Thanksgiving Roasted Vegetables

These roasted vegetables for Thanksgiving are a cozy side dish for the holiday! Here’s a basic recipe that will make your table shine.

Roasting vegetables can transform humble, everyday veggies like carrots, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes into something truly heavenly. So each year, I love making these roasted vegetables for Thanksgiving!

Root vegetables are a perfect Thanksgiving side dish, and this recipe uses my favorite root vegetables: carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets. It’s customizable and can work with many different vegetables!

Why You’ll Love These Roasted Vegetables

Why make roasted veggies for Thanksgiving? A few reasons! These roasted root vegetables:

Have a caramelized flavor and transform into something altogether different (and delicious!). Veggies that are iffy raw like cauliflower transform into something otherworldly when roasted.
Make your kitchen smell incredible. It’s like a Thanksgiving spa!
Make a simple side dish. They’re easy to whip up and look beautiful on the plate.

How to Make Roasted Vegetables for Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving roasted vegetables recipe below is for carrots, beets and sweet potatoes. But the concept can be used for many different veggies! Here are the basics of roasting vegetables:

Bake at high heat. Preheat the oven to 450F. Roasting at very high heat makes the vegetables tender on the inside and slightly charred and sometimes crispy (depending on the veggie) on the outside.
Mix with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, then drizzle them lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and give them a few grinds of fresh ground pepper.
Add additional herbs or spices. If you’d like, sprinkle with some spices or some chopped fresh herbs. In this recipe, we use chopped rosemary and garlic powder.
Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, which helps to minimize the mess after roasting. (We’ve found that silicon mats don’t get the vegetables as crisp as parchment paper, so we’ve stopped using them.) Pour the vegetables onto the baking sheet.
Roast them up! Bake for around 25 to 40 minutes, depending on the type of vegetable and the size of the pieces. Whatever the case, test with a fork for tenderness. It’s best if you have a bit of space between the veggies. If the pan is crowded, the veggies will steam instead of roast! So if you have too many veggies, consider two baking sheets. There’s no need to stir when the baking sheet is lined, since the vegetables won’t stick to the pan. Remove the tray from the oven and cool slightly; then enjoy!

Root Vegetables to Use

This recipe uses root vegetables to make a delicious and simple side dish. What are root vegetables? Root vegetables are any veggies that grow in the ground: for example potatoes, carrots, onions, turnips, and parsnips. Root vegetables are perfect for Thanksgiving, because they’re seasonal in the fall (and used in many fall recipes).

Here we’ve used carrots and sweet potatoes, but you can use any root veggies you’d like! Additional veggies to try? Yellow onion or red onion, fennel, red potatoes, turnips, or parsnips. Give it a try and let us know what vegetables you use.

How to Serve a Crowd

Serving a crowd for Thanksgiving? Double this recipe and use two baking sheets! Remember that the baking time will be slightly longer, since there’s more surface area in the oven.

Want to make it ahead? Roast the vegetables until tender, then leave them at room temperature for a few hours, or refrigerate until serving. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through!

Leftover Storage & Repurposing

You can turn these Thanksgiving roasted vegetables into a heartier dish by adding rice, quinoa, or another whole grain.

If you’ve got leftovers? They save perfectly for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and are great for bowl meals days later. It’s one of my favorite meals since it is flexible, tasty, and easy to put together. A few examples: try this Roasted Vegetable Grain Bowl or Vegan Buddha Bowl!

Dietary Notes

This Thanksgiving roasted vegetables recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy free.