Frozen Mixed Vegetables Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

How do you enhance frozen mixed vegetables? ›

Acidic ingredients like lemon or vinegar, fats like butter and olive oil, spicy condiments like chile flakes or hot sauce, savory ingredients like cheese, bacon and nuts and fresh and dried herbs are all your friends when it comes to frozen vegetables.

Most of the time, you don't need to thaw frozen vegetables before cooking with them—but it depends on what you're making. For soups, stews and pastas, you can toss still frozen vegetables right into the pot. These dishes can withstand some extra moisture, and the warmth will thaw out the veggies.

Crank up the oven temperature:

I roast fresh vegetables at 425°F but turn up the heat when cooking frozen vegetables and roast them at 450°F. You're after crispy, browned-in-spots roasted vegetables and not steamed vegetables.

Start by preheating a greased sheet pan in the oven at 450°F. (The high heat helps evaporate moisture so the veggies roast rather than steam.) Once the pan is hot, spread frozen veggies in a single layer on the hot baking sheet, making sure there is no overlap. Roast until the veggies are crisp-tender.

Use seasonings

Seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, oregano, and chili powder can be used in different combinations to give your vegetables an extra kick of flavor without adding extra calories.

Use your favorite herbs, spices, and other flavor enhancers like lemon juice or garlic. Roast Them: Roasting can transform your frozen veggies by bringing out their natural sweetness. Toss them in some olive oil, spread them on a baking sheet, and roast at high heat until they are caramelized and crispy.

Cooking with too much water leads to mushy vegetables. That's why we recommend sautéing, roasting, or steaming frozen vegetables instead of boiling them. Here's how: Sauté – Heat a wide pan over medium high heat, add frozen vegetables and a little oil or butter, stir and cook (uncovered) for five to seven minutes.

Steam. Steaming preserves color, flavor, and nutrients and is a quick way to get a side dish on the table. It's a method I use to make easy veggie quesadillas. Steam whatever frozen veggies you fancy on the stovetop or microwave, then add to a tortilla topped with melted cheese and salsa.

Get Your Oil Hot

If a vegetable meets oil that isn't hot enough, it'll soak up the oil, resulting in soggy vegetables. Chef Hong loves to impart flavor into this process by infusing his oil with garlic and thyme. Add enough oil so it covers the entire base of the Saute Pan.

In fact, doing so is not only an extra step, thawing before cooking can also lead to limp, droopy veggies. Most frozen veggies can be added directly to whatever recipe you're preparing and cooked from their frozen state.

Why is my frozen vegetables full of ice? ›

Ice crystals inside packages of frozen fruits, vegetables, meats, and even ice cream are actually formed from water leaving the food.

Not only do they allow you to skip the chopping and washing, they can also be used as the base for pasta sauces, pie fillings, casseroles, soups, and stir-fries. To make things even easier, frozen veggies keep for months, so you can stock up and use later.

Garlic and/or onion if it's severely lacking flavor. Red sauces you can add some spice too if you like. “Grey" or brown sauces like swedish meatballs, Salisbury steak, stroganoff etc add sour cream and garlic. If you have any specific frozen foods you eat and want ideas for let me know!

All you need is salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to make these veggies taste amazing.

Roast Frozen Vegetables in Your Oven

To help them crisp up, toss the veggies in oil and then season them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, ginger, smoked paprika — whatever sounds good to you.