Like all good experiments, I had to start at the beginning which meant that I needed to choose my vegetable. Since everyone online seemed to be using frozen broccoli, I of course chose frozen broccoli. Why stray?
Next, I decided to go a bit rogue from the basic technique by placing my baking sheet in the oven while it preheated. This is one of my favorite hacks for roasting anything, so I figured it was a safe bet here.
Once my oven was preheated, I pulled out my pan (with an oven mitt, of course), lined it with parchment and added my straight-from-the-bag, tossed-with-nothing frozen broccoli. It seemed wrong, but I did it. And then I put it in the oven and waited.
Since I had preheated my pan and because my broccoli florets were pretty small, I knew cooking time wouldn't need to be so long, so I set my timer for 20 minutes and let it go.
The timer went off and sure enough, I pulled out the pan and the broccoli was already crispy and looking so good. I tossed it with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and put it back in for another 5 minutes. When I pulled it out the last time I was impressed. My broccoli looked great, tasted amazing, and I instantly became a believer.
Tips for Getting Crispy Roasted Frozen Vegetables
This method works, but there a few nuances. Below are a few tips to help ensure you get those cripsy vegetables you're after:
Keep it even: Make sure your pan is big enough so that you can spread your veggies out in a single layer. They need enough space between each other so that they roast instead of steam.
Preheat the pan: This speeds up the process even more, so why not stick that pan in the oven while it preheats? Just be careful when handling the now-hot pan once you pull it out.
Check often: Frozen vegetables come in all shapes and sizes, that means they're all going to cook a bit differently. You can start with the same oven temp, but check on smaller vegetables closer to the 15 to 20 minute mark. And f they're not done, cook them in 5 minute increments to make sure they don't burn.
Use parchment: Unless you want your delicious roasted vegetables stuck to your pan, you better line it with parchment. And line it right before you put your vegetables on the pan (NOT while it's preheating) because burnt parchment is no good.
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