These Maple Roasted Root Vegetables are everything you want in a crowd pleasing Thanksgiving side dish: beautiful, delicious, and easy to make. Maple syrup enhances the natural sweetness of oven roasted vegetables, which makes this recipe a great twist on classic roasted root vegetables. Naturally vegan and paleo, this healthy side dish is jam-packed with seasonal fun and flavor.
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Can you stand one more Thanksgiving side dish recipe? I hope you can, because these Maple Roasted Root Vegetables deserve your immediate attention and consideration.
Diced root vegetables are tossed with maple syrup, olive oil, and cider vinegar (for zing!) then roasted until they’re perfectly soft and caramelized. They’re then topped with pecans for crunch and chopped thyme for earthiness and the resulting flavor combo is a showstopper in terms of both flavor and presentation. Not only is this side dish healthy and easy on the eyes, it’s also incredibly simple to make.
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How to Make Maple Roasted Root Vegetables
Colorful and impressive looking, roasted root vegetables with maple syrup couldn’t be simpler. Use any combination of root vegetables that strike your fancy, just be sure to dice the pieces into uniform sizes so they roast evenly.
- Dice the vegetables. Aim for a uniform 1″ dice so the vegetables roast at the same rate. The red onion can be thinly sliced or diced based on preference.
- Whisk the maple seasoning. Whisk maple syrup, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar until emulsified. The vinegar adds tang and the perfect seasonal acidity to make the flavor really pop.
- Pour the maple mixture over the vegetables and toss until evenly coated.
- Spread the veggies over two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and pour any residual marinade over them.
- Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
- Remove the trays from the oven and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Roast 5 minutes more.
- Remove from the oven and season with fresh chopped thyme.
Tips for Perfect Roasted Root Vegetables
- Chop the vegetables into uniform sizes – about a 1″ dice.
- Pick you skin peeling battles. I prefer to peel carrots and parsnips because their skins are particularly woody, while leaving the skin on potatoes.
- Give ’em plenty of space! Crowding results in steaming, not roasting.
- Stir once halfway through to ensure even roasting and caramelization on all sides.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Make-ahead tip: chop and season the vegetables in the morning then marinate in a mixing bowl in the fridge. Pop them into the oven as soon as the turkey comes out, and let them roast while the turkey rests. They’ll get doubly infused with flavor, and you’ll have one less thing to do.
Which Root Vegetables Should I Use?
Most root vegetables will roast at the same rate, provided you chop the pieces into uniform sizes, so feel free to use whichever root vegetables you love the most:
- carrots and parsnips
- baby new or yukon gold potatoes, purple potatoes, or any variety of sweet potato
- rutabagas, kohlrabi, and turnips
- radishes and beets
The roasted root vegetable world is indeed your Thanksgiving oyster! I really like using a variety and tossing in a vegetable that perhaps my kids haven’t yet tried, like kohlrabi. If they don’t like it, there’s plenty of other veggies in the mix. If you need more information, this guide to root vegetables from Oh My Veggies is a great resource.
How Many Vegetables Do I Need?
Aim for 3 pounds of root vegetables to serve approximately 8 people.
More Healthy Thanksgiving Sides
- Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Brown Butter
- Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
- Green Beans Almondine
- Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes
- Honey Roasted Carrots
Did you make these Maple Roasted Root Vegetables with Pecans and Thyme? I’d love to know how they turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Recipe
Maple Roasted Root Vegetables with Pecans and Thyme
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Ingredients
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced to 1″ cubes
- 2 large parsnips, peeled and diced to 1″ cubes
- 1 large orange sweet potato, diced to 1″ cubes
- 1 large purple sweet potato, diced to 1″ cubes
- 1 bunch radishes, ends trimmed and halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- ⅓ c chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine olive oil, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or 1-cup measuring cup and whisk until smooth.
- Place the prepared root vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Pour the maple oil over the vegetables and toss until they're evenly coated.
- Spread the vegetables evenly between the two baking sheets. Ensure that none of the vegetables are too tightly packed together. There will be residual maple oil at the bottom of the bowl, so pour that over the vegetables and toss on pan until evenly coated. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven, stir the vegetables, then return to the oven and roast an additional 20 minutes. Remove the sheets from the oven one final time and sprinkle the pecans over the vegetables. Return to the oven to roast for 5 an additional minutes.
- Remove the baking sheets from the oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
Heather H.
This recipe is a life-changer for me!!! I used a lot of veggies – had never roasted a radish -the best surprise ever! I also included a rutabaga (swede), lots of carrots (cheated using the bags of small pared carrots), onions, broccoli, asparagus. I have loved the ease of making this and it’s the best “finger food” ever. I can’t thank you enough for a healthy quick recipe that’s fun and so GOOOOOD! I may try this with beets, do you think that would work? Every time I shop now, I look for other veggies that I think might work. What is left over rarely gets reheated, it’s good cold too!