You Might Want To Hold The Olive Oil When Roasting Vegetables

Despite their boring reputation, there are countless ways to prepare vegetables that can satisfy anyone's cravings. Whether you chop them up cold and turn into them a salad for lunch or simmer them into a one-pot stew, there's really no wrong way to eat vegetables. It's long been cited that eating a diet rich in veggies can reduce the risk of heart disease, prevent certain cancers, lower blood pressure, and keep you fuller for longer periods of time (per Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Long story short, eat more vegetables!

One of the easiest and most hands-free ways to cook vegetables is by roasting them. Roasting vegetables is as simple and beginner-friendly as assembling an assortment of veggies on a baking rack and popping them in the oven. For many people, roasting vegetables also involves drizzling them with olive oil before sprinkling them with seasoning. But you might consider keeping the oil in the pantry next time you're roasting veggies.

Although olive oil-roasted vegetables are delicious and healthy, Chef Nick Balla of San Francisco restaurants Duna and Smokebread told Food & Wine that dry-roasting vegetables is the superior technique. When vegetables are roasted in oil, their water content eventually becomes steam that can react with the oil by spattering everywhere, making post-dinner cleanup even worse than it already is.

Not only does dry roasting vegetables eliminate the risk of a bigger mess, but it brightens the earthy flavor of vegetables that olive oil tends to mute. Dry roasting also helps the vegetables absorb healthy fat and flavor, so Balla eventually adds olive oil and seasoning after they're done roasting (per Food & Wine).

Others may avoid olive oil altogether to eliminate excess calories or just to try something adventurous and new. Livestrong offers flavorful cooking oil alternatives for roasted vegetables like cooking wine, lemon juice, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Vanilla extract can also help caramelize roasted vegetables for a subtly sweet and crispy finish.

Next time you're bored of your roasted vegetables recipe, explore the dry-roasted method or add olive oil alternatives to shake up your routine.