Roasting Vegetables for Thanksgiving Meal, oven space is limited, other ways to Roast/reheat them?

TIA for ideas on how to roast the vegetables I want and need (special diet) in a busy kitchen. Our huge extended family orders Cracker Barrel meal, and everything has to be reheated.

I prefer not to roast the veggies the day before, they really taste better fresh. But if I have to roast them Thanksgiving morning, are there good ways to keep them warm for several hours without losing their flavor? I will only be eating turkey and roasted veggies at this meal, and I am okay with this limited meal. But that is why I am putting effort into getting them to the table warm and delicious.

We are driving to our extended family, so we can bring along a griddle, crock pot, instant pot, or I guess even our large toaster oven. I am bringing my Ninja blender, and will have my diet version of a chocolate shake every day I am there. When I can satisfy my chocolate craving (with cacao powder) I can walk past the desserts with no problems.

I have a portable roaster I got at Walmart that is fantastic. It’s big enough to hold a turkey, but it also has divided inserts you can put in for reheating vegetables. Not expensive, and has come in handy many times at holidays-even though I have two ovens.

If you are doing them just for you and not as a dish for everyone (so small amount) I think I’d take the toaster oven. I use mine a lot to roast veggies when not already heating oven…

Does you family have a grill you can use to make grilled veggies?

can a cookie sheet go on a shelf in the bottom of the oven when other stuff is reheating?

a crock pot can keep them warm, and is better than trying to reheat in a microwave.

Is there a wood stove? If it’s running, perhaps you can put them on top or nearby.

@Nrdsb4 can you link to this Walmart portable roaster you have? There is no grill at the home where we will eat.

Family gets stressed with all the dishes going in/out of the oven, and I am adding a new dish into the mix. I do not want to make an issue of this extra dish, and am hoping to avoid having to heat them in the one oven.

There are a small number of Gluten Free/Dairy Free family members, so I am making this dish to share with those folks also. I am definitely roasting sweet potatoes, but not sure if the broccoli will taste good sitting around. What other vegetables would you suggest I roast that might hold up over time?

Beets. Cut up in preferred sized bites and toss with olive oil, coarse salt and pepper. My favorite.

second the beets! and nix the broccoli- it doesn’t hold up well.

@powercropper, mine is a GE, but it seems it is not made anymore. But if you google
“electric roaster ovens,” you can find a bunch of them. I don’t know if any of them have the inserts you can put in them or not.

Roasted carrots are delicious. Roasted peppers. Onions.

You could do all root veggies - sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, some onion. Those would all hold pretty well.

Thx for all these ideas, still open to hearing more.

Every kitchen had a Nesco roaster when I was growing up.

Just helped Goskid roast veggies for a Friendsgiving. Used different colored carrots, parsnips, small red potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and onion. Delicious! And they were planning on serving them at room temp, as they were made about 4 hours in advance.

A friend has an Oster roaster…that she has made many things, including a turkey, in. If you feel need to re-heat your veggies, I’d use that…

A Salton hot tray won’t cook the vegetables, but will get them to the right eating temperature if you put them on half an hour/45 minutes before you want to sit down, won’t get them mushy. I bought mine at Macy’s-- it’s electric, just plug it in. There is a round area the size of a coffee pot that gets hotter than everywhere else (if you need to reheat a liquid) but it’s not so hot that it will burn/mushify the vegetables. The top is glass- wipes clean once it cools, easy to take care of.

If you grill them the day before on an outdoor grill with plenty of seasoning (I like Trader Joe’s everything bagel) they will be great to eat room temperature (not cold, but room temp). I serve a grilled veggie platter every time we entertain, there’s always someone newly vegan/vegetarian/restricted diet and there’s never a single morsel left.

We roast red potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers and I add onion, celery, and Brussels to my hubby’s side (not my favorites) in our toaster over. We just found a wonderful spice mixture from Spicewalla that is so good on them! It’s the cracked coriander and herb rub. A small amount of it goes a long way to flavor the veggies!

We stuff our turkey with seasoned (salt, pepper, white wine) carrots, celery and scallions. Vegetables come out nicely roasted and the humidity given off by the vegetables while roasting helps with keeping the turkey moist.

Zucchini!! Never thought of that one. Love zucchini and yellow squash together. And mushrooms, yum! And I could add the red potatoes, even though I don’t eat them, I bet the other GF/DF guests would love them.

We roast or grill asparagus/green beans until al dente and then drizzle a good balsamic and chill. When we are ready to serve we put them in the microwave on a low power and a small amount of time. Can be made up ahead. Also serve at room temperature with an aioli. Often serve this for an appetizer.

Don’t overcook the veggies, if the family has a toaster oven you can heat them up.