The Easiest Way To Make Frozen Vegetables Crispy

Frozen vegetables have many advantages over fresh produce. For starters, they're more budget-friendly, especially if buying something off-season. They're the ultimate convenience hack for saving time and energy since you don't need to wash, peel, or chop anything. Luckily, these icy veggies are packed with the same amount of nutrients as their fresh counterparts, if not more. The one drawback many cooks and eaters experience is sogginess after cooking. Most often, you'll end up with a plate of near-mushy broccoli, carrots, or green peas. But not anymore. The trick to creating a crispy dish out of frozen veggies is to use oil when roasting.

First, don't make the roasted vegetable mistake of thawing your frozen veggies first — just cook from frozen. Secondly, use dry heat cooking methods, like roasting in the oven as opposed to boiling on the stovetop. Start by preheating the oven to 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the frozen vegetables on top in one layer. Now pop the veggies in the oven as is without adding anything to them and cook for about 25 to 35 minutes. Once the timer goes off, remove the baking tray from the oven, and this is the point at which you drizzle your best cooking oil, toss the vegetables, and sprinkle some seasoning. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes, and you'll have a tray of delicious veggies with a crunchy exterior and soft center.

There's a scientific explanation as to why cooking frozen vegetables tossed in oil makes them crispy. When heated, oil reaches a much higher temperature than water. This ensures any water remnant on the surface of the vegetables evaporates. Additionally, the heat creates an ideal opportunity for the Maillard reaction to take place. This is a chemical reaction that occurs between reduced sugars and amino acids in the presence of heat, and it's what causes browning and crisping on the outer layer of food when cooked. The Maillard reaction also imparts a unique flavor and aroma characteristic of roasted food.

But this crunchy effect is not just limited to oven-roasting alone. You can also get crisping and browning from the Maillard reaction by cooking your frozen veggies in the air fryer. Place the veggies in the air fryer basket, drizzle on top some cooking oil then toss so the oil is well distributed. Cook at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 to 20 minutes and shake about halfway through. The hot air circulation in the machine results in perfectly crispy vegetables.