According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 90% of Americans eat too few vegetables.
If that includes you, you’re not alone—but it is time to fix that. The key? Making vegetables actually taste good. You just need to make them more fun and fit your tastes. With the right techniques (and a little help from the experts in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen and Good Housekeeping Kitchen and Cooking Lab), even the most veggie-hating eaters can come around.
Recently, a Reddit user took to the subreddit r/cookingforbeginners and asked the simple question, "How do I cook vegetables to make them taste better?" The answers—and our editors—delivered.
Here’s where to start.
Add restaurant ingredients
You know how vegetables in a restaurant sometimes just taste better? There’s really no big secret. The chefs are embracing butter, olive oil, and salt. These ingredients can completely transform vegetables from bland to craveable. If your veggies taste flat, chances are they just need a little something extra.
Go even bolder on the flavors
Once you've become accustomed to butter and salt on your vegetables, it's time to level up with more robust flavor profiles. "A friend recently asked me what to do for a veggie-averse crowd at Thanksgiving, and I gave her this advice: Find a way to make Caesar, buffalo, or teriyaki. People love familiar flavors," says GH deputy editor Sarah Gregory.
Want to go harder? Do as GH recipe editor Susan Choung suggests and try spices like Tajín on jicama, chili crisp on cucumbers, everything bagel seasoning on radishes, and ponzu on tomatoes. "These are small moves with big flavor payoff," she notes.
Think about texture
Texture can make or break a vegetable dish. Boiled vegetables often turn soft and lifeless, but dry heat changes everything.
"For me, it’s all about texture. A deeply roasted, caramelized vegetable is always a win," says GH Chief Food Director Kate Merker.
Roasting isn’t your only option. "Grilling or cooking veggies hot in cast iron can completely transform them," Merker explains. "To take it further, try toasting whole spices (like cumin, coriander or fennel), then lightly crushing them for added crunch and flavor.
Turn vegetables into something new
It's more than OK to have a little fun with your vegetables and transform them into a completely different shape, just like GH Kitchen and Cooking Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou does by turning them into "zoodles."
"I'm still a big fan of spiralizing and have actually seen new spiralizing recipes in my feed recently," says Papantoniou. "Zoodles are still a go-to for me when I'm looking for something healthier, and I especially like spiralizing root veggies that brown well, like beets and squash. It helps them achieve a really nice, deep flavor."
You can also try smashing potatoes, cutting butternut squash into zig-zags, and ricing broccoli and cauliflower. Changing the format can make vegetables feel like an entirely different dish.
Mix them in meals you already love
Not into eating a plateful of vegetables? Try incorporating it into a recipe instead, rather than serving as a solo side, like GH Deputy Food Editor Trish Clasen Marsanico suggests.
"I swear by tossing spiralized veg in with traditional spaghetti instead of treating them as a replacement," says Marsanico. "You’ll still get the toothsome texture that you’re used to, but with an added veggie boost. I’ll also mix shred carrots into Sloppy Joes, grate zucchini into meatloaf, and blend up an assortment of veggies into homemade marinara sauces."
Use them as an excuse to bust out all your kitchen gadgets
Look, we've all got it. You know, that drawer full of random kitchen supplies that we swore we would use one day. Well, guess what? Today is that day.
Use that peeler: "I really like using julienne peelers to zhuzh up carrots and cucumbers—and even to make zoodles when I don't want to take out my spiralizer," Papantoniou shares.
Pull out the grater: "I love grating zucchini or carrots to add into meatloaf or to make 'nests' with grated veg to cook in a skillet and top with fried eggs," Marsanico says. "Whenever I’m sick of sweet potatoes, grating makes them exciting again! I’ll roast them on a baking sheet with thinly sliced onions and shaved Brussels sprouts."
Become a mandoline pro: "Mandolines can transform veggies into carpaccios," Papantoniou says, noting it's a key tool for the viral cucumber salad. And she's not alone. Choung is another big mandoline fan. "Fact: I'm 100% more excited to eat a root veg when it's mandolined whisper-thin, tossed with olive oil, and roasted till it's crunchy like a potato chip. I use this technique on sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Sprinkling them with smoked paprika before roasting gives them a BBQ chip flavor.”
Get yourself into a pickle
Pickling your own vegetables is perhaps the easiest way to impress your friends. Just never tell them how wildly easy it is.
"As a lifelong vegetarian, it's hard not to love a veggie. However, one of my favorite ways to make veggies even more delicious is to pickle them," says GH kitchen reviews analyst Eva Bleyer. "Whether it's cauliflower, carrots, string beans, okra, radishes, or beets. I love the vinegary, salty, zingy addition to these vegetables, and they make a flavorful addition to any veggie dish, salad, crudite or just out of the jar."
Seriously, you can pickle your own vegetables at home in under 10 minutes. Try out this spicy pickle recipe now and thank us later.
Most importantly: have fun
The real secret to loving vegetables is experimentation.
As pretty much every expert shared, it’s crucial to try new techniques, mix flavors, and not be afraid to play. You will find the recipe that makes you fall head over heels with vegetables. Once you find a preparation you love, it gets a whole lot easier to keep coming back for more.
