These Sweet And Savory Roasted Vegetables Are Packed With Fiber And Comfort

Roasted vegetables are familiar staples — they bring coziness to the table straight from a warm oven. We usually see roasted root vegetables on family menus when a chill hits the air, but there's not a thing wrong with being cozy all year long. Earthy root veggies are packed with lots of unique flavors and fiber — along with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Beets, carrots, and onions are the usual suspects, but the root vegetable repository is vast: Celeriac, jicama, kohlrabi, onions, parsnips, radishes, rutabegas, sunchokes, taro, turnips, and yucca can all be roasted to make fantastic dishes — from pies to fries. Roasting them brings out their natural sugars through caramelization, making them rich and golden.

The secret to perfect texture in most roasted root vegetables lies in uniformity — so cut them into similar sizes and season them in a large bowl to coat them evenly with oil and flavorings. Choosing your own adventure is fun. Garlic and herbes de Provence are aromatic and versatile – savory, marjoram, chervil, thyme, dill, and tarragon work well with any combination. Spread the veggies on a sheet pan and roast them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. For crispy on the outside and very tender vegetables on the inside — with just the right amount of extra sweetness – cider-glazed root vegetables are it. Don't forget the parsnips — they are perfect here — and that's because they taste like two vegetables all at once.

Parsnips are sweet and nutty, somewhere between a carrot and a potato – a tuber technically but all potatoes are considered a root vegetable in the kitchen. Parsnips can be used all on their own, too. Try using a salt-crust to roast them. This deeply flavored vegan dish is perfectly seasoned and steamed inside that salty shell — with a waft of licorice and all those peppery notes parsnips bring. Serve it alongside easy hasselback sweet potatoes and add some beets — they roast well together.

And now for a note on oven-roasted root vegetable fries: Do it! Carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, and turnips all roast beautifully when cut into thin matchsticks or wedges. Yucca fries (also called cassava) need a boil first for about 10 minutes to soften the yucca's dense texture before roasting. Once parboiled, they turn wonderfully crispy on the outside and creamy inside. Sunchokes and the less used jicama also work well for fries: Sunchokes develop a nutty sweetness, while jicama stays light and crisp. For maximum crispiness, stir evenly cut fries in a few tablespoons of oil before seasoning them and then tossing them in cornstarch. If you like heat, go for it with your favorite chile seasoning, or opt for a crowd-pleasing combination like lemon-pepper seasoning. Roast them at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 35 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden brown. Cinnamon sugar also makes for a fun combination here, especially if you're craving something sweet and savory at the same time.