Air-Fryer Roasted Vegetables
New potatoes, butternut squash, red pepper, red onion — tossed with olive oil, thyme, salt, air-fried at 400°F for twenty-two minutes with one shake. Comes out caramelised at every edge, the squash gone soft, the potatoes properly crisp. The platter of vegetables that becomes the side, the salad, the next day's lunch.
The roasted-vegetable platter is the side dish that quietly takes over the meal. You start with the idea of "we'll have some vegetables alongside the chicken." You end with everyone going back for seconds of the vegetables and ignoring the chicken. The trick is the caramelisation: vegetables roasted at high heat develop nutty, slightly burnt edges that taste fundamentally different from boiled or steamed ones.
The air fryer beats the oven for this specific job. Same heat (400°F), half the time (22 minutes vs. 40), and the circulating air browns every face of every cube — including the surfaces touching the basket, which on a sheet pan would be the bottoms that don't crisp. The downside is volume: you can do 1–1.5 lb of vegetables at a time; much more and you have to do two batches.
The photo shows the platter: chunks of new potato (gold-skinned), butternut squash (deep orange with charred tips), red bell pepper (charred to brown at the edges), red onion wedges (the layers separated and crisped at the points), fresh thyme sprigs tucked in for the green flecks and the smell. Plated on a long oval white dish — the kind of platter you take to the table and let everyone serve themselves.
Method
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01
Cut to similar sizes
Cut the vegetables roughly the same size — about ¾-inch — so they
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02
Toss
In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables and garlic cloves with
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03
Air fry
Heat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Spread the vegetables in the
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04
Plate
Tip onto a serving platter. Scatter fresh thyme sprigs and a pinch