Five Common Mistakes You Should Avoid When Roasting Veggies

When cooking veggies, remember that they always taste better when roasted.

Roasted veggies should taste sweet and crisp on the outside, and on the inside, their texture should be creamy and soft. Then why do your vegetables get all burnt and dry or get flavorless and soggy? Well, you are probably making some of these common mistakes while roasting your veggies. But do not worry, as this guide will help you roast your veggies the correct way.

Stop using the wrong pan 

You can use a cake pan or a casserole to roast veggies, but their high sides make it difficult for the water present inside the vegetables to evaporate at the time of baking, leading to sogginess. Instead, it would be better to use an ordinary rimmed baking sheet. The rims have the ideal height to prevent your vegetables from slipping out of the pan and can also trap steam to keep your food mushy.

Do not chop the veggies into random unequal pieces 

Dicing or chopping your veggies into the same size is not for presentation only. When vegetables are chopped in equal sizes, they get cooked uniformly. This trick will help you avoid having some chunks that feel undercooked at the center while others are burnt to a crisp.

Remember to flip the veggies when cooking

Roasting is not a cooking procedure where you place the veggies in a pan and forget about it until they are ready. If you forget to flip the veggies halfway through cooking, they will end up getting cooked unevenly, with one side getting burnt and turning deep brown, while the other side would have no texture and color.

Avoid cooking at a very low temperature 

Indeed, heating the oven at low temperatures will surely cook the veggies, but the heat will not be sufficient to acquire the caramelized, deep brown, crisp exterior that adds flavor. Perfectly roasted veggies demand more heat. Hence, set the oven between 400°F to 450° F.

Avoid overcrowding the pan

Another surefire way to avoid soggy and limp veggies? Do not place too many vegetable  chunks on the cooking pan. If your vegetables are too closely packed, they end up steaming and not roasting up crisp and nice. It is fine, if you have a single layer of veggies with a few chunks touching, but avoid piling them over each other to eliminate sogginess.

The process of roasting vegetables is not high maintenance, but it requires little attention.