! thanks!

  23. Osmin

    5 stars
    This was amazing

  24. Hunter

    5 stars
    This recipe is what put me onto your channel. I’ve made big batches of this recipe twice already. Incredible flavor, good macros. I think I adjusted the beef to a leaner cut but its just as flavorful. Love it.

  25. Anaru Herbert

    5 stars
    Somehow this gets better during the week, having a good spritz of lime really helps; I will be making this again for sure!!

  26. Tom

    5 stars
    I tried to make this and while I’m sure I got some things wrong due to language barriers and just not having the particular ingredient, but I followed as closely as I could and not only was it incredibly fast and convenient, it was absolutely delicious! If this is any indication of the quality of the recipes on here then I’ll be adding a whole lot to my regular repertoire! Meal prepping or not absolutely fantastic meal in every sense of the word. 5/5

  27. Kaitlyn Renfro

    5 stars
    Finally meal prepping that is actually filling! Love the twist with the Brussels. Never thought of the sweet spice combo with brushless before, but I am very glad I tried this. I will use this recipe again! Thank you!

  28. Ysmael Savoie

    Could i freeze these?

    1. Dan MacDonald

      Yes. I got a bunch in the freezer now and reheats pretty good. 3 mins at med power and 1 min at full.

  29. Dan MacDonald

    5 stars
    Love the texture the sprouts give. We swapped in Serano peppers instead of the poblanos. Also used some Flatiron Pepper company red flakes to kick it up a notch. Quite good!

  30. Paul

    5 stars
    Another good one.

    Made before but made it again this week too.

  31. nick perdoncin

    5 stars
    First recipe I’ve tried of yours – very impressed! This website and your Youtube channel are an absolute gold mine. Appreciate the hard work, will be subscribing!

  32. Benjamin Whelan

    I’m on Recipe #7 of yours, this one is by far the tastiest. A bit more calories than I’m used to (from your other recipes, lol) so next time might try ground chicken or pork and reintroduce the beef and make it a mainstay when i reach my weight goal. TMPM is goated.

  33. Benjamin Whelan

    5 stars
    Adding Rating.

  34. Basil

    5 stars
    Its actually pretty good! I use brown rice instead of white and lessen the hot sauce and honey and its still pretty good! Thank you!

  35. James Joens

    5 stars
    Huge hit my home

  36. Elcee

    this looks amazin! i’d like to try this recipe, but i can’t handle spice too well. any alternative/suggestions for the sauce?!

  37. Janelle

    5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Used Siracha as my hot sauce because that is what I had on hand. Moving this into our dinner rotation!

  38. Stacey

    5 stars
    Wow! Trying to get back into meal prep and working out since having my son in January and this recipe gives me all the inspo! Delicious and easy – appreciate your hard work!

  39. Steven

    5 stars
    How many calories do they have separate have.I’m using a different kind of rice

  40. Conor Omecinski

    Any suggestions for calculating the macros if you substitute for the rice?

  41. Lord Karl Burnett

    5 stars
    Had this tonight, Healthy food has no right to taste this good!

  42. Brandon Hamilton

    5 stars
    Will definitely make this again! Great flavors and the sprouts worked very well with everything!

  43. Stacey

    5 stars
    Are you going to create a weight loss version of the recipe?

  44. Steven

    5 stars
    How many calories are in the beef side and the rice side. I know it totals up to 620cal but I’m using a different rice. Thank you

  45. Timothy Lowther

    5 stars
    Just had this today and it was great. It was filling, had decent calories, and had great flavor! Been struggling with my eating behaviors for a long time but these recipes are helping me fix that.

    1. Ethan

      5 stars
      Love the recipe but it definitely takes me more like 45 min to prep. I’m probably just bad tho

  46. Marc

    I made this with turkey breast mince and added some mushroom with the onion + peppers (just because I had some to use up). It’s really tasty. The tip with browning the mince before breaking it up really makes a difference!

  47. Yolanda Silva

    5 stars
    This was one of the first recipes I tried and it was the one that got me to try all your other fantastic meals. Thank you

  48. Josh Wiley

    5 stars
    Absolutely Fantastic recipe. I’ve tried a few of your dishes and I gotta say you outdid yourself on this one. I also really enjoyed the white chicken enchilada casserole recipe. I substituted Cholula for Frank’s but otherwise followed the recipe and man was it good! Thanks for sharing these with us.

  49. Chris Macier

    2 stars
    Not a fan on this one. Waited to write this review after 4 days into eating this recipe. It’s an odd recipe to start with. Asian style sounding recipe with a sauce that has some asian flare but then poblano peppers and Brussel sprouts? I thought it sounded strange but I wanted to try it. It’s weird. Also try not to break up your ground beef too much when browning it. Might make the meal a little more pleasant than eating sweet ground beef bits.

  50. Glen Brackett

    5 stars
    It was great! Submitted bison for for the beef, sort of scaled in back to servings for 3. Ended up with the serving I ate, plus serving left overs. Definitely will be adding it to my regular/recurring menu.

  51. Jen Robbins

    5 stars
    Have to leave out the brussel sprouts due to taste preference (and should sub in some other veggie but so far haven’t, oops) but either way this is one of my husband’s favs in his lunch rotation.

  52. virtuveslyga

    Swapped beef for ground turkey and it is fabulous, the rather simple sauce, gives a really great overall taste. My girlfriend titled this my best-tasting meal to date. Took me exactly 1 hour to get it prepped and into my stomach – perfect while working from home!

  53. virtuveslyga

    5 stars
    Forgot to rate.. This is a 5 star contender my friends.

  54. Brian Weatherall

    5 stars
    The recipe that got me into meal prep! It is absolutely amazing, delicious, and nutritious.

  55. Dylan

    5 stars
    Can’t stop making this! your videos got me to try meal prepping for the first time and now I’ve been cooking only once a week! Keep up the great work and thanks fir making so much great material available for free. It’s appreciated by many!

  56. fatandy

    4 stars
    Just another delicious recipe, in my rotation, and was the first I made from your site. The honey and hot sauce slurly just makes for great contrasting flavors. If you dont like brussels, this might not be the one for you, but if you do, the crispy, air fryer toasted flavor along with the honey heat… It is top notch!

  57. Christine Kaplanis

    5 stars
    Doubled this recipe and it was gone in 3 days. Never in a million years thought my family would eat brussel sprouts-but they did! This was sooooo good! Printing it off and laminating it! Thank you so much!

  58. Anthony Falbo

    5 stars
    5/5 for a reason; Beef, Vegetables, and it’s delicious.
    In 2022 I made this dish over six times. I also used this to make for some friends who were on the fence with TMPM.

  59. Bilal Shaheed

    5 stars
    one of your best. i sub the veg for green beans or broccoli when i cant fint brussels.

  60. Richard Zandian

    5 stars
    I honestly started chopping up the beef too soon and lost a lot of the fond, but it was still delicious. Super easy to make as well.

    In the future I might replace Franks for a watered down sriracha, or something with a different flavor but similar consistency. I just don’t like Frank’s red hot that much, but if it makes this taste THIS good, I can’t imagine how amazing it would be with a hot sauce I personally love (Gringo Bandito, anyone?)

  61. Travis

    5 stars
    Love this recipe with ground chicken and old bay hot sauce

  62. Sean

    5 stars
    Delicious but is there anything I could do to stop my rice going dry after the first few days in the fridge

  63. Vicente

    5 stars
    Just made it for the 3rd time. Keep up the good work buddy!😎

  64. Matthew Barranca

    My favorite recipe of yours! I’ve made it so many times for a weekly lunch meal prep and have made it for dinner as well.

  65. Peter

    5 stars
    This is so easy to make and I have made it plenty of times. 5 stars baby!!!

  66. Dani

    5 stars
    I keep coming back to this recipe over and over. One of the tastiest things I’ve ever had.

  67. Morgan Davis

    5 stars
    So good.

  68. Daryl McCollum

    5 stars
    My favourite recipe on here so far. 5/5. No notes.

  69. Tyler Ganley

    I want to be able to make this recipe for bulking. Why is this option on some recipes and not others?

  70. Michael Fuentes

    Lost count of how many times I’ve made this

  71. Kalleigh

    My fiance loves this! Can we freeze this? He wants to use it as meal prep

  72. Lexi Walker

    5 stars
    My favorite go to meal. Easy to make, slightly spicy, and extremely yummy!

  73. Richard Rivera

    5 stars
    I really like the sweet and spiciness that this dish has. Between the poblano peppers and the hot sauce, there’s heat from different directions. And I really appreciate the brussels being cooked in the air fryer. Huge time saver.

  74. Kyle

    5 stars
    Spicy and delicious! Would definitely try this one again.

  75. Jenna Santti

    5 stars
    Love the little spice to this recipe

4.75 from 208 votes (148 ratings without comment)

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