I didn’t grow up liking brussel sprouts. I don’t know many people that did. In fact we didn’t even really have them at my house, because my parents didn’t like them. Multi-generational brussel sprout trauma is real.

Then one magical Thanksgiving I had roasted brussel sprouts. But not just brussel sprouts, beets, carrots, onion, and garlic as well. All roasted in the oven.

Since then roasted root vegetables has been my go-to potluck veggie dish. It’s simple - I only season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s easy to be seasonal - root vegetables have a long season. And it’s actually pretty darn good for you.

Since that first time I’ve upped my game by adding parsnips, which are especially lovely when roasted. I’ve also started throwing the left overs into a food processor and making a spread. If you go that way, throw in some fresh garlic or rosemary as the sweetness of the roasted veggies can take over.

You set your oven to 400 degrees and peel and chop the beets. Toss in a bit of oil and salt, then when the oven gets up to temp roast just the beets on their own for about 20-30 minutes. Otherwise everything you have will be beet colored and the beets will be underdone. During that first 30 chop everything else up. I don’t peel the carrots or parsnip and if the sprouts are big I chop them in half. Big chop on the onions as well and the garlic I throw in whole. Toss everything with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and pop in with the beets for another 30-40 minutes.

Don’t be afraid if things start to look crispy around the edges, that’s how it’s supposed to be. A silicon pad on the sheet pan is ideal, but foil is always a good idea for easy clean up. Leftovers aren’t quite as good, but heat up in the oven, the microwave will kill the texture.