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How To Roast All Your Favorite Vegetables To Bring Out Their Best

Raw is blah.

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roasted parsnips
Parker Feierbach

No matter how confident you are in the kitchen, take it from the experts: It’s always good to have a guide, something you can reference whether you’re making a low-key weeknight dinner or something for a special occasion. For roasting vegetables, THIS is that guide. We’ve collected our top 25 roasted vegetable recipes so you’ll never have to wonder, “was it 400° or 425°?” or "does this need to be peeled?" ever again. Serve them as simple sides, or use them as stepping stones for more elaborate dishes.

Our current food system means you can find almost any vegetable you desire all year-round; however, not only does produce in season taste better, we kind of like feeling the seasons changing both by the weather outside and by what vegetables we turn to in our kitchens. When it’s cold out, root vegetables, like parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes, and squash, like butternut, acorn, or kabocha, reign supreme. Beets, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage are also lovely for roasting in the cooler months. Be warned: These heartier vegetables do take a bit longer in the oven, so prepare ahead.

As the weather starts to get warmer, we look forward to swapping out those winter vegetables for more delicate ones, like asparagus, artichokes, tomatoes, and zucchini. These bake much faster, which is great for when you’re craving a little crispy char but don’t want to have the oven on for too long. Garlic, potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower are largely available year-round, so we’re roasting them whenever the craving strikes.

Want more vegetable inspiration? Check out our top vegetable side dishes, our favorite vegan recipes, and our best vegetable soups too.

1

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

food, cuisine, dish, ingredient, vegan nutrition, produce, crouton, recipe, butternut squash, vegetarian food,
Parker Feierbach

Sweet potatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen: They're amazing boiled, baked, sautéed, and fried (we love you, sweet potato fries). One of the easiest and most useful ways to cook sweet potatoes is to roast them. For perfect roasted sweet potatoes every time, abide by our simple rules.

Get the Perfect Roasted Sweet Potatoes recipe.

2

Roasted Red Potatoes

roasted red potatoes
Parker Feierbach

The tricks to roasting these potatoes are cooking at a high temp, making sure they're cut side down, and taking extra care to not overcrowd your pan. If this sounds like a lot, do it ahead of time! Simply give 'em a few minutes in the oven day-of to get them hot and crispy again.

Get the Roasted Red Potatoes recipe.

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3

Roasted Parsnips

roasted parsnips
Parker Feierbach

Looking for a simple side dish to make this Thanksgiving? Parsnips don't get nearly the attention they deserve, but that ends now. Roasting them makes them slightly sweet and perfectly tender for a quick side dish you might just love more than the holiday turkey or ham.

Get the Roasted Parsnips recipe.

4

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

roasted brussels sprouts
Ethan Calabrese

One of the best ways to prepare Brussels sprouts is to roast them. It’s super-easy: Toss the sprouts in a little olive oil, spread them on a baking sheet, and throw them in the oven to hang out for 30 minutes. The oven’s high dry heat will bring out all those delicious nutty flavors, rendering the sprouts soft and tender in the middle and leaving the outer leaves crispy and delicious.

Get the Roasted Brussels Sprouts recipe.

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5

Roasted Butternut Squash

roasted butternut squash
Ethan Calabrese

Butternut squash is a fall staple. The deep orange squash is very versatile and works well as roasted butternut squash soup, as a bacon butternut squash side, or is pretty perfect on its own, simply roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper (hot tip: get your oven SUPER-hot for best results).

Get the Roasted Butternut Squash recipe.

6

Roasted Cauliflower

closeup of roasted cauliflower
ANDREW BUI

Cauliflower is one of our favorites to roast because, flavor-wise, it's very much a blank canvas. You can keep it simple with just salt and pepper or go nuts with a custom spice blend. Our recipe adds just a touch of color and zesty flavor with Old Bay seasoning, but feel free to get creative.

Get the Roasted Cauliflower recipe.

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7

Roasted Garlic

roast garlic
Parker Feierbach

Insanely creamy and with a punch of umami that will instantly upgrade any meal, you can add roasted garlic to almost anything savory—fall soups, mashed potatoes, salad dressings, hummus... Or you can simply spread some on toast, like the most flavorful butter EVER.

Get the Roasted Garlic recipe.

8

Garlic Butter Mushrooms

garlic butter mushrooms
Parker Feierbach

These are INSANELY delicious! If you can't find cremini mushrooms, look for baby bellas or button mushrooms—they're essentially the same thing and will work just as well here.

Get the Garlic Butter Mushrooms recipe.

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9

Whole Roasted Cabbage

whole roasted cabbage
Joel Goldberg

This gorgeous, whole-roasted stunner is the perfect holiday substitute for vegetarians. It's savory, sweet, and salty on the outside and super-tender on the inside. Topped with lots of silky mushroom gravy, we doubt anyone at your table will be missing meat.

Get the Whole Roasted Cabbage recipe.

10

Roasted Beets

Red, Beetroot, Food, Petal, Beet, Vegetable, Root vegetable, Cuisine, Plant, Dish,
Parker Feierbach

Not only are beets naturally gorgeous, they're also full of the good stuff like potassium, iron, and fiber. They couldn't be easier to prepare. Though they take longer to cook in the oven than most vegetables, there's almost no prep, which leaves you with more time to work on getting the rest of dinner ready.

Get the How To Roast Beets recipe.

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11

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

garlic smashed potatoes delishcom
ETHAN CALABRESE

Unlike mashed potatoes where you're going for a creamy consistency, smashed potatoes get tossed with some olive oil and herbs, then smashed into thin patties and roasted until crispy. This recipe is all about the technique, but the flavor profile is infinitely adaptable. You can top them with bacon and cheddar, ranch seasoning, or even BRIE.

Get the Garlic Smashed Potatoes recipe.

12

Oven-Roasted Carrots

roasted carrots
ETHAN CALABRESE

This simple recipe is the most versatile side dish, and it's impossible to mess up. Toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread in an even layer on a large sheet tray. (Feel free to throw in any of your favorite herbs or spices as well!)

Get the Oven-Roasted Carrots recipe.

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13

Holiday Roasted Vegetables

roasted vegetable medley
Parker Feierbach

The dried cranberries and balsamic vinegar add some sweetness and tartness, while the pecans add an extra crunch to these holiday-worthy roasted vegetables. We use Brussels sprouts and carrots, but feel free to add extra vegetables or swap in some of your favorites.

Get the Holiday Roasted Vegetables recipe.

14

Delicata Squash

delicata squash
Parker feierbach

Delicata squash is a winter squash that doesn't get enough attention. Its small size makes it much easier to handle than other squashes, like butternut or pumpkin, and it cooks much faster. When roasted, the squash gets creamy and sweet, and we can't get over how cute the flower-shaped slices are.

Get the Delicata Squash recipe.

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15

Roasted Broccolini

roasted broccolini
Parker Feierbach

Roasting vegetables makes them the best version of themselves, and roasted broccolini is no exception. Abide by our top tips for the best broccolini ever—clean your stalks, don't overcrowd the baking sheet, and use a HOT (425°) oven.

Get the Roasted Broccolini recipe.

16

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Cauliflower

balsamic glazed roasted cauliflower
Parker Feierbach

A whole roasted cauliflower makes for a fantastic vegetarian main dish. This one is roasted around extra veggies and has a slightly sweet balsamic glaze over it. It's easy to throw together and will leave you feeling full, not heavy. Win!

Get the Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Cauliflower recipe.

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17

Roasted Turnips

roasted turnips
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Turnips, much like radishes and parsnips, turn irresistibly sweet when roasted. This recipe is for purple-top turnips, which tend to be larger and thicker-skinned than smaller Japanese varieties. If your turnips are small and sweet, you can forgo peeling off the skin and leave them in larger pieces if you like.

Get the Roasted Turnips recipe.

18

Kabocha Squash

kabocha squash

Kabocha squash is an unsung hero of the autumn harvest. Sure, people love apples, pumpkin, and butternut squash, but kabocha has a more complex, nutty flavor than its gourd cousins. This makes it a perfect match for the caramelized umami-sweet flavor of the deceptively simple maple-soy brown butter here.

Get the Kabocha Squash recipe.

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19

Roasted Baby Carrots

balsamic roasted baby carrots
Parker Feierbach

Sweet baby carrots are the perfect match for this tangy balsamic glaze. Fancy enough for a holiday meal, but easy enough for a weeknight dinner, this recipe is endlessly riffable and guaranteed to deliver crisp-tender carrots every time. Be sure to give your veggies plenty of room on your baking sheet for maximum caramelization.

Get the Roasted Baby Carrots recipe.

20

Acorn Squash

how to cook acorn squash
Emily Hlavac Green

Acorn squash can be dressed up either savory or sweet and served as individual halves for the cutest presentation. After roasting, the skin on the squash will be soft and edible, so there's no need to worry about peeling it first (but if you're not a fan, the flesh separates easily from the skin after roasting too).

Get the Acorn Squash recipe.

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