sheet pan salad + how to roast vegetables

A SIDE OR A LIGHT MAIN DISH While writing this book one evening, I walked over to my friends the Stevenses’ house. They always feed us, and have the kombucha and snacks we like, and they are just the most welcoming and lovely hosts. One night they let us use their sauna, and Suze gave us big bowls of perfectly roasted vegetables (seriously the best—her secret is not moving them once they go in the oven!) and (veggie) sausage, and every evening after that I wanted this dish for dinner. It’s warm, comforting, satisfying, doesn’t make a huge mess, and hardly takes any time at all to make. The best part of all is that Ben makes it even better than I do, which is really a treat (because I pretty much always do the cooking). It’s highly adaptable to what you have on hand, so check out the chart on this page for roasting times—remember to group ingredients with similar roasting times on baking sheets and not to overcrowd the pans!

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Step 1

Personally, I could live off of roasted vegetables alone. It’s just the truth. The key to making them delicious is not skimping on extra-virgin olive oil and giving whatever you’re roasting plenty of space on the baking sheet to let steam escape. Season with salt.

Step 2

Make sure you flip everything halfway through roasting. You can roast vegetables together if they have similar cooking times, but otherwise, be mindful of mixing.

Step 3

All timing below is for a 425°F (220°C) oven

Step 4

Note: Make roasting packets for whole, skin-on beets. If there are multiple colors, you will make separate little packets for each, so the colors don’t bleed into each other. To make a packet, line a piece of foil large enough to hold your beets with parchment paper. Place the beets in the center and sprinkle with orange zest and plenty of salt and pepper, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Bring the two opposite sides of the foil to meet. Fold the edges down about 1 inch (2.5 cm) and then fold again to create a nice, tight seal. Fold up the remaining edges a couple of times to finish your packet. Place your packets on a rimmed baking sheet and roast.

Step 5

ASPARAGUS: 15–20 minutes

Step 6

BEETS (whole in foil packet; see Note following): 60 minutes

Step 7

BROCCOLI (florets): 20–30 minutes

Step 8

BRUSSELS SPROUTS (halved): 20–30 minutes

Step 9

CABBAGE (wedges): 30–40 minutes

Step 10

CARROTS (halved if large): 30–40 minutes

Step 11

EGGPLANT (sliced): 25–30 minutes

Step 12

FENNEL (sliced): 25–30 minutes

Step 13

GARLIC (whole head): 35–40 minutes

Step 14

MUSHROOMS: 20–25 minutes

Step 15

ONIONS (sliced): 20–25 minutes

Step 16

PARSNIPS (halved if large): 30–40 minutes

Step 17

PEPPERS (strips): 20–25 minutes

Step 18

POTATOES (wedges): 30–40 minutes

Step 19

SWEET POTATOES (rounds): 35–40 minutes

Step 20

TOMATOES (cherry or grape): 20–25 minutes

Step 21

ZUCCHINI (rounds): 15–20 minutes

Step 22

PREP: Combine ¼ cup (35 g) golden raisins and ¼ cup (60 ml) white balsamic vinegar. Trim 1 pound (455 g) Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Cut 1 head broccoli into florets. Slice 2 small or 1 large sweet potato into ¼-inch (6 mm) rounds. Cut ½ pound (225 g) fingerling potatoes in half.

Step 23

COOK: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Step 24

On one sheet pan, combine the Brussels and broccoli, and on the other, combine the sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, and 1 package sliced sausage. Toss the ingredients on each pan with a drizzle of oil—about 2 tablespoons for each pan. Season really generously with salt and pepper.

Step 25

Put the broccoli pan on the top rack and the potato pan on the bottom rack.

Step 26

Roast for 25 minutes and remove the broccoli pan if things are looking nice and browned. Give the potato pan a good toss and roast until everything is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 more minutes.

Step 27

FINISH THE RAISIN VINAIGRETTE: Add 1 tablespoon mustard and 2 tablespoons oil to the raisin-vinegar mixture, whisking to emulsify, and season well with salt and pepper.

Step 28

ASSEMBLE AND SERVE: Spoon the roasted veggies and sausage over 1 handful greens on a platter or bowls and drizzle with a bit of raisin dressing.