These Maple Roast Vegetables are a holiday favorite in our house but also the perfect side dish any night of the week. Roasted to perfection then lightly sweetened with maple syrup, they’re an irresistible recipe the whole family will love.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Perfect for Thanksgiving: Maple roast vegetables are perfect whether you’re hosting a big gathering or keeping it cozy with family. Looking for more ideas? Check out my Thanksgiving Menu and Prep Schedule and Easy Thanksgiving Sides!
- Side dish star: Thanksgiving sides steal the show, and these veggies pair perfectly with Cast Iron Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups, Super Simple Stuffing, and Green Bean Casserole.
- Tasty leftovers: These veggies might be even better the next day! Roast double to enjoy flavorful leftovers all week.
- Kid-friendly Veggies: Even picky eaters love these. Roasting enhances their natural sweetness, and the maple syrup makes them irresistible. This recipe got my kids hooked on squash!
- Hands-off: A quick chop is all the effort needed. Pop them in the oven, and let the roasting handle itself while you prep other dishes.
The Ingredients
- Peppers: Select fun colors of bell peppers (besides green) to have the sweetest options.
- Squash: Choose winter, hard-shell squash options like butternut squash, delicata, acorn or kabocha. Looking for more winter squash recipes? Try Sweet and Sour Roasted Squash, Roast Acorn Squash, Roasted Kabocha Squash or Stuffed Butternut Squash!
- Carrots: I like to add other colors besides just orange!
- Onion: A regular white or yellow onion pairs well here.
- Maple Syrup: Just a touch! This adds to the sweetness and caramelization that makes everyone go nuts for more.
Substitutions and Variations
- More Bite: Want more bite? Add a red onion instead of other options.
- More Color: You can use any colors of peppers or carrots here. Go ahead and play around so that everything on your pan isn’t one color family.
- Switch the Sweet: You can use a touch of honey if you prefer that flavor over maple syrup. Just keep in mind that then your vegetables won’t be suitable for vegans.
How to Make Maple Roasted Vegetables
Step 1: Cut squash and remove seeds.
Step 2: Dice remaining veggies in similar sizes.
Step 3: Add oil and salt and stir to combine. Spread on a baking sheet in an even layer.
Step 4: Roast veggies in a 425°F oven for 50 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until tender and golden. Top with maple syrup and roast an additional 5 minutes or until caramelized.
Tips and Tricks
- To Peel or Not Peel: Butternut squash you need to peel, but if you select other options as well like delicata or acorn, they actually don’t need to be peeled! The skin will add a lot of fiber.
- Make it Easy: You can often find already peeled and cubed butternut squash in the produce section to help you save time.
- Make it Ahead: I’m all about saving time, especially when you are making a bunch of dishes all at once. You can chop and add the oil to the veggies, pop in the fridge in an airtight container or bag up to 48 hours in advance.
- Reheating: If you’re wanting to make this dish entirely then reheat, you can absolutely do that. Reheat vegetables in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes until heated through. Perfect for prepping then taking to a Friendsgiving!
FAQs
Prepping butternut squash doesn’t have to be intimidating! Start with a sharp knife—it’s safer and easier to handle. Cut off both ends to create a flat surface, then stand it upright and use a veggie peeler to remove the skin. If you’re feeling confident, you can use the knife to trim the skin, but you might lose a bit of the good stuff that way.
Some varieties of winter squash do have thinner skin that is a delicious treat. Delicata, acorn, or honey nut all have thin skin that really softens up when roasted. Kabocha you can peel if you want, but it’s not necessary. Butternut should always be peeled. While edible, its skin is thicker, hard to chew and also don’t necessarily taste the best. You do also have to remove the seeds from all types, but remember they can be roasted like pumpkin seeds!
If you have smaller carrots, you can sometimes leave them whole, or even simply in half for a beautiful presentation. The main goal is to cut all vegetables to similar size so they are all done at the same time. Your onion is the most likely to burn, but you can help that by leaving the layers in large chunks rather than separating them all out.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
These Maple Roast Vegetables are the perfect blend of sweet and savory, making them a must-have on your Thanksgiving table. Whether it’s for the big day or a cozy family dinner, this recipe is sure to become a favorite in your home!
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Maple Roast Vegetables
Ingredients
- 7 carrots, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 red bell peppers, cut into large chunks
- 1 delicata squash, unpeeled, split lengthwise, seeds removed and cut into half moons (you could also use peeled butternut squash or a combination of the two)
- 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place all the vegetables on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat all the vegetables and sprinkle with salt. Alternatively at this point you can place the vegetables in a large zipper bag and refrigerate overnight.
- Roast for 45-50 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until tender and golden.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven, drizzle with maple syrup and roast an additional 5 minutes or until caramelized and golden.
- Serve with additional salt to taste.
Video
Notes
- To Peel or Not Peel: Butternut squash you need to peel, but if you select other options as well like delicata or acorn, they actually don’t need to be peeled! The skin will add a lot of fiber.
- Make it Easy: You can often find already peeled and cubed butternut squash in the produce section to help you save time.
- Make it Ahead: I’m all about saving time, especially when you are making a bunch of dishes all at once. You can chop and add the oil to the veggies the night before and pop in the fridge in an airtight container or bag.
Made this dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Was DELISH!! A big hit and something I’ll be making more often!!
It’s on our table every year! They’re soooo good. Happy you loved this recipe as much as we do!
Any idea if how these will hold up overnight and/or if they can be made and made and then reheated after trasnsporting?
Delicious! I have never known what to do with delicata squash and now I do!! This recipe was so, so good…and easy! Thank you!
They were the star in the Thanksgiving dinner! My husband doesn’t eat vegetables but after he tried this recipie he is asking me to cook them frequently! My parents-in- law loved them and I sent them already the web page. Thank you Catherine, you can’t imagine how much you help me and I am sure other moms with these delicious recipies.
can you substitute honey for maple syrup?
Made these this morning for my toddler. Delicious (if you like sweet things). I only had squash and carrots on hand, so just left out the peppers and onions.
This sounds so good, but I’m not sure what main dish to make to go with it. Do you have any suggestions?
i’m a big fan of your blogand i made lots of your recipes for my litle girl and she simply loved it all 🙂
but it’s the first time to comment, and i was wondering what is the maple syrup substitute ?
Are there potatoes in there too? It looks like potato in the picture.
Delicious! Am making again this weekend. I used less salt. thank you for this recipe!