The Common Mistake Chefs Never Make When Roasting Vegetables

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68d5525818000025f85d02a6.jpg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Roasted vegetables" data-caption="Roasted vegetables" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Christina Rumpf via Unsplash" />Roasted vegetables</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>It sounds so simple – chop some veggies, place them in the oven with some oil and seasonings, and wait for the perfectly golden produce to cook. </p><p>Except that for some reason, mine always end up looking more like sous vide veggies than browned, crispy perfection. I’ve tried spacing them apart to prevent steaming, but no luck: that magical caramelisation just doesn’t occur. </p><p>Turns out I might be making a common mistake – and though fixing it might come at the minor cost of a longer washing-up time, I reckon it’s worth a go.</p><h2><strong>Baking paper spells disaster for your veggies</strong></h2><p>I’ve always used tinfoil or baking paper to line my roasting trays, mostly (to be honest) because I can’t be bothered deep-cleaning them afterwards. </p><p>But while tinfoil might be a slightly better option than parchment paper, experiments from both culinary expert <a href="https://www.177milkstreet.com/2020/09/is-it-better-to-roast-vegetables-on-parchment-foil-or-on-unlined-baking-sheets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Kitchen</a> and <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/roast-vegetable-tray-lining-tip-11802187?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=ten_tabs&amp;utm_campaign=FIREFOX-EDITORIAL-TENTABS-2025_09_24&amp;position=10&amp;category=fascinating_stories&amp;scheduled_corpus_item_id=a4d1ab15-93ff-4d98-9790-e8c36cf6f284&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seriouseats.com%2Froast-vegetable-tray-l