Preheat the oven to 425 F. Generously grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Trim the Brussels sprouts by cutting off the bottom stem and removing any loose outer leaves.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts and boil for about 8 minutes, until soft enough for a fork to pierce through by pushing hard. They shouldn’t be soft enough that the fork goes through super easily (if this was pasta, we’d want it almost al dente!).

Add the Brussels sprouts to a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Using a towel, dry them well.

Add the Brussels sprouts to a bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, and 3/4 cup of the parmesan cheese.

Place the Brussels sprouts on the baking sheet and spread them evenly apart. Using the bottom of a mason jar, smash the Brussels sprouts well. It’s helpful to place them stem up and smash the stem.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Optional: halfway through cooking, you can use a fork to gently smash the sprouts more and add a little more parmesan cheese.

Top with extra parmesan cheese and serve with dip of choice.