Pesto-roasted vegetables are a vibrant, flavorful way to add more antioxidant-rich produce to your meals — something most of us could use more of. Eat these healthy veggies as a side or let them play other delicious mealtime roles.
Toss the caramelized, pesto-coated veggies into a grain bowl, heap them onto pasta, and stuff them into sandwiches and wraps. This is a terrific meal prep recipe!
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Reach for tender favorites like zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant in this easy, simple recipe, and eat the rainbow! This is a fab way to use zucchini and summer squash when they are abundant in the summer.
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Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Bell pepper
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Onion
- Garlic
- Pesto, store-bought or homemade
- Kosher salt
- Red pepper flakes, optional
- Extra virgin olive oil
Think of the veggies as a single ingredient and chop them into similar-sized pieces. Of course, the types of veggies listed here are not a mandate. However, it's best to choose tender vegetables rather than starchy ones.
Although I have listed five different types, you can use more or fewer varieties. You just want to chop up enough to have eight to 10 cups.
🍆Eggplant: Please don't skin it. You can use either the usual dark purple or the thinner-skinned, smaller eggplants with purple and white coloration. Large eggplants are often bitter, so look for small to medium ones.
🫑Bell pepper: Any color is fine. Red, orange, and yellow peppers are sweeter than green.
Zucchini and yellow squash: When these are abundant in the summer, make this a summer squash recipe rather than a mix of vegetables.
🧅Onion: If you use shallots instead of onion, simply cut them in half or quarters, if large. They will burn if sliced. Fennel is a nice addition or substitute for onions.
🔥Red pepper flakes: These are optional. Omit them if you don't like spicy foods. I usually use Aleppo peppers, which have a milder bite than traditional red pepper flakes.
How to Make
Wash your hands, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water for 20 seconds, before starting.
You will need a chef's knife, large cutting board, and a large bowl. Plus, one to two sheet pans lined with foil or parchment paper. I love to use extra-wide foil for sheet pans! It makes cleanup easy!
Wash all the vegetables and chop into pieces that are about the same size, maybe an inch.
Place all the veggie pieces in a large bowl.
Sprinkle with chopped garlic and spices.
Top with pesto and drizzle with olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
Pile the seasoned veggies pieces onto a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Spread them out evenly. You may need an extra half-pan if they are piled too high so they don't steam.
Roast in the oven. Use convection if your oven has that feature. Remove when they are softened and browned at the edges.
Serve warm or room temperature sprinkled with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese, if desired. They are a great side for any grilled protein like chicken, steak, or fish.
Add them to a grain bowl or heap them on a mound of freshly cooked, drained pasta and drizzle with more pesto.
Use leftovers in wraps, sandwiches, and paninis. They taste amazing with melty Mozzarella!
Find the full recipe with amounts and complete instructions at the bottom of this post.
👩🏼🍳Cooking tips and storage
The thickness of your veggies will determine how long it takes for them to roast and caramelize. Please don't make them too thick or chunky.
You may be tempted to use a mandoline or food processor for slicing. Don't! Your slices will end up too thin.
Also, please take care not to pile the veggies on top of each other in the sheet pan. When piled in a thick layer, they steam and end up mushy instead of roasting and caramelizing. Use an extra sheet pan or a smaller sheet pan to catch any overflow.
Line your sheet pan with extra-wide foil or parchment paper. Foil encourages the veggies to crisp and caramelize more than parchment. If you like them softer, choose parchment for the pan.
➡️Meal Prep: You can double the recipe if you have two to three sheet pans or cookie sheets. Then, you'll have enough vegetables to last the week. (They are terrific in lunches for work!)
❄️Storage: These easily keep for five days in the refrigerator. Freezing is not recommended because the texture after thawing will be overly soft.
Place cooled roasted veggies in an airtight container or zip bag and portion out as needed.
How healthy are these veggies?
This recipe is food as medicine. You've heard it before: Eat the rainbow, and this recipe contains a rainbow of vegetables. 🌈
Nutrients galore include vitamins A, B6, C, E, folate, and fiber. Minerals include magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper.
💪🏽Also, vegetables offer some protein. You'll get two to three grams of protein per half cup of veggies.
💟They pack amazing nutrition in the form of antioxidants and polyphenols. In particular, eggplants have anthocyanins (responsible for their purple color) that protect your cells and may reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer.
❓Often, the color of a vegetable is a clue to its nutrition. All bell peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and B6, but because red bell peppers are riper, they offer higher amounts of vitamin A and lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant.
Zucchini and yellow squash have very similar nutrition qualities. However, the darker skinned zucchini has a slight edge when it comes to folate, vitamin C, and potassium. It also contains more antioxidant nutrition, like zeaxanthin, which is great for eye health.
Onions are a great source of quercetin, the most common antioxidant found in the American diet. Quercetin, also abundant in apple skins, is super helpful with immunity.
Know that whenever you make this easy recipe and eat these veggies, you add a bounty of nutrients to your day.
🤔Potential Problems: If you use store-bought pesto (often my go-to) and add salt, the recipe may end up having too much sodium, especially if you top it off with Parmesan cheese.
FAQ
That varies depending on your oven. A temperature of 400 to 425 F is good. The higher temperature caramelizes the vegetables more. If you have convection, the heat should be set 25 degrees cooler.
This recipe was tested with tender vegetables. Potatoes are starchy tubers, so they may take longer to soften.
If you change the vegetables in the recipe, go for tender types with a higher water content, like asparagus, shallots, fennel, green beans, cauliflower, etc.
It's unnecessary unless you are roasting a large, mature fruit (yes, eggplants are actually fruits).
If your eggplant is oversized, cut it up before the other vegetables and put the pieces in a colander. Sprinkle with ¼ to ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt and toss. Place the colander over a bowl and let the eggplant water drain.
Before seasoning with the other vegetables, gently pat dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
Yes. But do double check your pesto jar for any ingredients like starch if it's not homemade.
Other recipes you might like...
Roasting veggies caramelizes their sugars and makes them sweeter. Roasted roots are even sweeter since they start with more starch (sugar)! Give these Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips a try for a treat.
Grilled Asparagus in Foil is a super fast, super fresh side that has plenty of fiber and vitamin K.
Zucchini Carrot Salad is an antioxidant-rich vegetable side salad bathed in a lemony marinade that is perfect for warm season make-ahead occasions like barbecues and brunches.
Looking for a deliciously different pesto with no nuts? Cilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto is a tasty alternative for those who have nut allergies or simply want a different pesto with a delicious taste.
Pesto Roasted Vegetables
Equipment
- Scale optional
- Tablespoon
- large bowl (10 cups)
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium yellow squash
- ½ large onion, quartered and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 ounces pesto, store-bought or homemade
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil, extra virgin, optional
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Optional toppings
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped or chiffonade
Instructions
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and running water before starting.
- Heat oven to 425 F on the roast or bake setting. If your oven is convection, set it to 400 F.
- Line a baking sheet with extra-wide foil or parchment paper. Using foil will help the vegetables caramelize more. If you prefer softer vegetables, use parchment paper.
- After washing the vegetables, cut them into pieces of similar size for roasting. About 1-inch works well.Note: No need to skin the eggplant.(Cut the onion into quarters and slice.)
- Place the cut veggies in a large bowl. Top with pesto and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. Mix the vegetables until they are evenly coated with pesto.
- our them onto a sheet pan and distribute evenly. If they are piled too high, use a second sheet pan. Place the veggie-filled sheet pan(s) on a center rack in the oven.
- Roast for 30 minutes and check for doneness. If the veggies have not softened and browned enough, roast for another 10 minutes. (They will probably need the extra time.)
- Remove veggies from the oven and serve immediately. If serving as a side dish, pass grated Parmesan cheese to use as a topping.
- You can also let them cool and store them in a container or zip bag for later use (meal prep).
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