Complete Guide to Roast Vegetables: Prepare in Advance, Cooking, Storing, Reheating

Eat well all week by preparing roast vegetables in advance. Make them the star or use them in a variety of tasty meals. Prepping, cooking, storing, and reheating tips.

IMO, roasting vegetables is one of the best ways to cook veggies.

They don’t lose as many nutrients as they do when boiled, and they taste amazing—the browning that happens in the oven gives them that delicious caramelised taste.

And you can create dozens of different flavour profiles depending on the seasonings you add to your roast vegetables.

This article covers everything I know about roasting vegetables, based on over twenty years of home cooking experience, with a foundation of one year of chef training through TAFE, where I spent many hours learning how to turn potatoes.

Whether you’re roasting vegetables to put in a quiche, risotto, pasta, or other roast veggie dish, having them with a joint of meat for a traditional Sunday Roast, serving them as a complete vegetarian meal, or prepping them ahead for a week of healthy meals, this guide has you covered with prepping, cooking, storing, and reheating tips.

What Vegetables are Good for Roasting

You can roast just about every vegetable available unless it’s very delicate (baby spinach and celery, for instance, don’t tend to roast well).

For an idea of what to roast, here is a complete list of common (to me, at least) veggies that are good to bung in the oven.

The thing to keep in mind is that different vegetables will cook at different times, depending on their density. A chunk of potato will take longer to cook than a chunk of zucchini.

The size you cut your veggies will also determine how long each veggie will cook – more on that below.

Best Equipment for Roasting

I use three types of trays/pans for roasting, depending on what I’m making.

If I’m just roasting vegetables, then a baking tray/cookie sheet is ideal. The flat sides allow air to circulate freely, helping to cook the vegetables to perfection.

When I am cooking vegetables and- say – chicken thighs together as a single tray bake, I need something with a bit of a lip so the chicken juices don’t drip all over the oven. For this purpose, I use a ceramic baking dish, but any deep-lipped tray will also work.

If I’m making a roast joint, like a leg of lamb with vegetables, I use a stainless steel roaster big enough to hold everything. It can be used on the stovetop to make gravy from the drippings. I like to roast the vegetables in the same pan, as they gain flavour from the meat drippings. You can get pans with racks to lift everything so the food can crisp up on the bottom.

The links above are affiliate links to Kitchen Warehouse. They have reasonable prices on quality cookware, much of which is a lifetime purchase. However, if you keep an eye out, you can also pick up all of this cookware very cheaply in second-hand stores.

Preparing Vegetables for Roasting

You can save time during the week by preparing and chopping the vegetables you want to roast ahead of time.

That way, you can simply pop them in the oven or air fryer on the night of the meal.

Prepare the vegetables as below and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

The exception is potatoes, which oxidise when cut. They need to be either cut just before cooking or stored in cold water in the fridge for up to one day.

Prep Steps

Step 1. Wash all vegetables and peel the ones you don’t like to eat the skin.

Peeling the skin is a personal preference. For example, I like to keep the skin on potatoes and sweet potatoes, while my husband doesn’t.

Step 2. Cut the vegetables so they are a fairly even size—consistency of cut results in consistency of cook.

In other words, vegetables will cook more evenly if they are all a similar size – you won’t end up with overcooked little pieces and undercooked big pieces.

You don’t have to get out a ruler—this isn’t Michelin-star cooking! When I did first-year chef training, we did have to use a ruler, but an approximation is good enough.

How big do you cut the veg?

The bigger you cut them, the longer they will take to cook.

So, for a traditional roast, I might cut a medium potato in quarters and everything else around the same size.

But if I’m in a hurry, I will cut things into small, bite-size pieces because they cook more quickly.

To make sure all the vegetables cook evenly, you want to do one of three things.

Combo Cooking Many Veg at Once

Some vegetables are more delicate than others, so something like broccoli florets are going to cook in less time than potatoes.

There are three ways to adjust for this so every vegetable comes out perfect:

1. Cook the denser vegetables longer and add the more delicate vegetables later in the cooking process.
2. Parboil the denser vegetables so they are partially cooked before roasting all veg together.
3. Cut the denser vegetables smaller than the more delicate ones so they cook at approximately the same rate.

The method you choose will depend on time, energy, and care factor, but I usually choose option one, cooking vegetables like potato, sweet potato, beetroot, and carrots for about double the time of delicate veg like zucchini and broccoli.

I cook them all on the same tray, but about halfway through the cooking time, I take the tray out, give the vegetables a good toss, add the greens, and put it back in the oven to complete the cooking time, maybe tossing it again halfway through the remaining time.

Should you Parboil Your Spuds?

To parboil or not to parboil, does it make a difference?

First of all, what is parboiling?

Parboiling involves boiling your spuds in water until almost—but not quite—cooked through, then drying them well, coating them in oil, and finishing them in a hot oven until they are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle.

The benefits of parboiling include:

• can reduce cooking time because the potatoes are partially cooked
• you can parboil potatoes one day ahead of time, toss in a little oil, and store in the fridge until roasting day
• they usually turn out fluffy on the inside and super crisp on the outside, especially if you follow the instructions below.

I don’t parboil my spud unless I’m cooking a ‘special’ dinner because washing up. Time. Mess. Peeling spuds.

But for a special roast, the extra effort is worth it.

The secret to amazing crispy, fluffy baked potatoes is as follows:

• parboil in water with about 1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda added
• drain the spuds well, making sure all the water evaporates
• toss well in oil and seasoning, roughing them; all that texture creates a great surface for roasting.
• Roast at high heat (220°C or 200°C convection) until done to your liking (around 30-40 minutes for quartered medium spuds)

Below is a walk-through video that I use, including infusing the oil with rosemary and garlic for extra flavour. You can skip that part if you like and still have amazing roast spuds, or you can go the whole nine yards with infused oil for that special occasion.

Fuss-Free: Cooking Roast Vegetables without Parboiling

Looking for an easier, fuss-free method for roasting veg?

Step 1: Grease a baking tray with a little oil or line it with baking paper, and preheat your oven to 180°C convection or 200°C regular.

Step 2: Toss vegetables in a little olive oil or oil spray, salt, pepper, and any seasonings, if using, then spread them out in a single layer on the baking tray.

Seasonings to try include:

• salt and pepper
• salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• salt, pepper, chopped garlic, fresh rosemary or thyme
• salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, a twist of lemon
• salt, pepper, and Italian herbs
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, a pinch of cayenne

Or simply serve with lashings of chicken salt – Aussies will know what I mean!

Make sure there is some space around the vegetables, as this will prevent them from steaming and becoming soft and soggy.

Step 3: Roast vegetables in a hot oven until crispy and cooked through, turning once or twice.

How long?

Around 25 minutes for bite-size pieces and up to 40 minutes for larger cuts.

Storing Roast Vegetables

Let the roast vegetables completely cool before storing – any steam trapped in containers will make them go soggy.

Roast vegetables can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Reheating Roasted Vegetables

Reheat roast vegetables in the oven for best results.

To reheat, preheat the oven to 180°C and place cooked vegetables on a baking tray in a single layer, spreading them out so they aren’t touching.

Cook in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until heated through.

You can absolutely reheat in the microwave, but they may become a bit soggy.

How to Use Roasted Vegetables

There are lots of ways to use up roasted vegetables. In fact, if you prep a tray of veggies on a Sunday, you can turn them into a different meal almost every day of the week.

Here are some ideas:

• use in meal prep lunches with protein and grains
• served with couscous, polenta, quinoa, or rice
• roast vegetable frittata or quiche
• veggie pizza
• roast vegetable pasta
• roast vegetable pate/dip
• vegetable wrap with feta or goat cheese
• roast vegetable pita with hummus and fresh parsley
• use as a side to meat or chicken
• puree with stock to make a roast vegetable soup
• mix with a white sauce or gravy and top with pastry for a roast vegetable pie
• serve with greens as a roast vegetable salad
• make a roast vegetable lasagne

Do you have a favourite roast vegetable recipe? Why not share it in the comments below.

Best Roast Veg Recipes From Frugal and Thriving