Deliciously crisp and caramelised roasted parsnips, carrots, red onions and sweet potatoes – all roasted on one tray. Maximum taste, minimum fuss, healthy and frugal… and only one tray to wash, makes my Easy Peasy Roasted Root Vegetables THE BEST side dish! Perfect with roast dinner favourites, including roast chicken, salmon or nut roast.
Sunday lunch simplified!
To say I am a little bit obsessed with this recipe right now would be an understatement. This dish has single-handedly revolutionised the traditional Sunday roast for me. No more juggling multiple pots and pans on the stove, while simultaneously attending to trays of roast potatoes and roast parsnips in the oven… I just bung my chopped root veggies onto a tray and leave the oven to do all the hard work! It makes for a much more chilled out Sunday lunchtime, much less washing up and I actually prefer this simple vegetable traybake to the more traditional (and labour intensive) roast dinner sides!
Minimal prep, maximum taste…
This Easy Peasy Roasted Root Vegetables recipe really is the ultimate easy prep, minimal fuss side dish… Simply chop parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes into bitesize chunks and place on a large roasting tray. Drizzle over a little olive oil and scatter with salt, pepper and herbs. Toss well to get the veggies well-coated in the oil and seasonings, then spread the veggies out so they are well spaced. (Too close and the veggies will steam and go soggy rather than roast and go crispy and caramelised – which is what you want!)
Roast for 20 minutes, then turn the veggies and add in some red onion wedges. Roast for a further 20 minutes, or until the veggies are fully cooked and have a nice amount of caramelisation on the edges, and serve!
What to serve with roasted root vegetables?
My favourite way of serving these deliciously easy roasted root vegetables is with a roast chicken. I cook the roast chicken as per this recipe, then 50 minutes before the end of the chicken cooking time I prep this roasted vegetable dish and pop it into the oven where it cooks at exactly the same temperature as the chicken and is done at exactly the same time. This means instead of juggling multiple pans on the hob, I can just steam a green vegetable or two (totally optional!) and make a pan of simple chicken gravy (definitely not optional in our house!) and you have a wonderful roast chicken dinner with zero stress.
But this fab roasted root vegetable dish would go equally well with most roast meats, as well as fish (especially salmon) and even a vegetarian alternative like nut roast.
A healthier take on the traditional roast
Because this recipe uses sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and olive oil instead of meat fat to roast them in, it makes for a slightly healthier twist on the traditional ‘meat and two veg’ style roast dinner. Leaving the skins on the carrots and sweet potatoes also means you get extra goodness, as many of their nutrients can be found in the skins!
And only one pan to wash up!
I love this dish for so many reasons, but perhaps my number one is how much less washing up there is, compared to when I make a more traditional style roast dinner. A traditional roast dinner usually uses a couple of roasting trays AND a whole bunch of saucepans, but this simple side dish only needs one roasting tray!
Can you reheat roasted root vegetables?
Yes you can, but I will warn you now, they will not be quite as good texture-wise as the freshly roasted version… They are still pretty good, though! To reheat, simply pre-heat your oven to 220C (200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F) and roast for 10 minutes or until the root vegetables are piping hot all the way through. Do not be tempted to use a microwave to reheat these roasted roots, however – the texture will be all wrong!
Can you freeze roasted root vegetables?
You can, but honestly, when you reheat them, the texture will not be great (far too soft!) My best recommendation here is to chuck any leftover roasted root veggies into your blender, along with some leftover gravy / meat juices and a little water to create a wonderful roasted root vegetable soup – then freeze that in individual portion sizes, for super easy peasy midweek meals!
Defrost the soup overnight and reheat in a pan / your microwave until piping hot, then serve with some lovely crusty bread… or do what I do and make a batch of these Easy Soda Bread Rolls to stash in the freezer too!
If you like this recipe…
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Easy Peasy Roasted Root Vegetables
Ingredients
- 400 g sweet potatoes cut into large chunks (leave the skin on!)
- 400 g parsnips peeled and cut into large chunks
- 400 g carrots cut into large chunks (leave the skin on!)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 sprigs thyme (and/or rosemary) roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste see note
- 2 small red onions each one peeled and cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Place the chopped sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots on a large roasting tray. Drizzle over the olive oil and scatter with the salt, pepper and herbs.
- Toss thoroughly to get the veggies well-coated in the oil and seasonings, then spread the veggies out so they are well spaced. (Too close and the veggies will steam and go soggy rather than roast and go crispy and caramelised – which is what you want!)
- Roast for 20 minutes in your pre-heated oven, then turn the veggies and add in the red onion wedges. Take care to ensure the veggies are well spaced out again.
- Roast for a further 20 minutes, or until the veggies are cooked all the way through and have a nice amount of caramelisation on the edges.
- Serve as a side dish to roasted meats, fish or nut roast.
Video
Notes
- I recommend leaving the skins on your carrots and sweet potatoes for maximum flavour and nutrition. But feel free to peel them if you prefer.
- I recommend about 10 to 15 twists of black pepper and ½ to 1 tablespoon of salt, depending on your preferences. If you love salt then I recommend using coarse sea salt, as you will get these wonderful little ‘pops’ of salt that – IMHO – take this dish to the next level!
- Not suitable for freezing. (See above for my tip on turning leftovers into freezer-friendly soup!)
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Linkies
I am linking this up to Cook Blog Share.
Choclette says
I’m all for fuss free and less washing up. Sometimes simple is best and your easy roasted veg look delicious.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Choclette 😀 I totally agree! Eb 🙂
Corina Blum says
This looks delicious! I love roasted vegetables and especially at this time of year they are a lovely change from salads. I quite often roast a big tray of veggies like these to go with something in the hope that I’ll also have leftovers for another meal but rarely do – they are so good!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Corina! Eb 🙂
Janice says
I love a good big tray of roast veg and it has to be the easiest way to cook a variety of different ones together. Lovely recipe, thanks.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Janice – yes, I totally agree! Eb 🙂
Helen says
It looks so gorgeous and colourful, and I love how easy it is! Easier to serve too – one spoonful and you’re good to go, instead of a bit of this and a bit of that. Fab!
Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Helen!
Melissa Altman-Traub says
I like how you included onions in this for more flavors. Parsnips are so good too and i I see them in the store so rarely – looks great!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Melissa – so glad you like it! Eb 🙂
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
I love roasted vegetables and am always keen on less washing up! Such a tasty recipe.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Cat! Eb 🙂
Nickki says
I love roasted veg – I think it’s such an underrated dish! So easy to make as well!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Nickki! Oh I totally agree about it being underrated… But it really shouldn’t be as it’s so quick and easy and roasting veg just really concentrates the flavours and makes everything taste so much better! 😀