If you need a simple but satisfying side dish to pair with dinner tonight, you really can’t go wrong with roasting up some root vegetables.
Toss a bunch of carrots and a few potatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper, roast them in a very hot oven, and you’ll have people stealing pieces off the tray before they ever make it to the table.
Equipment & Ingredient Notes
Foil: Covering the potatoes with foil during the initial cooking time allows them to cook through without drying out. This creates roasted potatoes with extremely creamy insides that are crispy on the outside. If you don’t have foil you can cook the potatoes uncovered, but they won’t have exactly the same texture. Red potatoes: I like to use red potatoes for roasting because they roast up with creamy interiors and crispy edges. But Yukon golds also work well. If all you have are russets, they’ll work just fine. Their texture when roasted isn’t quite as good as waxier potatoes, but they’ll still taste great. Carrots: Try to chop your carrots into pieces roughly the same size so they cook evenly. For very large carrots, slice the thick upper part in half lengthwise before cutting into chunks. Olive oil: There are 3 tablespoons of olive oil in this recipe. It helps add flavor and help with the browning and crisping of the vegetables. If you want to cut the oil, you can reduce it by 1 tablespoon, but I wouldn’t recommend reducing it by much more.
How to Roast Potatoes and Carrots
Prep potatoes: Scrub your potatoes and cut them into large bite-size pieces, about 2-inches. Place potatoes on your baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt and toss to coat. Arrange the potatoes evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
Bake potatoes: Cover the tray with foil and bake for 15 minutes. This will give your potatoes a head start on cooking without letting them dry out.
Add carrots: Once the potatoes are softened, add carrots, a little more olive oil and salt, and arrange the veggies so they’re evenly spaced, preferably with a cut-side down. The more contact the carrots and potatoes have with the hot tray, the more browning they’ll get.
Crank up the heat and roast: Turn the heat up to 475°F, which will help give you those crispy edges on the potatoes, and cook uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until the carrots are tender.
Remove: Remove from the oven, add additional salt if needed, and enjoy!
Can I double this recipe?
You can double the recipe, but you’ll want to use two baking trays. If you crowd one baking tray with too many carrots and potatoes, they will steam in the final step instead of browning nicely. Cook both trays at the same time, swapping them halfway through each cooking time so they cook evenly. Cooking two trays at once, you won’t get quite as much browning and crisping as cooking just one, but they’ll still be delicious.
Can I roast carrots and potatoes at the same time as my main dish?
Yes. You can cook the carrots and potatoes at the same time as your main dish, but depending on what temperature that dish is cooking at, they may not turn out as browned and could need a longer roasting time than when cooked alone. Roast your veggies on the rack below the main dish and extend the baking time as needed for everything to become tender.
More Favorite Side Dish Recipes
Honey Roasted Carrots Zucchini in the Oven Crispy Smashed Red Potatoes Classic Oven-roasted Carrots
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