Roasted vegetables and creamy cheese both disappear quickly in our house, and they turn out to be the perfect fall pairing.
Many of our fall favorites are longer-cooking, comfort dishes centered around beef or poultry, so it’s nice to have some easy vegetarian dinners to throw in the mix; my Fall Veggie Bowls are meatless and light yet filling, while bringing all the fall flavors. I top a garlicky and lemon-thyme seasoned ricotta cheese mixture with simply and perfectly roasted fall veggies – carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cremini mushrooms (which are actually a year-round favorite for us) – plus a sprinkle of toasted, chopped walnuts for texture and grated parmesan cheese for extra yum. My Fall Veggies Bowls are an easy and satisfying, vegetarian, weeknight meal that you should add to your dinner rotation this fall!
Fall Veggie Bowls
Ingredients
8oz carrots, cut into 1 – 1 ½ inch pieces
8oz parsnips, cut into 1 – 1 ½ inch pieces
12oz sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
16oz cauliflower florets
8oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
12oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 tablespoons (1oz) dry white wine, optional
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
16oz whole milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
How to make Fall Veggie Bowls
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and arrange racks in top and lower third of oven.
In a large bowl, toss together carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper until veggies are evenly coated. Spread veggies out on a large, rimmed baking sheet and place on rack in lower third of oven. Wrap garlic cloves in aluminum foil and add to baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add cauliflower and Brussels sprouts to the large bowl along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and mix until veggies are evenly coated. Spread veggies out on a second large, rimmed baking sheet.
After 10 minutes, remove first baking sheet with carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes and garlic from the oven, toss the veggies and spread them back out, return the baking sheet to the oven placing on rack in top third of the oven. Place second baking sheet with cauliflower and Brussels sprouts on rack in bottom third of the oven. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing veggies and rotating baking trays top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
Meanwhile, prepare ricotta cheese mixture and mushrooms.
In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together ricotta cheese and heavy whipping cream until completely smooth and starting to thicken some. Whisk in parmesan cheese, lemon zest, chopped thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper until fully combined and thickened. Set ricotta mixture in refrigerator until ready to use.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. When oil is hot, add quartered mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released all of their water and are browned on all sides and starting to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes. If using wine, add wine to skillet and cook stirring constantly until wine is absorbed and cooked off; remove from heat and season the mushrooms lightly with coarse kosher salt and ground black pepper.
When oven veggies are finished roasting, remove from oven and add to a large bowl with the sauteed mushrooms and gently toss to mix the veggies. Garnish with fresh thyme and grated parmesan. Remove ricotta mixture from the refrigerator. Unwrap the garlic cloves from the aluminum foil and mash into a paste with a fork or the back of a spoon, whisk roasted garlic paste into the ricotta cheese mixture.
Spread a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture across the bottoms of low bowls. Top with roasted veggies and chopped walnuts, garnish with additional grated parmesan cheese and fresh thyme if desired.
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