How to Roast Kid-Friendly Vegetables: Add Some Sweet Without Sugar!

Sometimes I feel sorry for vegetables.

It seems like theyre always the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to food groups. People crave sugar, salty snacks, and even a good steak in the protein categoryIce cream and a glass of milk get the milk mustache seal of approval in the dairy categoryand anyone whos had a toddler knows fruits are basically candy at that age.

But poor, poor vegetables even when someone gets excited about them, everyone laughs as if youre taking pity on the nerd. (Extra nerdy fact: lowest on the totem pole is actually the most prestigious location so this is where veggies really SHOULD be!)

Last week, we were at a steakhouse and I asked my boys to agree on which side they wanted with the kids meal they were sharing: french fries, mashed potatoes or a vegetable. My five-year-old perked up, eyes wide open and said excitedly, A vegetable! Thats what I want!

Everyone laughed at him! The poor guy ended up with mashed potatoes, which he didnt even like, but they had to make one choice and I didnt feel like being the mean mom out at the restaurant forcing the vegetables.

See what I mean? Poor vegetables!

Can you imagine a world where vegetables are brought as the centerpiece of a holiday party for a school classroom? Where they are the requisite offering at youth group rather than pizza?

Thats probably a long way off, but if roasted vegetables have anything to say about it, theyll get a fighting chance!

Roasting vegetables is a fantastic technique for kitchen stewards to learn because it checks all the boxes:

• Saves time. Theres hardly any stirring, checking, or tending when it comes to roasted vegetables and you dont have to cut them very small, saving time on both ends.
• Saves money. Roasting is perfect for inexpensive root vegetables, and you certainly dont need to spend the extra money on steam-in-a-bag frozen veggies! (We can talk about microwaving and plastic another day, oy!)
• Increases nutrition. When roasting, its very easy to put many different kinds of vegetables on the same tray. That generally means people will give themselves bigger servings, which means a greater variety and quantity of nutrients.
• Kids like them. Because roasting caramelizes the vegetables, it brings out the natural sweetness, which is much more palatable to children than the bitterness that many veggies have.

How to Roast Vegetables

This is such a simple process, its hard to mess up!

Dont worry, Ill share an exact recipe for those of you who arent feeling creative or confident in the kitchen yet, but basically there are just a few steps:

1. Cut vegetables to a similar size.
2. Toss in a bit of oil or fat.
3. Season. This can be as simple as salt and pepper, or grab one of those seasoning blends that you never know what to do with because theyre not in any recipes, and sprinkle it on.
4. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet or glass baking dish.
5. Roast at a high temperature, between 400450 F. Depending on the vegetable, this might take between 30-90 minutes.

All you have to do is stir them around once or twice during roasting to make sure theyre evenly done. Pull them out to serve when the edges are brown but not black. See that lovely caramelization in the photo above? I probably could have roasted the cauliflower 10 minutes longer, because even with the edges starting to brown, they were a little al dente (which I like but my children dont as much).

Its as simple as that, and theres a lot of room for error: at least 10-15 minutes where theyll be delicious anywhere in that range.

Favorite Herbs and Spices for Roasted Vegetables

When Im steaming vegetables, I tend to be so boring: olive oil or butter on top and salt and pepper.

But roasting is always getting started at the beginning of the meal, so I still have enough energy to be creative!

I do love grabbing those herb and spice blends that I often get for free from Herbs de Provence, which I know isnt even very unique, but Im never quite sure when to use it if a recipe doesnt call for it. Heres your answer roasted vegetables!

You can sprinkle just about anything on, but if youre not feeling super creative, here are a couple options that I default to as well:

• Turmeric, paprika, and black pepper (This has the added benefit of being anti-inflammatory.)
• Dried dill, salt, and pepper (Simple and pretty.)
• Taco seasoning or just plain cumin (If your family loves Mexican, tell them youve made Mexican vegetables. They might go over even better that way!)
• Chili powder for those who like it spicy (You can also serve with extra hot sauce.)
• Italian seasoning (This is my son Pauls favorite. He pretty much grabs Italian seasoning or oregano for everything he makes up!)Yes, my teenage son makes up recipes because we taught him to cook as a kid!
• Fresh herbs are great too, like the very first time I learned to roast winter vegetables.

Id love to hear from you in the comments. How do you season your roast vegetables?

Again, remember the great news is that just salt and pepper with all that caramelization is really all thats needed. But its a fun way to be creative and use additional herbs and spices.

Look how the roasted golden beets, turnips, onions, and Brussels sprouts from the top photo turned out:

Time-Saving Tip for Your Roasted Vegetables

I love and hate this tip because it wastes a plastic bag, but it definitely saves time. To evenly distribute your olive oil or oil of choice on your roasted vegetables, you can put them in a plastic Ziploc bag and shake them up and down.

This is obviously a great way to get your kids involved. Feel free to reuse the bag for multiple kinds of vegetables on the same night, and I bet you could zip the bag up and store it in the fridge to reuse it many times before throwing it away. (I havent tried this yet though.)

My mom taught me this trick when she made Rainbow Roasted Veggiesfor our family once:

Talk about pretty, dont you think?? High five to my mom!!

In the pic youll see another quick-but-not-so-eco-friendly strategy: put parchment paper under your veggies for easy clean up. At least parchment is more sustainable than aluminum foil, which is a non-renewable resource that may disappear someday!!

My preferred method is to simply mix the vegetables and oil up in a glass or stainless steel bowl. I never measure the oil I just eye it up.

I typically add the seasoning after I have spread the vegetables out onto the pan. I find distribution is more even that way.

Dont Make This Mistake When Roasting Vegetables

Although roasting is a very forgiving way to prepare vegetables and extremely kid-friendly, I can think of one big mistake that people might make when roasting vegetables.

You definitely want to make sure that if you choose multiple kinds of veggies, they take about the same amount of time to roast. For example cauliflower, parsnips and broccoli only take about half an hour to roast. Sweet potatoes, turnips, and other root vegetables, if cut in the same size, will take at least a full hour.

So you have to get a little savvy: Either cut your longer roasting vegetables much smaller to mix in with the shorter roasting vegetables in larger chunks, or make separate pans that you put into the oven at different times.

Its no fun to pull out your pan of roasted vegetables to proudly serve to your family and find that one entire type of vegetable has burned to a crisp!

CookSmarts has a vegetable roasting chart on this page which is a great reference.

Average Roasting Times for Vegetables at 425F

• Root vegetables (beets, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots): 30 to 45 minutes, depending on what size you chopped them
• Winter squash (butternut squash, acorn squash): 20 to 60 minutes, also depends on size
• Crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, thin cabbage rounds, Brussels sprouts): 15 to 25 minutes
• Softer vegetables (zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers): 10 to 20 minutes
• Long, thin vegetables (asparagus, green beans, veggies cut like fries): 10 to 20 minutes
• Onions: 30 to 45 minutes depending on your taste
• Tomatoes: 15 to 20 minutes

There are several meals in this Whole30 side vegetables post that use various combinations of roasted vegetables and grab some other ways to use parsnips, if you arent sure.

Dill Roasted Mixed Vegetables

You can always mix up a few different veggies and spices and experiment, but heres one simple tried and true combination:

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Never heard of golden beets? Youre in luck they dont taste like dirt at all, not like regular purple beets!!

Theyre almost highlighter yellow once you cut them, theyre so bright. Beets support detox pathways, and you can use thewhole vegetables by sauteeing the beet greens or including them in a green smoothie.

Double Dare Try Roasting Vegetables!

Lets get back to making vegetables fun! I double dirty-dog dare you to roast some vegetables for your family this week, especially if youve never done it before.

If youre feeling science-minded, try a side by side taste test.

Roast cauliflower and serve next to steamed cauliflower.

Roast cabbage and serve next to sauted cabbage, with raw cabbage for additional testing.

You can see where you might go with this, and I guarantee you will be shocked at how different the flavor is between roasted, steamed, sauted and raw.

Heres to our best shot at making vegetables fun again!

The post How to Roast Kid-Friendly Vegetables: Add Some Sweet Without Sugar! appeared first on Kitchen Stewardship | Caring for All Our Gifts.