Plant Based Cooking Fundamentals — How to Roast Vegetables
Plant based, vegan, and vegetarian cooking basics — roasting vegetables
Roasting is a great cooking method for preparing vegetables. Roasting results in a vegetable that is tender inside with a crispy, caramelized outside. It’s relatively quick in that you spend a few minutes preparing the vegetables by cutting them and seasoning them, and then you can let the high heat of the oven do the rest of the work with very little extra involvement on your end. A little bit of stirring halfway through, and you’re back to letting the oven take care of business. Mastering the ability to roast something in the oven is a great skill to have in the kitchen. And to make it even better, it’s a pretty easy one to do!
How to roast vegetables–What are the steps to roast vegetables
Preheat oven to 425F
While the oven is preheating, cut produce into relatively even sized pieces. The more uniform the pieces, the more evenly they will cook.
Place the cut vegetables on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet.
Drizzle 1-2 tbsp of oil over the veggies and sprinkle with desired spices.
Using your hands, mix the vegetables on the tray to evenly coat them in the oil and spices. If you have a lot of vegetables and they seem dry, drizzle a bit more oil to ensure the vegetables are lightly coated.
Place the tray in the oven and roast at 425 for 25-35 minutes, turning them once around the halfway point of roasting (around 15 minutes).
Pull the veggies from the oven when they are done to your liking (see below).
What temperature is best for roasting vegetables
Your oven needs to be hot. Maybe hotter than you think. When roasting vegetables, you want your oven set to at least 400F, but you can certainly go higher up to 450F or more. 425F seems to be a good middle ground for most ovens. Some ovens may run hot, while others don’t quite get to the set temperature. If you notice your veggies aren’t cooking quickly enough or getting crispy enough, turning it up in 25 degree increments the next time you go to roast veggies is a good start.
How long should I roast my veggies?
A good rule of thumb for roasting vegetables is to roast them in the oven for somewhere between 25 and 35 minutes, but you may need more or less time. It all depends on how hot your individual oven runs, the type of vegetables you are cooking, and the size of the pieces you are roasting.
A little over halfway through the cooking time, at about the 15-20 minute mark, you’re going to want to stir the veggies and flip them around. Ideally, most of them will get turned or moved around so a new side of the veggie is touching the pan. A benefit of roasting veggies is the caramelized, crispiness that comes along with this form of cooking. To achieve this, you want to allow the veggies enough time on the pan surface to start to get browned. This is why you’ll want to wait a little over halfway into the cooking time, as it allows that first side to start to get browned. If you flip them too soon before they get crispy, they also may be more likely to stick to the pan.
How do you know when your veggies are done? A big part of cooking is using your senses. So start with the 25 minute rule of thumb, and go from there. At 25 minutes, open the oven. Do they look brown enough? When you scoot them around on the pan, do they feel crispy enough? If you poke one of the veggies with a fork, is it tender enough on the inside? Determining when to pull your roasted veggies from the oven at this point is a lot about personal preference. If you like them crispier, keep them in the oven for a few more minutes and repeat the process of checking on them. If you like them the way they are, pull them out. If you prefer them less crispy, well, next time move your benchmark to check on them to 20 minutes instead of 25 (sorry, unfortunately, there’s really no going back this time around).
Know that some vegetables will take longer to roast than others. Oftentimes, you may see recipes call for adding the veggies to the tray at different times. In my opinion, for everyday home cooking purposes, 99.9% of the time, you can add all the veggies to the tray and get away with roasting them all at the same time without worrying about it. Some of the vegetables may end up slightly crispier, but for the most part they will cook up perfectly fine.
If, however, you prefer your vegetables perfectly uniform in terms of tenderness on the inside and browned, crispiness on the outside, feel free to add them to the oven based on cooking time. Here you can keep in mind that harder vegetables such as potatoes will take longer to cook than more tender vegetables such as zucchini or cherry tomatoes. Give the harder vegetables a head start in the oven and add in the softer vegetables a bit later in the process.
Should I cover my vegetables when roasting?
There is no need to cover vegetables when roasting. Covering the veggies will trap some of the steam and moisture that is naturally escaping during the cooking process and you won’t end up getting as much of the crispy, caramelized bits of the vegetable that occur when you roast without a covering.
How do you roast vegetables so they don’t get soggy?
There are a few steps you can take to ensure the vegetables don’t get soggy during roasting. First, you want the oven to be hot enough. It should be at least 400F, but up to 450F is good.
Secondly, you want to make sure the veggies are not too crowded on the tray. Evenly spread them in a single layer so they are not overlapping. A little overlapping is okay, but a heavily crowded tray is not good. If the veggies are overcrowded on the baking sheet, moisture won’t be able to escape as easily, and you won’t get the crispy roasted flavor and texture you’re looking for.
How much oil do you use when roasting vegetables?
You want the vegetables to be evenly coated, lightly glistening with oil, but you don’t want so much oil that it’s pooling at the bottom of the pan. Depending on how many veggies you have, 1-2 tablespoons of oil is usually sufficient, but use your judgment based on how they look once you’ve added the oil and mixed them all around. If they’re evenly coated, you’re good to go. If they look a little dry, add another small splash of oil, mix them around, and go from there.
Sometimes I like to use half oil, half vinegar when I roast. Again, use enough of each so that the vegetables are evenly coated with minimal pooling on the tray below.
What is the best oil for roasting vegetables?
The best oil for roasting is one with a higher smoke point. This could be canola oil, avocado oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil. Avocado oil is great as it has one of the highest smoke points and also a very neutral flavor. On the downsides though, it’s rather expensive compared to something like canola oil.
You’ll often see olive oil in recipes or suggested for roasting. I’m not going to lie and say I never use olive oil when roasting, but it does have a lower smoke point and in terms of both health and function, it’s better to use one of the oils listed above that has a higher smoke point.
Why are low smoke point oils bad for roasting? When an oil reaches its smoke point and starts to, well, smoke, it means the fats in the oil are beginning to break down. This can create unpleasant or undesired flavors and also begins to compromise some of the beneficial components of the oils.
What seasonings should I use for roasting vegetables?
This is pretty limitless. A typical and basic go-to may be salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. You can base your seasonings on what type of dish you’re trying to make. Feel free to use some premade seasoning blends, or combine spices to make your own. Some good, basic flavor combinations for roasted vegetables include:
Garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt
Garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and salt
Lemon zest/juice, salt, and pepper
Should I parboil vegetables before roasting?
Nope! There is no need to parboil fresh vegetables before roasting. The heat from the oven will take care of cooking the vegetables.
Can you roast frozen vegetables?
You certainly can roast frozen vegetables, but they likely will not end up as crispy as when you use raw veggies. Frozen vegetables are both a nutritious and often economical way to purchase produce, making them a great option overall. In terms of nutrition, frozen fruits and vegetables are frozen at their peak of ripeness, meaning their nutritional profile is also at its peak.
Additionally, frozen vegetables are often a great economical choice, as you can stock up on them when they go on sale. You also don’t have to worry about them going bad in the fridge or getting wilted before you can use them as you may with fresh produce. So you can save both up front costs as well as by reducing potential food waste, too.
The problem with roasting frozen vegetables, however, is that the moisture that is naturally trapped in vegetables when they are frozen will melt, create a lot of steam, and the vegetables likely will not get as crisp in the oven. This is perfectly okay as the veggies will still cook up and be quite tasty, they probably just won’t get as much of the caramelized crispiness that you’re expecting from a roasted veggie.
My suggestion if you do decide to roast frozen vegetables is to go high with the heat. This will help the moisture evaporate as quickly as possible and you’ll hopefully get at least some caramelization.
Why do my roasted vegetables burn?
There are a few possibilities here. Maybe your oven heat is too high and your vegetables are burning before they are fully cooked through. In this case, reduce the temperature of your oven by 25-50 degrees and see if that helps.
It’s also possible that you may need a bit more oil on your veggies. Using enough oil will allow them to cook through before they get overly burned. You want enough to lightly, evenly coat your vegetables without there being too much oil pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Using parchment paper may also help. Roasting on foil or just the pan will make your veggies brown faster. If you line the pan with parchment, this will help delay the browning while allowing your veggies to cook throughout, and hopefully prevent them from burning.