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.
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 WOWZA tasty. Not only is this side dish healthy and easy on the eyes, it’s also incredibly simple to make.
Which Root Vegetables To 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 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.
- Start by selecting your root vegetables – I used parsnips, carrots, orange and purple sweet potatoes, and radishes.
- Dice the vegetables into 1″ cubes (or in the case of the radishes, simply halve or quarter them). Slice a red onion and toss that in there too.
- I leave the skins on the potatoes because I find their crispy skin delicious, but shave the carrots and parsnips because I find their skins too woody. You, however, do you.
- Toss the vegetables with maple syrup, olive oil, and cider vinegar. The vinegar adds tang and the perfect seasonal acidity to make the flavor really pop.
- Spread the veggies onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and pour any residual marinade over them.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and transfer to a 425°F oven to get their roast on.
- Roast for 20 minutes, then give ’em a good stir to ensure that caramelization actions happens on all sides.
- In the last five minutes, sprinkle a handful of chopped pecans over the root vegetables.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped thyme.
A “Make it Easier” Thanksgiving Tip: Prepare the root vegetables a few hours in advance and let them marinate 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.
Look. At. That. Tray. Of. Beauty!
And look at you, you Thanksgiving goddess. Good job. Now go pour a glass of pinot noir, tuck into your impressive feast, and feel like a Food and Wine superstar.
Dietary Accommodations
- These maple roasted root vegetables are vegan, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and grain free, so they’re the perfect side dish for an eclectic crowd.
- One serving also supplies over 200% of your daily Vitamin A requirement. Who says healthy can’t be festive and delicious? Woot!
More Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Honey Roasted Carrots with Cumin
- Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Brown Butter
- Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Maple Bourbon Glaze
- Garlicky Green Beans with Crispy Shallots
- Baked Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Fritters
DID YOU MAKE THESE ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES? I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A RATING BELOW 👇
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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
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/3 c chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the olive oil, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar into a small bowl or 1-cup measuring cup. Whisk until combined.
- 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.
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