Roasted vegetables are probably my favorite things to eat. In particular, roasted potatoes, of any variety–that’s my jam. But in the past I’ve always doused them in oil before baking in the oven. If you are trying a whole food diet, you may be wondering if you can ever enjoy those golden and crispy roasted potatoes again. And I’m here to tell you, you really don’t need the oil!
Why We Should Eliminate Oil From Our Diets
Oil is a highly refined product and therefore does not fit into a whole food diet. There is no nutritional need for oil and in fact our health may be much better off without it.
You may have heard that extra virgin olive oil or some other “healthy” oil is good for you. However, the studies that have been done to show this are in comparison to animal fats. So yes, the science is there to tell us that olive oil is better than butter or lard or the fats that are inherently in animal flesh, milk, cheese, and eggs. But just because it is better, does not mean it is good for you.
Think of it this way. We know that refined sugars are not good for us and can cause us harm, while the sugar in fruits and vegetables does not have the same detrimental effects. The sugar in whole foods is packaged with fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients. In the same way, oil is the refined fat that has been extracted from a whole food. Nature did not intend us to eat isolated nutrients. We would be better off getting our fat from whole plant foods. And we need a heck of a lot less fat than the average American consumes. One of the best ways to better our health is to cut the oil out.
Tips for Oil-Free Roasted Veggies
Of course you could use an air fryer to get crispy potatoes and other veggies, but even that is unnecessary. All you need is an oven, your favorite veggies, and some flavor. Here are a few tricks to get tasty, crispy roasted veggies without the oil.
Use Herbs and Spices
First off, it is always good to flavor your vegetables. I love using a combination of sage, parsley, and rosemary with a little salt and pepper. This combo makes me think of fall which is a great time to roast vegetables. Another fall-inspired and sweeter take is to use cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and a little salt. I love using this combo with sweet potatoes and parsnips. This gives your whole meal a sweet and savory vibe.
You can go super simple, just picking one or two spices or even just salt (or a salt-substitute) and pepper. Sweet or smoked paprika is great on it’s own or with other herbs. Another fantastic combo is garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, salt and pepper. But you can use any spice blends you like such as a taco seasoning, curry powder mix, garam masala, or any other spice blend that compliments whatever dish you serve with your roasted veggies.
Vegetable Broth is Your Friend
One of the purposes of using oil in roasting vegetables is to help spices stick. So now that we have chosen a tasty spice blend to use, we need a way to make it stick without oil. I love to use a splash of vegetable broth or even just a splash of water. I throw my chopped veggies in a bowl with the spices and just a bit of liquid and mix it all up with my hands.
Just throw the veggies onto a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet and your spices will stick perfectly. Usually you might be advised to wait to add the salt until the end because salt will draw out the moisture and prevent the veggies from crisping, but I have never had this problem. But if you wanted to you can wait to add salt right after it’s done baking. I don’t consume added salt anymore, so you can also leave it out completely!
Baking Method
There are two basic options for baking. Option one is to chop and season your veggies as mentioned above and then bake. Depending on the type of vegetable you may want to adjust the temperature, plus all ovens are different. I usually find that 375 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for a total of about 30 to 40 minutes, flipping or tossing halfway through, works well. This option works well for any kind of vegetable including potatoes, squash, parsnips, rutabaga, beets, turnips, carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower. In general, your root vegetables will take longer while the other vegetables will be done quicker.
Option two is to precook your veggies before baking. This works especially well for potatoes. You can partially cook the potatoes, either cooking them in a pot on the stove or in an Instant Pot. You want them to start to soften but not fall apart. This is a great way to batch cook a large amount of potatoes for a whole week. And then take out what you want to eat, season them, and now you only need to bake them for maybe 20 to 30 minutes. I usually use a higher temp around 400 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, because they are not cooking as long this with allow them to crisp up a little better.
Other Oil-Free Cooking Tips
And that’s it for oil-free roasting. Easy peasy! Once you start cooking oil-free you will come to realize how much oil masks the natural flavors of your food. I didn’t realize it until I started eating this way. But now that I don’t use oil, I can really taste the flavors of my vegetables, and they are so good. Your taste buds start to adjust when you are eating real, whole foods and avoiding the refined things like oil that hijack your senses. So here are some more tips for eating and cooking oil-free
Water Sautéing
You do not need oil to sauté. All you need is liquid. Water or broth work beautifully. You don’t even really need a non-stick pan, but that will help, too. Instead of oil, simply place your vegetables in a pan on medium high heat. The vegetables themselves will give off some water as they cook. If you’re just sautéing things like onions and mushrooms they may have enough liquid on their own to avoid sticking, but whenever they do start to stick, simply add a splash of water or broth.
Salad Dressing
Most salad dressings have tons of oil. But I usually just pour some balsamic vinegar on my salads and it’s fantastic. Again, once your taste buds adjust, you will taste all the natural flavors much more, and you won’t really need anything fancy to dress your salad.
If you really want a salad dressing though there are so many options. I usually start with a base of some kind of vinegar and/or citrus juice and mustard and balance that out with a little sweetness either from date syrup or date sugar. Then add whatever spices and herbs you like.
If you are trying to avoid higher fat foods you can just stop here, but if you want a richer dressing you can add things like tahini or almond butter (just make sure there is only one ingredient–sesame seeds for the former or almonds for the latter) or even blend up some avocado. And to make a creamy dressing, blend your vinegar and spices with a handful of creamy white beans.
Whole Food Vegan Eating Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
If you want more tips for eating a whole food diet, check out my method for building a balanced meal. Or peruse my what I ate posts for quick meal ideas.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine also has a great 21 Day Vegan Kickstart that provides recipes and support for trying a whole food plant based diet.
