Sweet Vegetable Recipes You Can Eat for Dessert

If your parents put a bowl of maple- or honey-roasted veggies on the dinner table when you were a little kid, odds are you wouldn't have been so opposed to healthy foods. Well, now you can make up for lost time—douse squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts in epic sweet sauces. They highlight the veggie's natural sweetness yet add a ton of flavor. These seven vegetable recipes are so crazy addictive, we've been known to dip into the leftovers for dessert.

1. Honey-Roasted Parsnips

Photo: Nutritionist Meets Chef

Parsnips are basically carrots + potatoes, and who doesn’t want that? This sweet and sticky dish should be spooned over salad, nestled next to a protein of choice, or even grabbed up by fingers straight from the baking sheet.

2. Maple Butternut and Sweet Potato Casserole

sweet veg: Butternut and Sweet Potato Casserole

Photo: Minimalist Baker

If you think sweet potato casserole is that weird marshmallow thing Aunt Marsha brings to Thanksgiving, pinch yourself, because this maple, silky butternut-potato casserole is real—you’re not dreaming.

3. Roasted Carrots With Orange Honey Butter

Photo: Buzz and Bloom

Carrots and honey go together so well you’ll think it’s dessert already. Not only do carrots naturally get sweet while baking, melting a big smear of orange-kissed honey butter over the veg only adds to their must-eat-ASAP quality.

4. Maple-Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

sweet veg: Maple Cinnamon-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Photo: Pumpkin 'N Spice

These sweet potatoes would be just as tasty next to eggs (or over waffles!) as they would on the side of your favorite dinner. Fire up the oven and get on it.

5. Honey and Sriracha-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Photo: For the Love of Basil

You probably would’ve eaten your Brussels sprouts as a kid if they were coated in this sweet and super-spicy sauce, amirite? Make Mom happy by roasting a double batch tonight.

6. Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash

Photo: Recipe for Perfection

Acorn squash seems like a big project, but baking this sweet vegetable really couldn’t be simpler. Extra sweet thanks to maple butter, because once you top the squash with crunchy pecans and a crumble of blue cheese, there’s no turning back to plain ol’ salt and pepper.

7. Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash

sweet veg: Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts and Butternut

Photo: Carlsbad Cravings

Use mustard and maple syrup for another riff on sweet and spicy. While the sauce complements the Brussels and butternut, boost the flavor with extra salt and tart-sweet (TY, bacon and cranberries).