Roasted Vegetables with Herbs
This recipe for mixed roasted vegetables with herbs has potatoes, celeriac, carrots and Brussels sprouts is seasoned with herbs and lemon zest. Learning how to roast mixed vegetables this way is a useful technique for an easy and delicious side dish.
Table of contents
Why We Love These Roasted Root Vegetables with Herbs
We have roasted vegetables almost once a week (if not more) and during the winter I’ll usually use a combination of root vegetables. Making them is second nature to me: Peel, cut according to density, toss with oil, salt, and pepper and roast.
When the root veggies come out of the oven, often they’ll just go onto the plate unadorned, their caramel-burnished exteriors, more than appealing enough. Though I have been known to drizzle on balsamic vinegar or toss the mixed vegetables with some defrosted pesto from last summer.
Today, I added fresh herbs and lemon zest which makes a nice contribution to the flavors of the vegetables.
Ingredients For Roasted Veggies with Herbs
- Potatoes: We prefer thin-skinned potatoes such as red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes
- Carrots: Peeled and cut
- Celeriac: feel free to swap in another root veggie or kohlrabi. Check out more substitution ideas
- Brussels sprouts: If they are large cut them in half
- Extra virgin olive oil: for roasting. Sub in another cooking oil or ghee if desired
- Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper: to season
- Herbs: You can choose a blend depending on your preference. We used a blend of chives, dill, tarragon and chervil for this batch
- Zest from one lemon
How to Herb Roast Vegetables
So let’s talk about the technique. How does it work? How do you get all the veggies to cook at the same rate? How do you get them to brown on the outside and cook through perfectly? Let’s talk.
Step 1: Preheat the Oven and Cut the Veggies
I use a 400-degree oven to make root vegetables. Any hotter, and the sweeter veggies (like carrots) will over brown before the potatoes are cooked through. Any cooler and they will not brown and the potatoes will stick to the pan.
Wash and peel the veggies. Get rid of the dirt and bitter peels. I leave the skin on potatoes and sweet potatoes for added fiber.
Cut veggies mindfully: The trickiest part about mixing root vegetables and getting them to roast evenly is all in the size of the cuts. So you have to plan accordingly and cut some smaller and some larger to compensate for the different densities. Generally the harder the vegetable the longer it takes to cook through. So carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes and beets are very hard and they take the longest to soften. These you can cut slightly smaller. Celeriac, parsnips and potatoes are slightly softer and can be cut a little larger. To give you a sense of what I mean, today, I cut my potatoes into 1 1/2 inch chunks and my celeriac into 1-inch chunks.
Step 2: Mix Vegetables With Oil and Seasoning
Toss the cut vegetables with oil salt and pepper in a big bowl to coat them evenly. You have to be careful about adding herbs and garlic because they tend to burn before the vegetables are tender. Spices like smoked paprika and turmeric are okay. I save the bowl and use it again at the end to add in the flavorings (see tip #8.)
Step 3: Roast The Veggies
Don’t overcrowd: You want to allow air flow around the vegetables so that they brown. Moisture prevents caramelization. Crowded vegetables insulate each-other from the hot heat of the oven. They end up steaming and will not brown.
If you have too many veggies to fit on a pan, just use two. Arrange your racks evenly in the oven to allow plenty of air flow, and plan to rotate your pans halfway. I’ll often use convection if I am doing two pans.
Stir only once or twice. If you try to stir the veggies too soon, they will stick to the pan. This is particularly the case with potatoes. So let them develop a nice brown bottom before turning them with a spatula.
Step 4: Finish with Herbs
How do you know when they are done? I usually try to chop a couple in half with the side of a thin spatula or test with a fork to make sure they are tender. If they seem tender, then I’ll eat one to make sure. Very scientific!
Once they come out of the oven, add on the fresh herbs and lemon zest.
FAQs and Expert Tips For Herb Roasted Vegetables
Keep leftovers in a resealable storage container in the refrigerator up to three days.
Reheat the leftover roasted vegetables in an air fryer for 5 minutes. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. You can also reheat in the oven. Keep covered with foil to keep them from drying out. Heat until steaming hot.
This side dish can be paired with roasted poultry and pork as long as it is also roasted at 400 degrees. Try these roasted veggies with our healthy Baked Chicken Tenders. They’re also great with vegetarian main courses such as our Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches or Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese. More options include Seared Salmon or Crab Cakes.
Variations To Try
- Instead of chopped herbs and lemon zest, add on a drizzle of high quality balsamic vinegar
- Toss them with pesto once they come out of the oven
- Add spices to the vegetables to roast with them
Alternative Veggies To Try
- Instead of brussels sprouts you can use broccoli or cauliflower or chunks of green or red cabbage. Cut into florets
- Instead of carrots use parsnips, beets or turnips. Cut into 3/4-inch chunks
- Instead of potatoes try sweet potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks.
- Avoid soft or watery veggies in this recipe or cut them into larger pieces. Examples are zucchini, red pepper or mushrooms.
More Easy Roasted Vegetables
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
Print
Roasted Vegetables with Herbs
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 7 cups 1x
Description
This simple side is a mix of roasted root vegetables and Brussels sprouts. I roasted everything together then tossed it with fresh herbs and lemon zest for fresh flavor.
Ingredients
- 4 medium-small thin-skinned potatoes, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (11 oz or 2 cups)
- 4 large carrots, peeled and oblique cut into 3/4 -inch chunks (8 oz or 2 cups)
- 2 small celeriac, peeled and cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 13 oz or 3 cups)
- 3 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed (halved if very large) (10 oz)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped tender herbs, such as chives, dill, tarragon and chervil
- zest from one lemon, or to taste
Instructions
- Arrange oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss potatoes, carrots, celeriac and Brussels sprouts with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread out on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring twice, until the vegetables are tender and browning, 30 to 38 minutes. Return the vegetables to the bowl and add the herbs and zest. Toss to coat. Serve warm.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: SIde dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 132
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 794 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 4 g
I so know what you mean – I roast vegetables like this without really having to think about it anymore. But I’m glad you wrote it down for us because I am definitely trying this combination with the herbs!
So glad you agree!
Can just smell the whole house envelopes by the gorgeous smell coming from the oven!! Love this.
It does smell wonderful!
Ive never done anything with celeriac before so I’m super intrigued by this beautiful salad!
I hope you enjoy the roasted veggies Jennifer!
I love the idea of adding fresh herbs to roasted veggies. Such a cool way to make them a little more special. So lovely!
I am glad to hear you like the idea Donny!
The herbs brighten the delicious roasted vegetables!
I am so glad to hear you like the flavors of the herbs! They help make it more interesting for sure!
Thank you for all the motivation…..you are simply awesome!
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy them!
These are great tips! I love using herbs with my veggies 🙂
Thank you Taylor. Have a great day!
These root vegetables look amazing, I love all of your suggested herbs, I can’t wait to try this!
Thank you Marye. Thank you for stopping by today.
These pictures are beautiful!
Thank you so much Sarah. Have a fantastic day.
Your roasted veggies all look so good I wish I could dish some up right now! I’ll fire up the oven in a minute, but first, to answer your questions, yes, I constantly fiddle with recipes. More often, I cook on the fly, using the ingredients to hand. And yes, I use lots of root vegetables. Parsnips are a relatively new find for me, thanks to that CSA box you mentioned. I just hadn’t cooked with them before.
I almost always add whole garlic cloves and large chunks of red or yellow onion to my roasted veggies, though I’m careful where I place them so they don’t overcook. Or I add them a little later.
That’s a great idea to stage in the garlic and onions. I love the way they taste so I bet that works great!