How to Roast Vegetables in Convection

Roasting vegetables is perhaps the easiest way to incorporate a wide variety of vegetables into your diet and not only are they delicious, the preparation is remarkably simple. A medley of vegetables can be served over greens or grains or served with roast meat, poultry or seafood.

Vegetables taste wonderful when roasted because their natural sugars caramelize when being cooked at high heat. Convection is the ideal cooking mode because more moisture is retained which equates to better flavor and texture.

Tips for Roasting Vegetables in Convection

The important things to consider when roasting vegetables are the oven mode, rack position and oven temperature. Since all ovens are different you will achieve the best results if you review the manufacturers information to learn about the oven you are cooking with. 

Either the Convection Bake or Convection Roast modes are suitable for roasting vegetables, although if your oven features both options the more powerful Convection Roast mode will ensure better caramelization. These modes use a combination of direct heat from the Top and Bottom heating elements but because the fan is circulating the heated air the vegetables cook evenly and will not dry out.

Rack position is also important to ensure even cooking results. Generally roasting on rack position 2 counting up from the bottom is the best rack position so that the vegetables can cook evenly without burning.  However, if you want very crispy cauliflower or roasted potatoes the lowest rack position closer to the heating element may provide better results. When roasting on the lowest rack position, the vegetables should be turned part way through the cooking to avoid 

burning.

The oven temperature is also important, most recipes are written for the Bake or Roast mode and may indicate a higher temperature but in Convection a slightly lower temperature of 375 F will give better results. Remember, when you use a convection mode the heat is circulated around the oven, cooking the food from the edge to the core so if the temperature is too high you can risk overcooking the edges before the center is cooked through.

Best Vegetables for Roasting

Root vegetables are of course ideal for roasting, but you can also roast greens such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale, so everything is worth a try. Roasting a medley of vegetables is an easy way to create a colorful, flavorful side dish that can be enhanced with some crumbled cheese, mixed salad greens or toasted nuts. 

The important thing to keep in mind is cutting the vegetables in a uniform shape to ensure even cooking and choosing vegetables that have the same approximate cooking time. Of course you can always add in quicker cooking vegetables towards the end of the cooking time.

Larissa,

Your Convection Enthusiast