Learn how to quickly and easily roast vegetables in the oven. The result is a tender, caramelized, delicious vegetable side dish perfect to serve in salads or alongside your favorite meat.
Roasting vegetables in olive oil and garlic gives them a delicious depth of flavor. And this recipe is amazingly easy to prepare. I used broccoli, cauliflower, and red pepper, but you could add onion, beans, peas, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, squash, or tomatoes. Anything that is growing in your garden is a great candidate for roasting.
Oven roasting does involve heating the oven. But, if you have a toaster oven, you may be able to swing this without turning on the Big Kahuna. Another alternative is to do the roasting in the morning or late at night when the temps are cooler.
Roasted vegetables are delicious cold or at room temperature. They make a great side dish, but are also delicious stirred into pasta salads or topping simply dressed greens.
Over the last six weeks since our trip to Santa Barbara, I’ve made this dish at least a handful of times. It’s simple, tasty, and cheap to make. What’s not to love?
Bonus points: you can make it with whatever vegetables you have on hand!
My friend Jessika (with a K) gets the credit for this recipe. We stayed with her and her family back in December. We missed the dinner where she served this; we were visiting with the grandparents. But, we arrived just as her family was finishing up supper. I’m so glad we did!
The aroma was amazing. I wanted to eat a second dinner, it all looked so delicious. I ended up texting her a day or two later so that I could recreate it at home. I’ve been experimenting with it every since.
I really can’t say enough good things about this dish. I cooked it up AFTER lunch one day this weekend so that I could take pictures. I left it on the counter, and my people devoured it. As a snack.
‘Nuf said?
As I mentioned, this recipe is very versatile. It’s like a non-recipe. Or an all-purpose recipe. Or a super hero recipe. You decide.
Chop up whatever veg you have on hand: I’ve done this with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, green beans, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. Did I forget anyone?
Toss the veg with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs. I’ve listed options below, but really, go with your gut. Or what you have on hand. Or what’s cheapest.
You can serve this as the main dish or as a hearty side dish. My kids insist they need a little meat. They particularly remember the time I served it with sausages. Sausages and mushrooms and potatoes, those little hobbits. For the curious, I make double this amount for our family of 8, and there’s rarely any left over.
Watch this video to see how EASY it is to roast vegetables in the oven:
Recipe: Roast Vegetables
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped, mixed vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, green beans, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, and zucchini
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt, to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoons dried herbs, such as basil, dill, herbes de Provence, Italian herb blend, tarragon, or thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray a glass, 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or line a baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetables with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs.
- Transfer the vegetables to the prepared pan and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and slightly browned on the edges. (The timing will differ depending on what kinds of vegetables you use. If you just use broccoli, it will be done in a much shorter time.)
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 45 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
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Yum! My kids love roasted broccoli topped with shredded Parmesan. They always argue who gets the crunchy cheese pieces that stick to the pan. Delish! I make these on a cookie sheet with coconut oil at 425 for 10 minutes, toss, and 400 for another 10-20, depending on doneness.
I’m not a veggie eater myself, but hubby would love this. What be the best way to make this freezer friendly? Chopping the veggies and freezing them in portion sizes and then cooking? I know potatoes don’t freeze well…do mushrooms (he loves mushrooms!)?
I don’t think I would freeze this, unless there were a few leftovers. Then, I might test it on that.
I’m still am amateur with coming up with creative ideas for veggies,and this looks so good! I have a question – What do you think about how well brussel sprouts would go with this combo (cut in half, of course)? I’ve roasted them but never mixed them with anything else. Maybe with potatoes/carrots/onions and possibly some squash?
I make roasted veggies twice a week, and I include brussel sprouts when they are on sale – they are fantastic roasted in a little olive oil and salt & pepper- I also roast asparagus spears and eggplant along with the other veggies, and LOTS of sliced garlic ~ Enjoy
I think that sounds awesome! I rarely get brussels sprouts in the box, but I would totally do that.
I LOVE to roast veggies! You forgot two of my favorite to roast: bell peppers and tomatoes. OH YUM when you add both of these to the roasted veggie mix. I love to eat the veggies straight, or tossed with whole wheat couscous, or pasta. If you let it get to room temp, it can even make a nice pasta salad. I often roast veggies when I have a little of this or a little of that left. As long as I have a bell pepper, some mushrooms and a red onion (or half, like I did last week.. you don’t need tons of onion), I add whatever else I’ve got sitting around. Last week’s version had green bell pepper, mushrooms, red onion, tomato, and carrots. I was getting pretty low in the fresh veggies dept. and it was the perfect remedy.
Leftovers go well in omelets or tarts, too.
Perfect post! I am currently boiling 5lbs of chicken thighs to have the shredded chicken plus am making stock at the same time too. Was debating what to make for dinner. Now I know. Shredded chicken and roasted veggies!
If you have it with sausage, do you toss that in the 9×13 w/ the veggies, too? Whole or cut up? I picked up some great chicken sausage at Sprouts last week.
I can’t remember, but I think I just panfried the sausages. I might have done them in a separate pan in the oven, though. My kids want that again. 🙂
I love roasted veggies! I haven’t been to th grocery store for veg yet, and am down to carrots and green beans- I know it won’t have the same thrill as I get with all the veggies – but I’m hoping with enough seasoning it will be yummy. 🙂
Sounds like a great combo!
Jessica, you have to try this variation! I tossed a can of chickpeas in with my vegetables to roast tonight. The roasted beans had a nutty flavor and added a nice crunch to the dish. I served the vegetables and beans with some chicken gravy as our complete meal. My hubby often eats without comment (but not without appreciation), but tonight he told me how good it was, highlighting the chickpeas. Maybe that was because roasted vegetables are not new here, but the chickpeas were; I don’t know.
You are the second person to mention the chickpeas, so I’m going to have to try it. Thanks for the rec!
This sounds so good! I have some frozen squash and zucchini from our garden. Do you think they would work in this recipe?
I am not sure. Did you blanch them before you froze them?
Hmmm….no I didn’t.
I’m not sure. I’ve never done squash or zucchini except for baking. What do you normally do with them?
We usually do fried squash, but since I had so many this summer,I froze them. Other people say you can bake with them, but not fry them. I haven’t found anything to do with them yet. I just wonder if they’ll be squishy. 😛
I make this all the time with whatever I have on hand. I put mine on a very well seasoned stone and it tastes amazing that way….I wish I had 2 ovens so that I can make 2 batches at a time. I can never make enough…my family eats it all, no matter how much I make.
That looks amazing, and so much like what my husband makes for my Saturday breakfast, except that he fries it in a pan. I have a lot of food allergies and am hypoglycemic, so he started making something like this for me because I couldn’t eat the yummy eggs and waffles/pancakes he was making for the rest of the family, and he wanted to make something tasty for me dealing my dreary allergy diet. In fact, it was so good, he started making it for the whole family! He also adds meat, since I need to have a protein at every meal.
This looks fabulous! I’ve been looking for some variation for our favorite chicken sausage!
My son made a big batch of this this week and it was super good with sauteed chicken tenders and quinoa.
Any recommendations for taking this to a potluck? I’ve only ever eaten it straight out of the oven.
Same here. I’d be tempted to undercook the veggies just a tad and then keep warm/keep cooking in the slow cooker.