I'm a self-proclaimed expert on both eating and cooking vegetables, ask anyone who knows me. My herbivore habits lead me to prepare pounds of vegetables every week since I cook almost all my own meals. Roasting vegetables undoubtedly is my favorite way to prepare them. 

Roasting vegetables can be seriously time consuming. I've figured out the best way to cut back on time even if only slightly while maintaining optimal flavor and nutritional value. 

To demonstrate this steam roasting technique I used broccoli. If just roasted on a sheet pan, broccoli has a tendency to burn before it softens. The first part of this process softens vegetables (not limited to broccoli) just enough, then roasts and caramelizes them to perfection. 

Easy Steam Roasted Broccoli with Lemon

  • Prep Time:5 mins
  • Cook Time:30 mins
  • Total Time:35 mins
  • Servings:4
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 2 heads broccoli
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
broccoli, salad, sauce, broccolini

  • Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash and chop vegetables according to desired size.

    broccoli, cabbage, vegetable, salad, kale, lettuce
    Photo by Kristine Mahan

  • Step 2

    Tear 2 sheets of aluminum foil and place one over a baking tray. Add vegetables, coat with olive oil, salt, and remaining ingredients of choice for seasoning. For this broccoli, I chose lemon but herbs are also a great addition.

    broccoli, vegetable, cabbage, salad, kale
    Photo by Kristine Mahan

  • Step 3

    Cover vegetables with second piece of aluminum foil. Crimp the edges to seal so steam doesn't escape in the first part of the cooking process.

    cake, sweet, cream, chocolate, candy, goody, pastry
    Photo by Kristine Mahan

  • Step 4

    Place in oven for 15 minutes. Remove top foil sheet, place back in the oven to roast for another 15 minutes.

    broccoli, vegetable, salad
    Photo by Kristine Mahan

To apply this steam roasting technique to other vegetables, keep in mind how dense or hard the vegetable is when raw. 

Things like hard squash and tuberous root vegetables need more time to steam and roast. In this case, steam for 20 minutes and roast for 20+ minutes.

On the flip side of that, things like summer squash, tomatoes and leafy greens need less time to steam. Steam for 10-15 minutes and roast for another 10-20 minutes, but keep an eye on them to prevent burning.