Whether you love them or hate them - or even love to hate them - brussel sprouts are a Christmas dinner table staple.

But the green, slightly smelly veg, can have a bland flavour when cooked alone and they can lack some much-needed lustre.

Inject some life into your sprouts with these tasty recipe ideas - find dishes cooked with pancetta, cranberry sauce and even a crumble twist.

Pan-fried sprouts with diced pancetta

Recipe by Morrisons

Ingredients:

140g bacon lardons

2 tbsp light olive oil

2 kg sprouts, trimmed and halved

3 tbsp cranberry sauce

Method:

  1. Heat a large non-stick frying pan and add the pancetta. Dry-fry for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. Add the oil to the pan with the halved sprouts and season. Stir-fry over a medium high heat for 7-8 minutes, stir in the cranberry sauce and cook until it melts and coats the sprouts evenly.

  3. Spoon into a warmed serving dish and scatter with the cooked diced pancetta.

Roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

Recipe by Haywards

Ingredients:

8 onions halved from a jar of Haywards Strong & Zingy Traditional Onions

600g sprouts

150g smoked bacon lardons

150g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Cook the bacon lardons in a dry non-stick frying pan over a low heat and cook for 7-10 minutes until their fat has melted and they are golden. Lift the lardons out of the pan and drain on kitchen roll.
  2. Raise the heat to medium, add the onions to the bacon fat remaining in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until just starting to colour.
  3. Meanwhile put a large pan of water on to boil. Add the sprouts and cook for 3 minutes then drain. Add the sprouts to the frying pan with the onions, cooked bacon lardons and chestnuts. Cook for 2-3 minutes to heat through, then serve.
Sprouts with Thyme Crumble

Recipe by Aldi

Ingredients:

600g sprouts

30g salted butter

30g Specially Selected Parmigiano cheese

50g plain flour

3g fresh thyme – chopped

1 tsp Stonemills paprika

2 cloves garlic – peeled and minced

Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Trim and wash the sprouts.
  3. Cook in some salted boiling water for 3 minutes – drain well.
  4. Grate the Parmigiano cheese and the butter.
  5. Add the butter, cheese, thyme, garlic and the flour together, season with some black pepper and the paprika – rub the mixture together with your fingers.
  6. Put the sprouts into an oven proof dish – sprinkle over the crumble and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.