8 Healthy Roasted Vegetable Recipes That Practically Cook Themselves

Delicious (and easy) ways to add more color to your plate.

roasted-vegetables-recipe: carrots
Photo: Victor Protasio

Of all the simple sides to choose from, roasted vegetables are among the most reliably crowd-pleasing dishes you can serve. From roasted mushrooms to roasted sweet potatoes, the possibilities are endless. Better yet, roasted vegetable recipes typically require around 15 minutes of hands-on time (or less) and only a few ingredients, like extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs.

For an easy extra kick of flavor, add garlic. And to speed up the cooking process even further, preheat your roasting pan before adding the veggies—it's one of our favorite cooking hacks that reliably results in extra browning and even cooking (thanks to the Maillard reaction). For streamlined cleanup, line your baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Here are eight of our favorite roasted vegetable recipes you'll want to serve alongside every type of protein—and season—under the sun.

01 of 08

Roasted Mushroom Mole Enchiladas

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Jennifer Causey

These roasted mushroom mole enchiladas are a show-stopper and just the thing to serve your vegetarian or vegan friends or family members when they come for dinner. The traditional enmolada is made with fork-tender chicken and smothered in mole sauce—this recipe swaps in roasted mushrooms for rich, savory, spice-infused flavor sans meat.

02 of 08

Cheesy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Cheesy Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Marcus Nilsson

This cheesy roasted sweet potato recipe takes 10 minutes to prepare and only requires four ingredients (plus salt and pepper) to cook. Consider it the family-friendly side dish you never knew you needed. Double up on ingredients, and you'll have salty, cheesy sweet potatoes you can slice and dice into salads, tacos, and egg dishes all week.

03 of 08

Roasted Eggplant With Miso and Sesame Seeds

Easy eggplant recipes - grilled eggplant recipes and roasted eggplant recipes and more

If you think you don't like eggplant, you need to try this recipe for roasted eggplant with miso and sesame seeds. It's the just-right balance of sweet, savory, salty, and umami-rich flavor, thanks to the combination of white miso paste, sesame oil, red chili paste, honey, and toasted sesame seeds. Serve over jasmine rice or alongside shrimp skewers with mango cucumber salad.

04 of 08

Crispy Brussels Sprouts With Pancetta

Crispy Brussels sprouts with pancetta and lemon served in a bowl
Anna Williams

We hate to break it to you, but your holiday dinner isn't truly complete without these crispy, caramelized Brussels sprouts. Why? Because once you make them the first time, their presence will be mandatory at every family gathering going forward. They get an extra salty-savory kick from pancetta, which is bacon's thicker, higher-quality cousin.

05 of 08

Roasted Eggplant and Olive Pasta Salad

This pasta salad will satisfy all of your savory cravings. Get the recipe for Real Simple's Roasted Eggplant and Olive Pasta Salad.
Greg DuPree

This is a majorly flavorful update to a traditional pasta salad recipe, thanks to olive oil-roasted eggplant, briny kalamata olives, oregano, and creamy fresh feta cheese. Use any type of pasta you have on hand, but we recommend a shorter noodle-like casarecce or fusilli.

06 of 08

Herb-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

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We love all types of roasted potatoes, but these herb-scented fingerling potatoes are particularly special. Plus, this simple side only requires five ingredients to make. To make the dish even more of a cinch, line your baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray before putting the spuds in the oven. Cleanup = done.

07 of 08

Roasted Broccoli Pesto Pasta

Roasted Broccoli Pesto Pasta Recipe
Caitlin Bensel

Stop tossing those broccoli stems and serve them in this crave-worthy pesto pasta instead. Here, you'll roast broccoli with garlic and herbs until crisp, then stir it into healthy whole-grain pasta with plenty of homemade pesto.

08 of 08

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes
Greg DuPree

These garlic roasted potatoes work as a side dish—serve them alongside halibut, grilled chicken, or a warming soup—but we'd be hard-pressed to find a better homemade (healthier) hashbrown recipe.

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