These Air Fryer Roasted Root Vegetables are a made in less than 15 minutes and are a fun spin on a classic sheet pan favorite! Packed with flavor, these are a huge time saver! They are always a favorite vegetable mixture to enjoy during the fall.
This recipe is a perennial favorite in our house, and if it isn’t in yours yet, it will be once you try them. Mixing and matching different flavors means it will never get boring.
We also like to change up the seasonings so it will always have a new twist to it. It can be as simple as salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil spray. This one adds a little bit of extra fall flavors with a Sage and Rosemary spice blend sprinkled on the existing earthy flavors of the vegetables.
Why This Recipe Works
It is made in 30 minutes – This is a delicious (and gorgeous) side dish that is made is less than almost any main dish you are going to make.
Mix and Match – You can use any of the root vegetables your family loves, chop them up and create one of kind side dishes each week. The flavors of the dish completely change as you mix up the veggies.
Healthy – I love side dishes that don’t need a lot of oil or cheesy toppings on them to make them delicious. These come in at just one gram of fat, so enjoy them guilt-free!
Meal Prep Friendly – If you have been around Savor and Savvy long, you know we love to meal prep just about everything to save as much time as possible during the week. These root veggies are perfect for meal prepping. On Sunday, simply peel and chop your vegetables and put them into a good Rubbermaid or Tupperware container until you are ready to cook. The best part is these will stay fresh for 5-10 days. If you are lost, start with Meal Prep 101.
🥕 Ingredients
For any sort of Root Vegetable dish, you can pick from any of your favorites and leave out the ones you don’t adore. It’s all good.
Root Vegetables – These are all vegetables where the edible portion is grown underground, so it’s great to pick ones that you love and even try out some new ones to see if you like them. Typically, you are looking at sweet potatoes, baby potatoes, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, etc. I like to add squash to mine as well.
In the photos, you will see some butternut squash and acorn squash which are not root vegetables, but I do tend to mix and match a lot and the sweetness of the squash work perfectly here. As mentioned above, these all tend to have a slight “earthy taste” to them like a potato does.
Spray Olive Oil – This is something that we use all the time when using our Air Fryer. It gives better control over how much olive oil I have on the vegetables. You can use non stick spray as well. A little goes a long way, so use them sparingly.
🍽️ Instructions
These are so super simple to make and remember you can meal prep these as well so make the process so super fast!
Step One: If you haven’t already meal-prepped these, peel and cut the vegetables into cubes. Make sure that they are uniform in size so they complete their cooking at the same time.
Step Two: In a large bowl, combine four cups of vegetables with one teaspoon of an herb seasoning and add a few sprays of olive oil. Mix them with your hands to ensure a good coating.
Step Three: Set the Air Fryer to 390 degrees and cook for 15 minutes, turning it over half way through. Just remember when you are using your Air Fryer you will want it to preheat without the food inside. You will put the food in when it beeps that first time which indicates the start of your cooking time.
Note: With all Air Fryer recipes, I recommend that you check your food early and often as everyone’s Air Fryer cooks slightly differently. Also, don’t pack the vegetables too close together. They need air to flow around the vegetables to brown them.
Step Four: Remove the vegetables and make a second batch if you have extra root veggies. I chopped too much and needed to make several batches. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired.
🥘 Meal Prep
Since root vegetables are a little time consuming to peel, I like to meal prep these on Sunday for the week. The process takes about ten minutes, which isn’t long at all, but it saves massive amounts of time during the week when so much is already going on. The less I need to think about, the better.
📌 Expert Tips
Here are a few tips and tricks to make this recipe a success.
- Meal prep these, if you can. Yes, I’m that passionate about it and it’s because it works. This speeds up the cooking process and you can work on other things while they cook.
- Make sure all the vegetables are cut to similar size. This will help them finish cooking around the same time.
- Check early and often until you know for sure how each recipe works in your Air Fryer.
- Don’t put too many of these in at the same time as they will “steam” instead of “roast.” I did that with chicken wings once and I basically had to start over.
- Don’t use much olive oil spray. Too much may cause the veggies to become soggy instead of crispy.
- Mix up the seasoning you like or just use a simple salt/pepper on it, which is a go-to for us. Simple is perfect. We chose the sage/rosemary as the flavors are very earthy and go well with the root vegetables.
Recipe FAQs
There are so many great root vegetables to use but common favorites are rutabaga, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, potatoes, onions and yams. I also add in butternut squash or acorn squash as well as the flavors are perfect together. The little bit of sweet from butternut is great with the earthiness of the rutabaga.
Root vegetables tend to be high in carbohydrates, but there are a few that you can use to make this recipe and stay true to your low carb lifestyle. Look for turnip (8 carbs), rutabaga (12 carbs), carrots (12 carbs) and celery root (14 carbs).
Absolutely. Once you cooked your root vegetables, allow them to cool and you can put them in Rubbermaid containers to freeze for up to three months which make them great for meal prep lunches.
To pick the best vegetables, always look for the least amount of blemishes as possible. Pick it up and turn it around in your hand and check it out. While it is in your hand, check to see if it has soft spots. If it does, put it back and try another one. Soft root vegetables mean that they are old and you don’t want them.
Related Recipes
Air Fryer Roasted Root Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Potato medium
- 10 Baby Potatoes
- 2 Parsnips
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Rutabaga
- 1 Acorn Squash optional
- 1 Butternut Squash optional
- 1 Onion optional
- 1 tsp Olive Oil or spray oil
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Chop selected vegetables into uniform sizes. Note: If you use all of the vegetables listed, you will end up with more than the four cups noted in this recipe. Either choose fewer of the veggies or make a couple of batches for your lunches throughout the week
- Add salt and pepper or a teaspoon of the dried herb seasoning of your choice. Use a teaspoon of olive oil (or spray) and mix the bowl of vegetables by hand.
- Lay the vegetables on the Air Fryer tray in a single layer. Make sure there is space between the chopped vegetables to allow the air to flow freely.
- Set the Air Fryer for 390 degrees and 15 minutes. Turn the vegetables over at the half way mark.
- After they are finished, top with green onions or parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
Bindi U says
Love this mix!