Our Best Fall Vegetables

Bagna Cauda Brussels Sprouts

The original Italian flavor bomb. Made with garlic, anchovies, butter and olive oil, bagna cauda is a savory dip from Piedmont, Italy. It’s a perfect pairing with Brussels sprouts that have been blistered and charred on a sizzling-hot baking sheet and

By Courtney HillMarch 26, 2025

Green Beans with Spanish Almond Sauce

Dairy-based sauces tend to dull the flavor of fresh produce. We prefer Spain’s salsa de almendras, or almond sauce. The nuts are blended to create a sauce with creamy richness, but none of the heft of dairy. We pair it with tender-crisp blanched green

By Courtney HillOctober 28, 2024

Olive Oil–Poached Carrots with Honey and Ginger

Carrots generously slicked with olive oil and cooked in a moderately hot oven become velvety-tender and have pure, clean flavor. This technique uses less oil than true oil-poaching, but delivers similarly delicious results. We toss some ginger into th

By Hisham Ali HassanNovember 14, 2025

Roasted Agrodolce Onions

Italian cipollini agrodolce are small whole onions with a sweet-and-sour glaze. We riffed on that classic to create a side dish that complements rich meats and poultry—from a standing rib roast to the Thanksgiving turkey. Instead of balsamic or wine v

By Rose HattabaughNovember 6, 2025

Buttery Hazelnut and Winter Squash Tian

This winter squash side comes together easily. It takes its name from a classic French Provençal dish of vegetables baked in a shallow, round earthenware vessel called a tian. Either a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or an 8-inch square baking dish works f

Roasted Kabocha Squash and Herb Salad

At Josto, a restaurant in Cagliari on the island of Sardinia, a simple winter squash and herb salad made such an impression on us that we wanted to re-create it back at Milk Street. In our rendition of the dish, the dressing is rustic, a mixture of ha

By Courtney HillSeptember 24, 2026

Soy-Glazed Braised Brussels Sprouts

Tare (pronounced tah-reh) is a Japanese seasoning liquid typically made with a soy sauce base, often enhanced by mirin, sake, ginger and garlic. Here, we use those ingredients with Brussels sprouts. We first brown the halved sprouts in butter to devel

By Courtney HillNovember 9, 2021

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Bacon

For this simple skillet side, we thinly slice Brussels sprouts, apples and shallot so they cook quickly and absorb flavors. A food processor fitted with a slicing disk is the fastest, easiest way to do the prep, but if you prefer, you could use a shar

By Rose HattabaughDecember 15, 2021

Charred Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Chips

Crispy fried garlic chips add a savory crunch to these roasted Brussels sprouts. Leftover oil from frying the chips can be used for salad dressings or drizzled on pasta. The sprouts were best served on a platter, not in a bowl, which caused those on t

Brussels Sprouts with Apple, Bacon and Honeyed Pecans

Brussels sprouts absorb tons of flavor with smoky, fatty bacon, tangy Honeycrisp apple, a savory shallot, and a bright, unifying cider vinaigrette.

By Rose HattabaughApril 22, 2022

Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Browned Butter Vinaigrette

Rich, nutty browned butter and woodsy notes of sherry vinegar pair perfectly with earthy shredded sprouts. Smoked almonds add salty crunch and tangy dried cranberries add a pop of color.

By Diane UngerDecember 10, 2018

Pan-Seared Brussels Sprouts with Feta and Honey

Feta! Honey! Red pepper flakes! We give brussels sprouts lively flavor pops and char in the skillet for smoky caramelization.

By Phoebe LobkowiczAugust 9, 2023

Hot-Oil Brussels Sprouts with Ginger and Sesame

Earthy and subtly sweet with pleasant hints of bitterness, shredded raw Brussels sprouts make excellent slaw-style salads. We massage shredded sprouts with rice vinegar and soy sauce, tenderizing the sprouts and tempering their cabbage-y qualities. We

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 17, 2023

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Pears and Goat Cheese

With the help of a food processor and its slicing disk, this autumnal salad with bright, fruity notes comes together easily and speedily. Though the ingredients are few, the marriage of flavors and textures creates a side special enough for the holida

By Courtney HillOctober 4, 2022

Oven-Charred Brussels Sprouts with Chipotle Chilies and Peanuts

Brussels sprouts, like many other Brassicas, are delicious deeply charred, when their vegetal overtones give way to nuttiness and bittersweetness. We employ a couple techniques to achieve deep, flavorful charring. First, we put a heavy baking sheet on

By Rose HattabaughAugust 16, 2024

Skillet-Charred Brussels Sprouts with Dates and Pickled Peppers

With bitterness from the Brussels sprouts’ char, sweetness from chopped dates and mild spiciness and tanginess from pickled peppers, this side dish packs a lot of flavor in every forkful. Chopped parsley adds fresh, grassy notes that keeps things in b

By Courtney HillOctober 13, 2020

Pan-Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso, Ginger and Honey

A cast-iron skillet, with its steady, even heat, works beautifully for pan-roasting vegetables and achieving flavorful caramelization. This wintry combination of carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts and shallots starts on the stovetop, covered for a po

By Rose HattabaughApril 27, 2022

Green Beans with Garlic and Sesame

These green beans are cooked in a single pot, with garlic, sesame, and rice vinegar that concentrate as the water boils off.

By Diane UngerAugust 5, 2019

Sweet-and-Spicy Ginger Green Beans

The challenge of stir-frying green beans is that, more often than not, the flavorings slide off and you’re left biting into a bland bean. The key is cooking them in a sauce that actually sticks. Chef Charles Phan, owner of The Slanted Door, a popular

Green Beans with Garlic-Herb Yogurt

For this simple, fresh take on green beans, we steam them in water with a few tablespoons of butter, then the lid comes off the pot so the water can evaporate, leaving the beans tender and lightly slicked with flavorful fat. The garlic-herb yogurt, sp

Green Beans with Mushrooms and Sherry Vinaigrette

We borrowed some of the flavors from classic green bean casserole to create this simple, bright green bean side. The soy sauce in the vinaigrette boosts the natural umami of the mushrooms, and a mixture of chopped and sliced mushrooms makes the dish m

By Diane UngerNovember 10, 2021

Spanish Green Beans with Ham, Almonds and Smoked Paprika

This recipe is our adaptation of the remarkably delicious green beans that we tasted in Extremadura, Spain, home of pimentón, or Spanish smoked paprika. Our method for charring then steaming the vegetables produces a perfectly tender-crisp beans. Serr

Green Beans with Browned Butter and Almonds

This easy one-pot side was inspired by classic green bean almondine. First, the beans simmer in a small amount of water until tender-crisp. Then, the liquid is cooked off, leaving them lightly glazed with butter. We especially like the texture of sliv

By Courtney HillNovember 16, 2021

Roasted Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms with Pecans

Tossed with soy sauce then roasted in a hot oven, green beans and mushrooms caramelize and take on deep, meaty flavors. A final toss with more soy and balsamic vinegar lends additional salty, savory depth and a balancing hit of sweet-tart acidity. For

By Julia RackowOctober 13, 2020

Green Beans with Mushrooms and Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette

We borrowed some of the flavors from classic green bean casserole to create this simple, bright green bean side. The soy sauce in the vinaigrette boosts the natural umami of the mushrooms, and a mixture of chopped and sliced mushrooms makes the dish m

Ligurian Green Bean Gratin (Make-Ahead Green Bean Casserole)

Polpettone alla Ligure is the Italian name for this rustic, oven-baked dish. The term polpettone translates as “meatloaf,” but in this case, it refers to a mashup of vegetables baked into a casserole. In classic versions, the potatoes are cooked and p

Moroccan-Spiced Glazed Carrots

This recipe was inspired by the Moroccan carrot salad we enjoyed in Israel as a part of salatim. The term translates as “salads” but also refers to the array of small plates—from pickles to slaws to dips—offered at the start of a meal, much like meze.

By Courtney HillApril 5, 2024

Roasted Carrots with Turmeric-Honey

Try to use carrots that are similarly sized so they cook at the same rate. However, if the top halves of some are very thick, simply cut those sections in half lengthwise. We liked these carrots with cumin seeds, but an equal amount of whole coriander

By Courtney HillFebruary 10, 2020

Carrots with Maple and Cider Vinegar

These self-saucing carrots celebrate the simple beauty of the vegetable.

By Diane UngerAugust 5, 2019

Yogurt-Roasted Carrots with Warm Spices

Warm spices, cooling yogurt, and fresh herbs give roasted carrots new dimension.

By Calvin CoxOctober 1, 2021

Butter-Roasted Carrots with Za’atar and Pomegranate Molasses

With roasted citrus and a luxe, buttery-herbal coating, these carrots are so much better than the simple olive oil-roasted variety.

By Courtney HillOctober 3, 2023

Parmesan-Roasted Butternut Squash

Inspired by classic Italian pasta with pumpkin, this recipe pairs the earthy sweetness of butternut squash with warm nutmeg, woodsy herbs and salty-savory Parmesan. The cheese is sprinkled on midway through roasting so it browns and crisps in the oven

By Rose HattabaughOctober 17, 2023

Roasted Butternut Squash with Hoisin and Chives

Hoisin mixed with rice vinegar and sesame oil makes a salty-sweet-tangy-nutty dressing for tender chunks of roasted butternut squash. You can purchase already peeled and cut squash from the grocery store, but keep in mind that if the pieces are smalle

Mashed Butternut Squash with Cumin and Chili

In this recipe, we balance the sweet, nutty flavor of butternut squash with earthy cumin and spicy, smoky chili. Rather than steam or boil the squash, we roast it in a moderately hot oven to caramelize some of the sugars and concentrate the flavors, a

By Courtney HillNovember 24, 2021

Roasted Butternut Squash with Dukkah and Brown Butter

Credit for this recipe goes to Los Angeles-based chef Chris Feldmeier, who gave us the idea of enhancing sweet roasted butternut squash with dukkah, an Egyptian nut and seed crumble. While variation on dukkah abound, we make ours with cashews and a fr

By Courtney HillMarch 3, 2022

Butternut Squash with Pumpkin Seeds, Cilantro and Pickled Jalapeños

Employing our oven-fried vegetable technique, we roast cubes of nutty-sweet squash tossed in a mixture of cornstarch and oil, plus a few seasonings. The starchy coating creates a crisp, well-browned crust while the interiors become silky and tender. W

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 17, 2023

Roasted Butternut Squash with Tahini and Za’atar

Milk Street Facebook Community member Jason Lewis, of Philadelphia, roasts butternut squash and red onion, then finishes them with a tahini-lemon-garlic sauce and a dusting of za’atar, the Middle Eastern herb, spice and seed blend. Before roasting, we

Agrodolce Acorn Squash

This roasted acorn squash gets instant, rich layers of tangy-sweet flavor from a quick glaze-like sauce based on the Italian agrodolce.

By Malcolm JacksonOctober 31, 2022

Sake and Soy-Braised Kabocha Squash

Kabocha, which translates from the Japanese as “pumpkin,” is a variety of winter squash originating in Japan. Short, squat and green with light mottling and stripes that run from top to bottom, kabocha is orange on the interior, with sweet flesh that

By Calvin CoxNovember 18, 2021

Balsamic-Roasted Beets with Hazelnuts and Chives

A dose of vinegar and honey added to beets as they roast results in a well-rounded, sweet-sour flavor, without the aggressive acidity of pickled beets. Whole beets take a good, long while to become tender, giving the vinegar—we use balsamic—a chance t

By Courtney HillDecember 10, 2025

Balsamic Roasted Beets and Carrots with Blue Cheese

This simple root vegetable dish is easy to prepare yet yields striking results, making it a perfect addition to the holiday table. The beets and carrots are roasted in separate foil packets to accommodate different cooking times. To amplify the vegeta

By Rose HattabaughOctober 5, 2022

Beet and Pumpkin Seed Salad

Canned or refrigerated prepared beets make quick work of this robust salad. The sweet-and-sour dressing gets texture and richness from pumpkin seeds mixed with honey and vinegar. To keep the salad tasting bright and fresh, be generous with the honey a

By Courtney HillDecember 18, 2019

Beet Salad with Horseradish Dressing and Caraway Breadcrumbs

We make salad interesting by packing it with contrasting textures—crisp breadcrumbs, creamy dressing and tender beets. We love the buttery-soft bite and earthy-sweet flavor of just-roasted beets, but pre-cooked ones are a great time-saving alternative

By Laura RussellOctober 17, 2023

Shaved Carrot and Parsnip Salad with Gingery Hazelnuts

Shaving carrots and parsnips into ribbons transforms the fibrous root vegetables into a tender, sweet salad base. The long, thin strips have ample surface area to soak up flavors and support contrasting ingredients, such as crunchy chopped nuts. They

By Courtney HillAugust 16, 2024

Sesame and Soy-Glazed Roasted Celery Root

Celery root—also known as celeriac—has a parsnip-like texture and mild celery-like flavor. At the grocery store, look for firm 1-pound roots that are evenly round and not too knobby; the knobs make peeling off the tough skin more challenging. Though o

By Courtney HillNovember 19, 2021

Pommes Anna with Parsnips and Herbs

In classic pommes Anna, thinly sliced potatoes are layered in a pan with clarified butter, cooked until tender, then inverted to reveal the crisp, golden crust that formed on the bottom of the “cake.” Our version skips the clarified butter, layers par

By Diane UngerNovember 20, 2017

Roasted Fennel with Rosemary

Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of fresh fennel, but it also mellows its characteristic flavor. To keep the flavor bold and true, we season it with ground fennel seed. A splash of white wine and a pinch of red pepper flakes enhance the dish.

Baked Fennel with Three Cheeses

This elegant fennel gratin is our adaptation of a recipe from “David Tanis Market Cooking” by David Tanis. Fresh fennel has a celery-like crispness when raw but cooking renders it supple and tender while also turning its flavor sweet and mellow. We ag

By Calvin CoxDecember 17, 2021