These roasted root vegetables are the perfect side dish to any meal! Flavored with salt and a little ghee for the perfect caramelization, they’re colorful, easy to make, and absolutely delicious.
A few years ago my husband and I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time ever. I wanted everything to be perfect because you know it was our first time hosting, and I’m a bit of an entertaining perfectionist.
We made creamy mashed potatoes, striped delight, and this fun holiday punch to drink. And we decided that instead of the traditional veggies like corn and green beans, we wanted to make some roasted root vegetables instead.
Thank goodness we did because somehow in the middle of the meal the legs on our food table buckled and half our side dishes went flying. Sausage stuffing gone. Honey cornbread gone.
Even the whole tray of chocolate turkey treats hit the floor.
But these root veggies weren’t quite done yet (we put them in late) so even though we lost half the food, we had these guys. And they were so good no one even really noticed that we no longer had any of those other things.
Since that Thanksgiving, making a couple of sheet pans full of roasted veggies has become a Thanksgiving tradition in our house. That and playing these silly Thanksgiving games.
And hopefully after trying this recipe, they’ll become one in yours too! This recipe is super simple to make – it’s really just cutting veggies, adding a little seasoning, and roasting.
We’ve played with the recipe quite a bit and the ghee and salt combination really just gives the perfect amount of caramelization on the veggies. You’re going to love it!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Carrots – we like to use rainbow carrots in this recipe simply to add more color. You can totally use regular orange carrots or whatever color you have.
- Ghee – if you don’t have ghee, you can use butter, but it’s not going to be give you the same level of caramelization. As I mentioned before, we’ve tested this a handful of times with different oils and ghee turns out the best every time.
- Beets – you can use either fresh or pre-cooked beets like Love Beets or Gefen Beets. It makes it way easier and less messy to use the pre-cooked ones. They will be slightly softer than fresh beets once cooked, but they still hold up well!
Tip!
This recipe works with any root vegetables. You can sub out any root vegetables (sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, etc.) for the ones mentioned above. Just peel, cut into 1-inch chunks, and make sure the amount of vegetables you’re using is the same as the recipe indicates or your oil/salt measurements will be off.
How to Make Roasted Root Vegetables
Because this recipe is so simple, each step is really important. I’ve included instructions as well as some of our best tips for getting the best roasted vegetables possile!
1 – Prep Your Veggies
The first and most important part of this recipe is peeling and cutting the vegetables. You want to cut all of your vegetables roughly the same size, into 1-inch chunks. This will help them roast evenly and be done at the same time.
You can also use pre-chopped veggies but if they’re different sizes, make sure to still chop them down to be about the same size.
2 – Prep Your Oil
While you’re cutting the veggies, melt your ghee in a large bowl that can fix all of the vegetables. Our favorite way to do this is to put the ghee in a large oven-safe bowl and put it in a cold oven.
Turn the oven on preheat and as the oven preheats, the ghee will melt nicely. Pull the bowl out when the ghee has melted and don’t forget the oven mitts, the bowl will be hot!
3 – Season Your Veggies
Once the ghee is hot and the veggies are all chopped, all the veggies to your bowl.
Use a spatula to gently toss the veggies in the ghee to make sure they’re completely coated.
Then sprinkle about half the salt on the veggies and stir to mix the salt in.
Sprinkle the remaining salt on the veggies and toss again. You want to make sure that the ghee and salt are as evenly divided among the veggies as possible so you don’t end up with a salty bite here and a bland one there.
4 – Roast the Root Vegetables
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (for easy cleanup!). Then spread the veggies out evenly on the two baking sheets.
You want to make sure they’re in just one layer and spread out nicely so that they have a change to caramelize and crisp up.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes then flip. Put back in the oven and roast for another 20 minutes or until the veggies are caramelized, browned, and tender.
5 – Serve
Taste and add any additional finishing salt as needed. Serve warm with your favorite main dish.
These go great with this almond chicken, Instant Pot fettuccine Alfredo, or even with coconut chicken tenders and Instant Pot basmati rice.
Expert Tips
Cut the veggies all the same size. This will make sure they roast evenly and are done cooking all at the same time.
Space the veggies out as evenly as possible on the baking sheet. Doing so will ensure even cooking and allow for maximum caramelization.
Save time by using pre-cut vegetables. Just make sure to cut them down to the same size as other vegetables when necessary. Or cut your other veggies into larger chunks to match and increase cooking time.
Cook two sheet pans of veggies in the same oven by spacing out the oven racks. Put one in the top third position and one in the bottom third position so that hot air can circulate around the veggies. You may need to add an extra 5-10 minutes to your cooking time.
Make this recipe with other root vegetables. Don’t have beets? Don’t want to cut up a butternut squash? Replace the veggies in this recipe with others like sweet potato, turnips, and parsnips. Use the same veggie to oil ratio and roasting time for a delicious turnout every time.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days after roasting them.
Half the recipe by using half the amount of each ingredient and cook using the same steps. The results will be the same, you’ll just have one sheet pan of roasted root vegetables instead of two.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Peel your vegetables before coating so that they can caramelize in the oven.
Roasted root vegetables can be served hot, at room temperature, or even cold in the case of a roasted root vegetable salad or appetizer plate.
Roasted root vegetables are about as healthy as you can get. These are gluten-free, Whole 30, and paleo friendly.
Ghee is the recommended oil to use for these roasted root vegetables. It gives a delicious flavor while being able to withstand higher heats and caramelizes well.
It takes approximately 40-45 minutes to roast vegetables at 425 depending on your oven and the size you cut your vegetables. You’ll want to flip them once in the middle of the roasting time.
Pre-cooked beets hold up well in this recipe and are a great way to save time. We like to use Love Beets or Gefen Beets and then just chop them up and add them to the mix.
Roasted root vegetables go well with grilled balsamic chicken, almond chicken, garlic parmesan wings, or really any main dish that isn’t already vegetable heavy.
You can peel, prep, and chop the veggies ahead of time. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days before cooking. When you’re ready to cook, pull them out of the fridge about half an hour before so they can come to room temp.
Reheat the veggies by by putting them on a parchment lined baking sheet, putting them in a cold oven, preheating to 425 degrees conventional (or 400 degrees convection), and removing when it gets preheated. The veggies will be warm without getting dried out.
More Easy Side Dishes
- Air fryer brussel sprouts
- Crispy smashed potatoes
- Garlic breadsticks
- Corn succotash
- Rice cooker coconut rice
- Twice baked potatoes
Roasted Root Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash (3-4 pounds with a sizeable neck) peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch chunks, should yield about 1 1/2 pounds squash
- 5 medium beets (about 2 pounds) peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 12 medium rainbow carrots (about 2 pounds) 3 of each color, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 3 TBS ghee melted
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Peel and chop all veggies into 1 inch chunks.
- Preheat oven/ovens to 400 degrees convection or 425 degrees conventional.
- Melt ghee by putting ghee in a large glass bowl and putting it in the cold oven. As the oven preheats, the ghee will melt. Pull out the bowl when the ghee has melted. Careful, the bowl will be hot.
- Add the peeled and chopped veggies to the bowl with the ghee and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle about half of the salt on the veggies and then stir to expose the unsalted veggies. Sprinkle the remaining salt on the veggies and stir them so that the salt is fully incorporated.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread out the veggies evenly on two baking sheets.
- Roast in the oven/ovens for 20 minutes. Flip the veggies and roast for an additional 20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender, browned, and caramelized.
- Taste and add salt to your liking.
- Serve immediately.
Sandi says
This is perfect for our Thanksgiving menu. Looks delicious.