Make a zesty golden roasted vegetables Thanksgiving side dish when you crave a mixture of roasted carrots, roasted golden beets, and sweet potatoes with a vibrant citrus drizzle to accompany your elegant holiday dinner! Top off these tender golden roasted veggies with a bright orange maple drizzle that brings a delicious, vibrant finishing touch.
This golden vegetables recipe gets its name from the bright orange fall vegetables and golden beets that make up the bold color and flavor of this tasty Thanksgiving side dish. Roast these veggies and drizzle with a zesty orange dressing for a perfect side dish that will make a tasty addition to your holiday menu.
Serving A Roasted Vegetables Thanksgiving Side
When I set out to create a vegetable platter for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner table, I knew I awanted the beauty, flavor, and simplicity of seasonal veggies to shine through. The inspiration really just came from the orange and golden colors of the different vegetables.
This roasted Thanksgiving vegetable platter really is an easy side dish that comes together on a couple of sheet pans. We’ll roast everything up in the oven and then serve on a platter with a super tasty finishing touch: a delicious, bright, and balanced golden orange maple drizzle.
It complements the vegetables beautifully and really brings out all their flavor even more. Finish it all off with fresh minced green herbs and this vegetable medley will become the perfect partner for your holiday meal.
You’ll see a couple of things transform in all the right ways. The carrots become bright orange and sweet… The sweet potatoes roast into soft tender bites, and the golden beets add an extra touch of earthy sweetness that ties everything together. Keep this holiday recipe handy when you want a simple and delicious roasted root vegetables recipe.
Related: Sheet Pan Roasted Sausage with Apples and Squash
Some quartered fennel bulbs add that hint of flavor that only fennel can bring to the plate. A sweet herby licorice flavor that is soft and delicate makes the perfect addition for the best roasted vegetables…
It blends in so well with the roasted root veggies. The rest of the process that brings these delicious golden veggies to life is pretty simple!
All you really need is a few sheet pans and a few minutes to do some prep work on the veggies. The oven takes care of the rest! If you don’t mind a little slicing, drizzling, and seasoning, then you’ll fall right into the ease of this simple recipe! It will help set the stage for your delicious holiday dinner.
Prep and Cut Vegetables For Roasting
Before we can add our veggies to the tray and bake our vegetable side dish, we’ll give them a rinse. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees while you wash your veggies. Trim and peel where needed.
For the beets, I simply removed the tops and root tails at the bottom and rubbed them down with a little olive oil before wrapping them in foil. They’ll form little foil balls on your sheet pan.
Next, we’ll trim and quarter the fennel bulbs. Remove a few tough outer layers from the fennel bulbs where necessary.
Add the foil-wrapped beets and fennel to your sheet pan. Sprinkle the fennel pieces with salt and pepper and drizzle with good olive oil.
Place Vegetables On a Sheet Pan and Roast Veggies
Next, I’ll trim the green tops off of the carrots and peel them. We’ll place the carrots on a second sheet pan and drizzle them up with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Lastly, we’ll peel and slice the sweet potatoes into about 1/2 inch thick slices and layer them up on the second sheet pan with the carrots. Toss the slices in a little drizzle of olive oil plus salt and pepper.
Dot the slices with a little cold butter that’s been cubed into small pieces (about 2 to 3 tbsp). It will add a delicious buttery taste and keep the slices moist during roasting.
Now place both veggie sheet pans in a 425 degree oven. Roast everything up for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are easily pierced with a fork.
Roast Vegetables until tender
I’ve found that depending on the size, the beets tend to take slightly longer. Just remove the other vegetables in advance if they are done sooner. I used a bundle of 6 golden beets which tend to be smaller than regular-sized red beets. They don’t take terribly long to roast in the oven due to their smaller size.
Size Up Your Beets and Choose a Uniform Size
Just remember, the larger the beet, the longer they’ll need in the oven. Choosing smaller beets is quite alright since they will be making up a portion of a larger platter with other items. If you are unsure about their tenderness, poke them with a fork to check how soft they are, then remove when tender.
Combine Dressing Ingredients To Make A Bright Zesty Drizzle
When cooking time is up, transfer the roasted vegetables to a dish or serving platter and prepare a quick citrus drizzle! It’s so easy to do! All you need is a little dressing bottle or mason jar to shake it up and you’re done!
In a bottle or mason jar with a lid, combine the fresh juice of a navel orange, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the zest of an orange, seal, and shake until combined. You could also whisk everything together in a bowl and then serve on the side for people to spoon on individually.
The zest and juice from the orange and sweetness from the maple flavor marry beautifully with the acidity of the apple vinegar. The drizzle will brighten everything up and give the veggies a beautiful glossy finish on the plate that makes them both stunning and scrumptious.
Garnish Roasted Autumn Vegetables with a Touch of Fresh Herbs
I like to finish the roasted vegetables Thanksgiving side with a little minced parsley. If you saved the long green stalks you cut off of the fennel bulbs earlier, garnish with that! The thin fennel leaves from the stalks make a beautiful finishing garnish and they’ll add a colorful pop of green. Otherwise, simply garnish with lots of fresh green herbs such as sprigs of fresh rosemary or fresh thyme.
Serve this easy roasted Thanksgiving vegetable platter alongside a traditional holiday meal at your Thanksgiving table. It makes a great healthy side dish that will brighten up your meal with the beauty and flavor of simple roasted root vegetables.
Zesty Golden Roasted Vegetables Thanksgiving Side Dish
Equipment
Ingredients
For Roasted Vegetables
- 1 bundle 6 Small Golden Beets - washed and trimmed
- 3 Sweet Potatoes or Yams - peeled and sliced
- 1 bundle 6 Medium Carrots - peeled and trimmed
- 2 Fennel Bulbs - trimmed and quartered
- 2 to 3 tbsp Cold Cubed Butter
- 2 to 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Coarse Sea Salt + Ground Pepper - or more if desired
For The Orange Citrus Drizzle
- 1/2 Fresh Navel Orange – The Juice and Zest
- 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Coarse Salt + Pepper or more if desired
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Rub the beets with olive oil and wrap in foil and place on a sheet pan. Trim the fennel bulbs removing the stalks and tough outer parts and quarter them. Place these on the same sheet pan next to the foil beets and drizzle with olive oil salt pepper.
- Peel and slice sweet potatoes into about 1/2 inch thick slices and toss them in a drizzle of olive oil plus salt and pepper. Layer them up neatly on a second sheet pan then dot the slices with a little cold butter cubed into small pieces (about 2 to 3 tbsp of butter to keep the slices moist during roasting.
- Trim and peel the carrots. Place them whole on the sheet pan next to the sweet potatoes and drizzle well with olive oil salt and pepper. Now place both sheet pans in a hot 425 degree oven. Roast for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are easily pierced with a fork. Then remove from the oven and transfer to serving platter or plate.
- Combine fresh orange juice and orange zest with the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together to combine. You could aslo pour ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake together until combined.
- Drizzle vegetables with fresh zesty orange maple drizzle and garnish with fresh chopped herbs such as parsley, rosemary, or thyme. Serve warm.
