These veggies make a great garnish for thick slices of Spanish Pot Roast, but they're delicious on their own as a sidedish, too, or as part of a warm salad. This combo is just a suggestion — feel free to roast only one or two kinds of veggies if you like.

This amount will be enough for six servings of pot roast; cut the recipe in half to make less. I find that sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and Yukon Gold potatoes cook a little more quickly than turnips, rutabaga, or celery root (celeriac), so I tend to cut the former a little bigger (1/2 to ¾ inch dice) and the latter smaller (3/8 to ½ inch dice) so that they cook all at the same time. Alternatively you could roast these groups on separate sheet pans and take one out earlier.

Serves 3 to 4 as a side, 6 as a garnish.

  • 1 ½ cups small-diced (unpeeled) turnip, (peeled) rutabaga or (peeled) celeriac
  • 1 ½ cups medium-diced (unpeeled) Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups medium-diced (unpeeled) sweet potato or (peeled) butternut squash
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt


1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a large heavy-duty rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, toss the diced vegetables with the olive oil, thyme, and salt to thoroughly coat.

3. Spread the vegetables in one layer on the sheet pan. Roast for 15 minutes; use a metal spatula to flip most of the veggies over for more even browning. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until all the veggies are tender and nicely browned in places, a total of 30 to 35 minutes.

Susie Middleton