Roasted Radishes with Rosemary and Honey

These oven roasted radishes with rosemary and honey are a simple way to prepare radishes and mellow out their intense flavor. A great spring side dish!

*This post for roasted radishes was originally published 6/12/2012. Pictures have been updated and a video has been added below to show you how easy this great spring dish is to make. Some content below has been updated as well.

Try to forget you just read that title and tell me what these look like.

Betcha wouldn’t say radishes.

Probably those cute little red and white potatoes that cost 5 times the amount of normal ones popped into your head first, right?

I finally joined a CSA this year after talking about it for at least 3 years.

I kept waiting for Ulysses to tell me it was a great idea or for some other outside factor to push me along in my decision making process that shockingly, never happened.

The day my husband willingly encourages me to spend $900 on fruits and vegetables will be the day pigs fly.

So when Brandy suggested splitting a share this year, I said yes without even bothering with spousal consult.

So far, the CSA has been great for forcing me to cook with things I don’t normally buy.

Like spring radishes.

I don’t exactly love them raw. They’re just a little too peppery and crunchy for me (although combine them with prosciutto in this peach and radish salad and I can be persuaded).

Then there’s the whole bit of their little tails. Anyone else think they look alarmingly like sperm because of those things or is it just me?

When you cut off their tails and ugly brown spots though they look a heck of a lot like small potatoes.

Potatoes, I like. Especially these pesto potatoes and these roasted peri peri potatoes – yum!

So, I decided to treat them like potatoes and do what I do 99% of the time – roast them.

Like roasted romanesco and my roasted turnip recipe, it’s amazing how a simple cooking method can transform an ingredient!

How To Make Roasted Radishes

Making roasted radishes is incredibly simple. The basic ingredients are:

1. radishes
2. olive oil
3. salt

This roasted radish recipe brings a little more flavor than a basic recipe though by using chopped fresh rosemary and some honey.

The honey is the only ingredient keeping this recipe from being vegan though so if you want to go that route, feel free to omit it or replace it with either agave or maple syrup.

I do really like the hint of sweetness it brings to the radishes so I would suggest replacing rather than omitting.

The cleaned radishes get tossed with the olive oil, salt, rosemary and honey on a large baking sheet and roasted at 425°F for about 30 minutes.

Make sure to toss them 1-2 times while cooking so all sides get nice and crispy and nothing burns.

What Do Roasted Radishes Taste Like?

Here’s what I love about roasting radishes – it completely transforms the flavor.

That intensely peppery bite they have when raw gets majorly tamed through roasting and they not only resemble potatoes in appearance, they sort of taste like a roasted potato too.

A slightly more watery/less creamy potato but definitely more potato than radish!

Oven roasted radishes are much more mellow with a pleasing flavor I just can’t say the same about when raw.

They’re a root vegetable after all and when it comes to root vegetables, 99% of the time I find roasting them to be my preparation of choice, radishes are no different.

Do I Need To Peel Radishes?

They may look like beets but no, you don’t have to peel radishes to roast them.

The whole vegetable is edible!

CAN I EAT RADISH GREENS?

If your radishes still have the greens attached, well, lucky you! Radish greens are edible and since I despise food waste so I came up with this easy and vibrant radish greens pesto as a great way to make use of them.

A radish greens pesto would also be excellent served as a sauce to the roasted radishes!

Of course, you can also just sauté the greens with some garlic and oil for an easy side dish. This sautéed beet and Swiss chard greens recipe is a simple one to swap out radish greens for.

How Do I Eat Roasted Radishes?

Roasting the radishes like this they become the perfect side dish to lots of different meals.

You could serve them alongside a steak (maybe this rosemary garlic flank steak?) or fish like this easy baked sockeye salmon recipe instead of potatoes for a lower-carb option.

Side note – radishes are great for low-carb eating as they lack the starch that many other root vegetables have.

I also feel like this rosemary roasted radish recipe is a great stand alone appetizer!

How many times do you see crispy Brussels sprouts on an appetizer menu in a restaurant? Usually paired with an aioli of some sort, right?

I don’t see why roasted radishes especially these with rosemary and honey can’t be the next Brussels sprout appetizer!

The tangy Greek yogurt dipping sauce made with dijon and honey mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice makes these crispy roasted radishes totally appetizer worthy.

Second to asparagus, radishes signify spring to me.

After a long NY winter, I’ll take any bright and fresh produce I can get!

This recipe for roasted radishes would be a great one to consider for your Easter plans.

Alongside a ham (don’t miss 3 ways to use leftover Easter ham!) or whatever roast your family makes (we’re usually lamb or pork people) for the holiday.

With the radish CSA challenge down, I’m ready for the next one which might be taming the crazy garlic scapes in my fridge (they’re huge!) into something edible like this garlic scape pesto.

It’s sort of fun to cook with the seasons like this, makes you really think about and appreciate each and every ingredient.

Don’t miss this Spring Pea and Radish Risotto if you’re looking for more ways to enjoy radishes.

And if you’re lucky enough to find a bunch with the greens still attached, my sautéed greens recipe is the easiest way to use them up.

Tons of nutrition is packed in the leafy greens so don’t let them go to waste!

Also try out some of these other simple roasted vegetable recipes:

Roasted Kohlrabi with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette
Roasted Peri Peri Potatoes
Roasted Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes
Crispy Curry Roasted Broccoflower