These Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables are perfect for cooking up for holidays or any night of the year! Butternut squash, brussels sprouts and parsnips are tossed together with a blend of fresh herbs and spices to create the best flavor. Don’t forget to toss in some pecans and pomegranate seeds to make it even more fall-flavored!
Air Fryer Vegetables
Need to free up some room in your oven this holiday season? These Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables are here to help! Simply put, this recipe features a medley of fall favorite veggies that are made delicious with simple seasonings, fresh rosemary, and autumnal additions like pecans and pomegranate seeds.
From start to finish, this Thanksgiving vegetable side dish will only take you about 25 minutes. Yes, you read that right! On a crazy busy day like Thanksgiving (it’s like the Olympics of home cooking), you’re going to want a quick and easy side dish recipe like this that you can really count on. Plus, you’ll have more room in the oven for Pumpkin Pie, and isn’t that what really matters?
Why You’ll Love this Thanksgiving Vegetables Recipe:
- Air Fryer Recipe: Cooking veggies in the air fryer not only gives you more room in the oven, it also makes the veggies SO tasty! In just 15 minutes of cook time, your vegetables will taste perfectly roasted.
- Fall Flavor: The vegetables in this recipe are definitely fall favorites. That flavor is enhanced even further by pecans and pomegranate seeds!
- So Easy: On a day when you’re fussing over the turkey, you don’t want the side dishes stressing you out as well. Alleviate some of that stress with this easy air fryer recipe!
Honestly, any excuse to use fresh rosemary in my cooking makes me happy! It’s such an aromatic ingredient that always makes me smile.
How to Make Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Toss the chopped veggies in olive oil and seasonings.
- Cook the veggies in the air fryer for 10 minutes.
- Shake the veggies in the basket and add pecans.
- Cook for another 5 minutes or so.
- Serve with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of balsamic glaze if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Vegetables: For this side dish, I’m using a combination of butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and parsnips, but you could swap any of those for your favorite squashes or root vegetables. Carrots, delicata squash, honeynut squash, turnips, or beets would also be delicious! Just make sure to cut the vegetables close to the same size so they cook evenly.
- Olive Oil: Helps the vegetables crisp and helps the seasonings stick to the vegetables. Feel free to use a few pumps of olive oil spray if you prefer.
- Fresh Rosemary: Delicious with vegetables and adds a really fresh, woody flavor.
- Garlic Powder: I recommend garlic powder rather than minced garlic for this recipe because it coats the vegetables well and won’t burn in the air fryer.
- Salt and Pepper: Season the vegetables so they taste delicious!
- Pecan Halves: Add a bit of nutty crunch to the vegetables. Feel free to use walnuts or sliced almonds if you prefer.
- Pomegranate Seeds: Add great color and a sweet pop of flavor to the vegetables. You could also use dried cranberries if pomegranate seeds aren’t your favorite!
You can roast almost any veggie in the air fryer! Keep in mind that firm vegetables (like potatoes, squash, carrots, parsnips, beets, and Brussels sprouts) will take a bit longer to cook than tender vegetables (like onions, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and green beans). If you’re using a mix of firm and tender vegetables, you will want to add the tender veggies after the firm ones have already cooked for about 5 minutes.
Yes! These veggies are rich in vitamins and minerals, and using the air fryer allows you to use less oil, making them even healthier!
Yes, but you’ll need to increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Make sure not to overcrowd the air fryer, or else you’ll steam the vegetables instead!
Nope! In fact, adding water will steam the vegetables instead of roasting them.
Get a perfect oven-roasted texture on these veggies, without the oven! You’ll be surprised at how crispy vegetables get with just a few minutes in the Air Fryer.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can chop and prep the vegetables up to 1 day in advance of when you plan to cook them. Store the chopped veggies in airtight containers in the refrigerator until ready to air fry.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover air fryer roasted vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in the microwave, air fryer, or oven.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze air fryer roasted vegetables in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. I recommend leaving off the nuts and pomegranate seeds if freezing and adding them to the dish once thawed.
Variations
- You can swap the veggies for virtually any veggies you like, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, beets, onion, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, or green beans.
- You can use an olive oil spray instead of olive oil.
- Feel free to swap the seasonings for a seasoning blend, such as creole seasoning, ranch, fajita seasoning, Italian seasoning, herbs de Provence, or taco seasoning.
- You can use walnuts or sliced almonds instead of pecans, or feel free to omit nuts altogether.
- You can swap the pomegranate seeds for dried cranberries or raisins, or leave them out completely.
- Feel free to add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top!
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables
- Try to cut the vegetables into equal-sized pieces so that they all cook at the same rate.
- If mixing in tender vegetables, add them in after the firm vegetables have already cooked for 5 minutes to avoid overcooking them.
- Take care not to overcrowd the air fryer basket; otherwise, the veggies will steam instead of browning. You may need to air fry in batches.
More Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes We Love
Butternut squash, brussels sprouts, and parsnips are combined with pecans and pomegranate seeds to create the most delicious harvest of autumn flavors! Don’t forget to include the fresh rosemary for an even more delightful experience. Your oven will thank you for giving it a little break on Thanksgiving!
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Try:
- Mac and Cheese Casserole
- Parker House Rolls
- Creamed Corn
- Butternut Squash Stuffing
- Crockpot Sweet Potato Casserole
- Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash (from 1 squash)
- 2 cups halved Brussels sprouts (about 20 whole Brussels sprouts)
- 2 cups cubed parsnips (from about 3 parsnips)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup raw pecan halves
- 1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Add the butternut squash, brussel sprouts, and parsnips to a large bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over the rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.2 cups cubed butternut squash, 2 cups halved Brussels sprouts, 2 cups cubed parsnips, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Transfer the vegetables to your air fryer, making sure not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook the vegetables in batches.
- Air fry the vegetables at 400°F for 10 minutes. Then, shake the air fryer basket and sprinkle over the pecan halves.1 cup raw pecan halves
- Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until the vegetables are crisp and golden brown.
- Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds. This side dish is perfect as-is but can also be topped with a drizzle of balsamic glaze if desired.1 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- You can swap the veggies for virtually any veggies you like, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, beets, onion, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, or green beans.
- You can use an olive oil spray instead of olive oil.
- Feel free to swap the seasonings for a seasoning blend, such as creole seasoning, ranch, fajita seasoning, Italian seasoning, herbs de Provence, or taco seasoning.
- You can use walnuts or sliced almonds instead of pecans, or feel free to omit nuts altogether.
- You can swap the pomegranate seeds for dried cranberries or raisins, or leave them out completely.
- Feel free to add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top!
- Try to cut the vegetables into equal-sized pieces so that they all cook at the same rate.
- If mixing in tender vegetables, add them in after the firm vegetables have already cooked for 5 minutes to avoid overcooking them.
- Take care not to overcrowd the air fryer basket; otherwise, the veggies will steam instead of browning. You may need to air fry in batches.
Nutrition Information
I looooove roasted veggies of all kinds! I just randomly was thinking about them today – I know, a weird thing to just ponder over, roasted veggies…lol.. but was thinking that I’d really like to try something new. You know, try vegetables or mixtures I’d not tried before. In the past, like a lot of americans, I hadn’t had a wide array of vegetables. At least here in the southeast/bible belt, most people aren’t “adventurous” with food, but that’s starting to change a bit with people my age (think millennial-ish age)….we can’t afford homes with skyrocketing property values and stagnating wages, so we just spend our money on foods, and since we can’t afford big traveling as much, we travel via new foods from all over LOL. Or, at least, I do!
Here, people basically normally just eat broccoli, green beans, some few winter squashes (sparingly), potatoes/sweet potatoes/yams, zucchini/yellow squash, onion, rarely brussels sprouts or cabbage, corn, tomatoes, sometimes cauliflower, carrots, and that’s about the bulk of any vegetables usually consumed here by average families. Speaking of making turnips, parsnips, rutabegas, etc will earn you strange and confused looks. It can be exceedingly difficult at times to even find anything other that the “regular” stuff I listed when you go to the grocery store. I went to 3 grocery stores once trying to find turnips for a stew – finally, I found a grocery store that stocked them, though they were hidden in a corner, and they only had 2 pitiful little ones.
People are missing out! I, long ago, assumed (incorrectly!) that they must not be that good if people weren’t eating them. How wrong I was! Part of any negative reputation is simply due to them being prepared poorly. So many vegetables, especially root vegetables, can be just blah or bad if you boil or steam them into oblivion then don’t really season them properly or at all. Any vegetable can be made to taste awful! But properly roasting and seasoning these vegetables can bring out amazing new tastes and an almost creamy inner texture with a nice mild crispy outside. Even with veggies you know – ever roasted broccoli? Even just a tiny bit of fresh lemon juice with some bright seasonings, along with fresh black pepper, and a quick, high-temp roasting can make it seem like a brand new experience, a new vegetable.
Anyway, I really digress….my original point was that I came across your recipe of sorts when googling randomly about trying some new vegetables (which I intended to roast) or trying a new twist on it. I also have a chayote squash I want to use – it’s a mexican squash of sorts and I HIGHLY recommend roasting it!! Look up how to cut it up properly. But it is amazing when roasted and seasoned, especially with onion…. it brings out a nice, mild sweetness but is very healthy with good fiber but lower carb and all. Anyway, I have never had roasted beets (I’ve never had beets AT ALL), or rutabaga. I’ve only had turnips in a stew. I’ve had parsnips but only a time or two, a long time ago. Looking at your initial recipe, I’ve never even had pomegranate seeds, but they look beautiful – the pictures of your finished dish with the pecans are absolutely stunning. I feel like I absolutely must try to recreate it! Then, after having it as you prepared it, modifying it with other vegetables that I have not tried yet or have not had in a long while.
Also, a few months ago, I started really perusing the spice sections at my local chain grocery stores and, particularly, walmart (I know, shudder, lol)….they are beginning to stock MANY more packets of amazing mixtures that can make it sooooo easy to season vegetables, stews, all kinds of one-pot/pan dishes. I bought all the varieties they had available of this brand called “Urban Accents”. I am very picky about my spices and seasonings. I am a spice queen, with shelf after shelf of bottles of spices and spice mixtures – from fennel seeds to sweet hungarian paprika to aleppo pepper to specific things like Rogan Josh seasoning. These are the first actual vegetable spice mixtures that I recall ever having that I felt were perfect as is, that I could dump in the packet and not need to add or change ANYTHING. I got soooo many complements when I used them on regular simple roasted brussels, carrots, potatoes, and onions at Thanksgiving. They ended up being the star of the side dishes LOL. I believe that time, it was the Manchego and Roasted Garlic flavored ones. I loooove the balsamic and roasted onion one but it stays sold out, lol. They have a number of flavors, plus packets for certain dishes (like baja shrimp, fish tacos, etc). But yeah….those veggies seasoning packets are the bomb and make it SOOOO easy.
Anyway, looong comment, sorry. So, the short version, I’m gonna absolutely try to make what is in your beautiful pics, then I’m going to try some new-to-me/never had roasted veggies (turnips, beets, rutabaga, anything else I can find lol). I can’t wait!! Roasting has got to be my absolute favorite way to prepare and try many kinds of veggies. It caramelizes a lot of veggies and brings out new flavors and sweetness you didn’t know was in there!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing, Hoshi!