Tip: Roast Vegetables on Parchment Paper for Easier Transfer & Cleanup

As I mentioned last week, I've been trying to eat more vegetables every day, and my favorite way to cook a bunch of veggies is, hands-down, to roast them. Here's one small tip I've been following lately to help make cleanup and transfer from baking sheet to bowl quicker and easier: Parchment paper!

I bake my granola on parchment paper to make it easier to transfer into a bowl or jar; you can just pick up the paper and funnel the granola down.

I realized that doing the same thing with roasted vegetables, like this batch of roasted cauliflower with capers and lemon, would make cleanup a breeze. Using parchment eliminates most of the baked on crust that you find on baking sheets after roasting vegetables at high heat. It also helps me slide a big batch of vegetables straight into a storage dish.

Now, I can hear some of you getting restless right now: But that's so wasteful! Paper you're just going to throw away... Gah! Two thoughts on this. First, what is more wasteful: Using compostable paper (and composting it), or spending extra energy and hot water, not to mention soap, cleaning a tough pan? It's always a tradeoff, this idea of being green, so that's just an unanswerable rhetorical question for you there!

But, more practically, you can use a Silpat, which will give you the same effect, although you will need to wash that then. You can also use this reusable parchment paper.

Me, I just feel that any little aid to eating more vegetables is worth it right now, and this small tip has been helpful in churning out big batches of roasted veggies.

Do you have any other tips for making super roasted veggies?

(Image: Faith Durand)

Comments (19)

Silpat all the way! I use mine practically anytime my baking sheets go into the oven.

I roast mine on a Silpat mat which then can just be wiped off (if it's only used for veggies) and it's also a good reason to use less oil. I've experimented with roasting w/out salt (things like beets and cubed squash) and then adding sea salt just before serving that way the salt flavor is a bright note on top of the sweetness of the vegetable.

I may be crazy but it seems that when I use parchment, my veg doesn't brown and caramelize as well as it does on just an oiled pan. Am I crazy? Maybe I should give it another go...

Laurajane, I don't think you're crazy--I always feel like my roasted veggies don't brown/caramelize as well when I do them in a ceramic or glass baking dish as when I do them in a metal pan. I think there *is* something about the metal...(although I have no idea what it is...)

There's always the chance that the initially moist veggies will soak the paper and, even though it'll be dried when they're done, compromise the structural integrity of the parchment.

Foil is another option, but much more wasteful, and a health concern for some.

Silpats are great, but then you're still washing something, so why not just put them straight on the pan?

Oh, I do this all the time OR my silpat. I never roast without one or the other. Parchment is great to just toss when done. I do this with my messier veggies like whole sweet potatoes. Sometimes I don't want to clean the silpat! Those are my lazy days. ha!

Had to give up using parchment paper... The smoke alarm goes off!!!
I need to by myself a silpat for sure.

Which parchment paper is compostable? Isn't it coated with silicon? Does that break down?

I always use parchment paper but I will definitely be looking into this Silpat. I've never even heard of it...but I want one.

Fauxdobe, I was thinking the same thing. As far as I know most parchment paper is coated with silicone, and I'm not sure if that's compostable. I did read somewhere that some parchment paper is coated with a teflon-like chemical, which I wouldn't want in my compost (or my food for that matter.)

I randomly purchased some parchment paper sometime last year at an organic food co-op; I was baking a birthday cake and had heard it was a great option. The kind I got was unbleached, chlorine-free and compostable, but I definitely hadn't considered that other kinds might NOT be.

So, if it's going into your compost bin and you KNOW that will be it's ultimate destination, make sure you purchase compostable parchment paper. Easy peasy! Better yet, EVERYONE buy that kind - I doubt teflon breaks down any faster in a landfill than it does in a backyard compost pile.

I always do this now and I love it! I love being able to pick up the parchment paper and woosh everything into a bowl, and I love that my cookie sheets don't need scrubbed as much.

ASMALLCONTEMPT, I'd be interested to know what brand your paper is. The one I get at our coop, and at the local whole foods, is made in Finland by "ifyoucare" and is coated with silicone. This is the only unbleached, chlorine free brand I have seen, either in CA or in NM. The packaging touts this as environmentally friendly and natural because it is made of silicon, just like sand. (I'm no chemist... but?) No claims of compostability though.

I use parchment for everything. years ago, I quit buying it in rolls, and invested, with friends, in a foodservice box. I grab a hunk of sheets out, rip them in half, and store them in a loose roll in a short length of PVC pipe. The parchment is always the perfect size, doesn't curl impossibly, and is so much cheaper.

I love parchment too but Rubi, forgive my ignorance but what's a "foodservice box"?

I just use aluminum foil. Then I rinse it off and throw it into the recycling.

Silicone is not compost-friendly.

In general, paper products are water-intensive to produce so the argument that you're saving water probably isn't valid. In terms of environmental impact, there's also the packaging, transportation footprint, etc. You have to consider the entire supply chain of a product when making such a claim.

When roasting this way, I usually just soak the pan at the end of washing dishes and everything comes right off.

I definitely use foil. It's about ten times cheaper than parchment. At least.

I bought some of those pre-cut parchment paper liners on Amazon and use them for SO many things! Love using them to line my pans when roasting veg!