Discover Irresistible Mediterranean Diet Roasted Vegetables Recipes for a Healthy and Flavor-Packed Meal

The Mediterranean diet, celebrated for its health benefits, including weight loss and reduced risk of chronic diseases, emphasizes plant-based foods. Mediterranean roasted vegetables are a delicious and easy way to increase your intake of these beneficial foods. Bursting with flavor, these vegetables are tossed with olive oil, herbs, and spices, and then cooked to perfection.

Why Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables?

Numerous studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet can promote weight loss and reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and premature death. It's no wonder that it's been named the BEST overall diet for years! Roasted Mediterranean vegetables perfectly embody the principles of this diet, offering a flavorful and nutritious way to enjoy a variety of vegetables.

Selecting Your Vegetables

When making this dish, you can pick whatever vegetables you like or have on hand. A rainbow of veggies not only looks appealing but also provides a diverse range of nutrients. Consider using Mediterranean vegetables like red onion, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Other options include fennel, green beans, potatoes, squash, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.

I chose to use a rainbow of veggies: tomato, orange bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, and red onion.

My suggestion is to make sure that you cut them to about the same size so they cook evenly. The more uniform your slices, the more evenly your oven roasted veggies will cook. Of course, it helps to have a sharp knife for the job.

The selection of vegetables I've chosen will cook at roughly the same time so you don't have to worry about putting them in the oven at different times.

Essential Ingredients and Seasonings

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: It is important to use oil when you roast vegetables. I always go for a good quality extra virgin olive oil. You can also drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the vegetables when they are done roasting. Don’t skimp on the olive oil! Toss your veggies with a good-tasting extra virgin oil. Use enough of the oil to coat the vegetables well and give them a glossy look, but don’t use too much that you end up with excess oil in the bottom of your bowl. I would say somewhere around 2 tablespoons.
Lemon Juice: The lemon juice in this recipe is optional but I think it added a nice sweetness. It also works nicely if you use sumac or za’atar. I start with about 1/2 of a lemon juice but you can do more or less depending on your preference. Roasting lemons is a fantastic way of turning their flesh into, a juicy, sweet, sticky substance. Squeeze this over the vegetables before serving and they have a wonderful, sweet and zesty flavour. It's the perfect way of creating a dressing with no effort at all.
Spices: You can pick your favorites spices but I went with oregano, thyme and za’atar. I suggest trying sumac or za’atar. Seasoning roasted vegetables with some sort of spices helps bring out flavor. Mix Together the Marinade: In a small mixing bowl or mason jar combine the olive oil, garlic, thyme, oregano, za’atar or sumac, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir or shake to combine.
Fresh Herbs: The fresh herbs take this dish to the next level. I load my veggies up with fresh herbs.

Step-by-Step Roasting Instructions

Roasting Mediterranean veggies is so simple!

Preparation: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut all of your vegetables to your desired size making sure they are about the same size for even roasting and put them in a large mixing bowl. Cut Evenly: When cutting your vegetables I suggest trying to keep them to a similar size.
Seasoning: In a small mixing bowl or mason jar combine the olive oil, garlic, thyme, oregano, za’atar or sumac, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir or shake to combine. Toss the vegetables in the olive oil mixture.
Arrangement: Spread Vegetables on Baking Sheet: On a baking sheet spread the vegetables out in an even layer. You may need two baking sheets depending on their size. Don't crowd the pan. Vegetables too close will steam and not be able to crisp up sufficiently. For best texture and flavor, make sure your veggies are well-spread in one single layer on your baking pan or dish. If you need to, use two pans. Crowding the veggies will result in steaming them rather than roasting.
Roasting: Roast at 425 degrees on the middle rack of your oven for 20 minutes. Temperature: I suggest roasting at 425 degrees F. After making roasted vegetables over many years I find that to be the sweet spot. I roast for about 25 minutes and then check them but remember you will be stirring them at about the 15 minute mark so you can also check them them. High heat is the name of the game! For your veggies to gain that delicious caramelized exterior, while cooking to tender perfection, the sweet spot is somewhere between 410 and 450 degrees F. In this roasted vegetables recipe, I set the oven temprature at 425 degrees F and I cooked the veggies on the middle rack.
Serving: These Mediterranean Lemon Roasted Vegetables are delicious hot or cold.

Tips for Perfect Roasting

Don't overcrowd the pan: Overcrowding the baking sheet is the biggest mistake when it comes to roasting your veggies. When they’re too close together, hot air can’t circulate around, steam gets trapped, and everything ends up a bit soggy. I usually use two large baking trays - rimmed, so veggies don’t fall off - for an average batch. That’s what I did for this Roasted Mediterranean Veggies recipe. Half went on one tray, half on the other. I combined them onto one tray to make the pictures look pretty. Photographer trick ;)
Use parchment paper: I prefer to roast my veggies on parchment paper instead of aluminum foil. Some veggies will really stick to foil, especially around the yummy, caramelized edges. They’ll stick much less to parchment.
Cut vegetables evenly: Cut the vegetables into similar size pieces. This is going to help them cook through evenly. Cut the vegetables evenly. This will help everything cook through evenly.
High Heat is Key: By roasting them in a hot oven - I like 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 Celsius) - the natural sugars in these Roasted Mediterranean Veggies caramelize, and the edges get golden brown.

Variations and Serving Suggestions

Grilling: If you want to made grilled vegetables just take this recipe and instead of roasting cook them on the grill. I like to use a grill pan to ensure the vegetables don’t fall through the cracks of the grill. Make sure to not grill over too high of heat.
Serving suggestions: I love using roasted vegetables in rice or buddha bowls. Veggies always pair nicely with grilled meat. Seafood also makes a nice pairing. If you like salmon try this 15 Minute Grilled Salmon. These roasted vegetables pair well with many of my chicken recipes. These Italian-style roasted veggies are the perfect side dish next to almost any meaty dish. These roasted vegetables would go well with a wide range of dishes from steak, to sea bass.

Storing Leftovers

You can store these vegetables in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Store leftover vegeatbles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. These roasted vegetable will keep in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. Store your leftover roasted vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Recipe: Roasted Mediterranean Veggies

Ingredients:

2 Roma tomatoes, quartered and seeded
2 zucchini (8 to 12 oz), halved and sliced on a diagonal
1 eggplant (about 12 oz), halved and sliced into semicircles
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 red onion, halved and sliced
2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
Generous pinch sea salt and black pepper
6 fresh basil leaves sliced into thin ribbons, optional
8 oz baby bella mushrooms cleaned, ends trimmed
12 oz baby potatoes, scrubbed (Or cut potatoes in halves or cubes depending on size.

Instructions:

Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Load up the trays. Place half the veggies on one tray, half on the other. You can mix and match them if you want.
Spice it up. Drizzle half the oil onto each tray of veggies. Sprinkle half the salt, pepper, and Italian herbs onto each tray of veggies. Toss well with your hands and then spread the veggies out into a single layer. Don’t overcrowd them.
Bake it. Roast for 20-30 minutes until the veggies are tender and the edges are golden brown.
Garnish. Sprinkle with the fresh basil and serve.

Cook’s Tip: For best results, don’t skip step #2. Cook’s Tip #2: Since potatoes take a bit longer to cook, it’s good to give them a head start in the oven. Take the potatoes only and spread them on a lightly-oiled baking pan. Roast in the heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, and then add the mushrooms and remaining vegetables.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 87 kcal per serving

Read also: Delicious Mediterranean Recipes

tags: #mediterranean #diet #roasted #vegetables #recipes