How to Roast Frozen Vegetables and the Best Vegetables for Roasting

I think we can all agree that we need to eat more vegetables, right? They’re great for overall health and give our bodies all those vital micronutrients, they bulk up our diet and allow us to eat more food for fewer calories, and they make us feel good. We all know that, yet, most of us can’t seem to make it happen. Are you pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? It could be due to lack of time or skills in the kitchen, picky eaters in the house, or maybe the fact that vegetables always spoil in the refrigerator before we get around to eating them. Whatever it is, know that I’m right there with you. That’s why I’m going to cover a valuable topic in today’s post — how to roast frozen vegetables and prepare delicious veggies for an entire week in one hour. No kitchen skills required!

I’ll first provide a basic recipe for a mixture of vegetables and follow that with a few specific recipes I created for Stronger U that actually call for pan roasting instead of oven roasting.

How to Roast Frozen Vegetables

I’m a man of my word and when I say no kitchen skills are required, I mean it. If you can open bags of frozen vegetables and add them to baking sheets, we’re in business. You’ll see in the image below that I went with a mix of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, onions, peppers, and brussels sprouts. Feel free to swap any vegetables you like in and out as you’d like. There’s no right or wrong answer here, though I will say that modifying quantity may affect your baking time. The mix below fills up two baking sheets so if you make a smaller batch, be sure to reduce the cook time.

Before we move on, I’d like to list a few of the best vegetables for roasting (all of them), in case you’d like some ideas.

• Broccoli and Cauliflower go with everything
• Potatoes are amazing but do contain more carbs/calories than others
• Peppers are great Mexican dishes, breakfast foods, or dipping guacamole/hummus
• Zucchini and Squash can be used for Italian dishes or dipping as well
• Butternut squash is very similar to a sweet potato after roasting
• Mushrooms are great on top of pizzas or in cream sauces (I would have added some to my mix but didn’t have mushroom left)
• Aim for as many colors as possible

Calorie and Macronutrient Breakdowns

This particular batch has 681 calories, 28 grams of protein, 113 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of fat without any added oil or cooking spray. If you’re wondering why the math doesn’t add up, it’s likely due to trace amounts of macronutrients and manufacturers counting those calories on the label. For example, the macros here add up to 573 calories, over 100 calories less than what the labels add up to. So, how do you know what to go with?

In my opinion — and this will be difficult if you’re OCD — is to go with either. Who cares about 100 calories either way from vegetables? This is the last thing you should be worried about! Besides, you’re not going to be eating the entire batch in one sitting. The individual serving differences in calories will end up being 10-15 calories at most. You’ve got bigger fish to fry.

Speaking of oils, feel free to add things like olive oil, coconut oil, balsamic vinegar, or even butter. I find that spraying a tiny bit of low-cal cooking spray is enough for the seasoning to stick and gets the job done.

How to Season Roasted Vegetables 

One of my favorite side dish recipes of all time hast to be my air fryer roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. The recipe calls for fresh brussels sprouts, but it’s so easy to make. I also mentioned a few Stronger U recipes in the intro. You’re gonna love these. Be sure to follow Stronger U on Instagram or Pinterest for more recipes like these.

Pan Roasted Pepper Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Honey Sesame Broccoli in Bulk

Honey Sriracha Pan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Pan Roasted Chili Garlic Broccoli

Sauces for Roasted Vegetables and Takeaways

Oh, I almost forgot about the sweet and spicy Sriracha dipping sauce. Try mixing 2 tablespoons (17g) of sugar-free or reduced-sugar jelly with 1 teaspoon (5g) of Sriracha sauce. Amazing!

As I mentioned in the beginning, you could spin these to go with just about anything. A few of my recipes come to mind, however:

• Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken
• Mustard Balsamic Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
• Spicy Coconut Pulled Chicken Thighs
• Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets

If you try any of my recipes out, tag me in your re-creation on Instagram. I’ll be sure to share it with everyone!