Roasted Root Vegetables With Maple, Thyme and Crispy Edges

Most trays of roasted root vegetables go wrong the same way: the carrots are still firm, the sweet potato has turned to mush, and nothing is actually brown. The fix isn’t a fancy ingredient. It’s a hot oven, two pans instead of one, and cutting each vegetable to the size that matches how fast it cooks.

This recipe roasts carrots, parsnips, beets, sweet potato and red onion at 425°F for about 40 minutes. You get caramelized edges, soft centers and a side dish that works on a weeknight or next to the Thanksgiving turkey. Each serving has 232 calories, 3.6 g of protein and 8.6 g of fiber.

Ingredients for roasted root vegetables

Serves 6 as a side (about 1 heaping cup each). Prep 20 minutes, roast 35 to 45 minutes.

• 12 oz (340 g) carrots, peeled
• 12 oz (340 g) parsnips, peeled
• 1 large sweet potato (450 g), peeled or scrubbed
• 12 oz (340 g) beets, about 3 medium, red or golden
• 1 medium red onion (150 g)
• 3 tbsp (40 g) olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tbsp (20 g) maple syrup, optional
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, for serving

How to roast root vegetables

1. Heat the oven to 425°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large sheet pans with parchment.
2. Peel the beets and cut them into 3/4-inch cubes. Cut the carrots and parsnips into 1-inch pieces on a slight angle, halving the thick parsnip tops lengthwise first. Cut the sweet potato into 1-inch cubes and the onion into 8 wedges.
3. Toss the beets in a small bowl with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and a pinch of the salt. Toss everything else in a large bowl with the remaining 2 tbsp oil, the rest of the salt, the pepper and the thyme.
4. Spread the vegetables over the two pans in a single layer with a little space between the pieces, keeping the beets together in one corner of a pan.
5. Roast for 20 minutes, then flip the vegetables with a spatula and swap the pans between racks.
6. Roast 15 to 25 minutes more, until a knife slides easily into the parsnips and the edges are deep brown.
7. Drizzle with the maple syrup if using, toss right on the hot pans, and finish with the parsley.

Per serving (1/6 of the recipe): 232 calories, 3.6 g protein, 40.7 g carbs, 7.1 g fat, 8.6 g fiber. Without the maple syrup it’s 224 calories and 38.5 g carbs. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values; salt, pepper and herbs are not counted.

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Root vegetable roasting times at 425°F

Root vegetables cook at different speeds. Dense beets and parsnips need longer than a sweet potato, so they get cut a little smaller. If you swap in other vegetables, use this chart to size them so everything is done at the same time.

Vegetable	Cut size	Time at 425°F	Done when
Carrots	1-inch pieces	35 to 40 min	Browned, tender in the middle
Parsnips	1-inch pieces, thick ends halved	35 to 40 min	Knife slides in, edges golden
Beets	3/4-inch cubes	40 to 45 min	Tender all the way through
Sweet potato	1-inch cubes	30 to 35 min	Soft, with dark corners
Red onion	8 wedges	30 to 35 min	Soft, charred at the tips
Turnips or rutabaga	3/4-inch cubes	35 to 40 min	Golden, no raw crunch
Butternut squash	1-inch cubes	25 to 30 min	Soft, browned on the flat sides

Why roasted vegetables turn soggy (and how to stop it)

Vegetables are mostly water. When they’re piled on one pan, that water turns into steam that can’t escape, and you end up with soft, pale vegetables instead of crisp ones. A few habits make the biggest difference:

• Use two pans. About 1.7 kg of vegetables is too much for one sheet pan. If you can’t see the pan between the pieces, split them up.
• Dry them well. If you wash the vegetables after peeling, pat them dry before the oil goes on. Oil won’t stick to wet surfaces.
• Don’t go below 400°F. At 350°F the vegetables cook through before they brown. 425°F gives you both.
• Leave them alone. Flip once at the 20-minute mark. Stirring every few minutes lets the heat out and stops the browning.
• Keep the beets apart. Red beets stain everything pink. Golden beets don’t, so you can mix them in freely.

The same rules apply to every pan-roasted side. They’re why our balsamic Brussels sprouts get crisp edges and why the vegetables in our healthy sheet pan dinners brown next to the chicken instead of stewing.

Four ways to flavor roasted root vegetables

The base recipe is simple on purpose. Once you have the method down, change the finish to match the rest of the meal.

Maple balsamic

Whisk the maple syrup with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and toss it with the vegetables straight out of the oven. The hot pan reduces it to a light glaze in about a minute. This is the version I’d put on a holiday table.

Garlic rosemary

Swap the thyme for 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary and add 6 whole unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan. Squeeze the soft garlic out of its skins and toss it through at the end. Skip the maple syrup.

Smoky cumin with lemon tahini

Season with 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp smoked paprika instead of thyme. Serve with a drizzle of tahini thinned with lemon juice and water. Add a can of drained chickpeas to the second pan for the last 20 minutes and it becomes a vegetarian main.

Parmesan and herbs

Sprinkle 1/3 cup grated Parmesan over the vegetables for the last 5 minutes of roasting so it melts and crisps on the pan. Finish with parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Kids who refuse parsnips tend to eat this one.

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Make-ahead roasted root vegetables for Thanksgiving

On a holiday the oven is the bottleneck, so do the slow part early. Peel and cut all the vegetables up to 2 days ahead and keep them in sealed containers in the fridge, with the beets in their own container. On the day, toss them with oil and roast while the turkey rests. Or roast them completely the day before and reheat at 425°F for 10 to 12 minutes on a sheet pan; they won’t be quite as crisp, but they’ll be close.

You’ll also loveRoasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes That Ooze Their Own Syrup

They fit well next to our other healthy Thanksgiving sides, like the Greek yogurt mashed potatoes and the cranberry sauce, which can all be made ahead on the same schedule.

Storage and leftovers

Let the vegetables cool, then refrigerate them in shallow airtight containers. FoodSafety.gov’s cold food storage chart gives 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator for cooked leftovers, and that’s the window I use here. Reheat in a hot oven or an air fryer rather than the microwave if you want the edges to firm up again.

Leftovers are useful through the week. Pile them on a grain bowl with feta and greens, fold them into eggs, or blend them with broth for a quick soup, the same way our roasted butternut squash soup starts on a sheet pan. If you prep lunches on Sunday, a pan of these goes into most of the bowls in our lunch meal prep ideas.

Roasted root vegetable questions

What temperature is best for roasting root vegetables?

425°F works best for most ovens. It’s hot enough to brown the outsides before the insides go mushy. With a convection setting, drop to 400°F and start checking at 25 minutes.

Do you have to peel root vegetables before roasting?

Not always. Well-scrubbed carrots and sweet potatoes roast fine with the skin on. Peel beets, parsnips with thick or waxy skin, and turnips or rutabaga, which can taste bitter and stay tough.

Can I roast root vegetables in the air fryer?

Yes, in smaller batches. Cook at 400°F for 18 to 22 minutes, shaking the basket halfway. For more ideas, see our healthy air fryer recipes.

Sources

• Nutrition per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central, via GetFoodFacts: carrots (FDC 170393), parsnips (FDC 170417), sweet potato (FDC 168482), beets (FDC 169145), onions (FDC 170000), olive oil (FDC 171413), maple syrup (FDC 169661).
• Storage times: FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.