Roasted Veggies Antipasto Plattter

Roasted Veggies are the perfect addition to just about everything!

They’re festive, pretty, flavorful and delicious!

Plus, they are adaptable and always different based on taste, availability and the rest of the menu.

We serve them at almost every holiday and this was last year’s Christmas platter.

Each year for Christmas, we do a big Italian meal, starting with a antipasto course.  As part of this course, we serve roasted vegetables.

Since it’s served as part of an antipasto spread, we keep it simple with 5 different vegetables, and stick with a mix of veggies that work with well with an Italian spread that included artichokes, Italian tuna, prosciutto, salami, provolone and a Caprese Salad.

This colorful plate of roasted vegetables also happened to include everyone’s favorites: eggplant, zucchini and summer squash, mushrooms, tomatoes and radicchio (which no one loves except me but I love the spiciness of it and love the color it adds to the platter).

And I love that roasted veggies taste great freshly roasted or days later, warm or room temp.

For Christmas, I roast everything except the tomatoes, the day before (Christmas Eve) and bring it to room temperature before serving.

So it’s really low maintenance on Christmas Day so I can enjoy the day more!

And like I mentioned, they can be eaten room temperature or heated up.

For the Christmas antipasto, I served them room temperature to keep things simple but for Thanksgiving they were served with the main meal so I heated them up in a skillet so that they get crispy and warm.

No matter how you enjoy them, make extra so you can have them for leftovers!

They are great to have in the fridge and add to salads, toast, pizzas or just enjoy as a side dish.

Here are some tips for making a platter and getting them crispy every time!

• Make sure the veggies are well dried after rinsing and scrubbing off any dirt
• Cut them as evenly as possible so that they cook evenly
• Make sure they are coated but not dripping in oil
• Place them on the baking sheet so that they are not touching and with enough space in between each vegetable so that they can get crispy.
• Roast them at a high temperature (I like to roast them at 400 degrees, except sweet potato fries which I like to roast at 450 degrees if possible).  If short on time, roast at 425 degrees, but do for shorter time.
• My general rule of thumb is to roast at 400 degrees, for 30 minutes. Some vegetables will take a little longer, some a little less but this will work for most veggies.
• If serving a crowd, consider asking people what their favorite vegetables are ahead of time.  That way you can make sure you have enough of the preferred vegetables.
• If making a platter, choose your favorite vegetables first, look at the colors and then choose a few with different colors so the platter is balanced and vibrant in presentation.

And the best part of roasting veggies is that it is EASY!

You can purchase the veggies pre-cut or cut them yourself, then place them on the baking sheet with some oil, sprinkle with salt and any other seasoning you like, and let them bake!

I love that I can put them in the oven and get other things done or work while they cook.

Do you ever serve roasted vegetables as part of a holiday meal?

Scroll down for recipe.  For tips on roasting sweet potato wedges or broccoli, click here.