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These Mediterranean vegetables will instantly turn even the most avid vegetable hater into an avid veggie lover! Roasting vegetables brings out the natural sugars that all vegetables have hidden inside them. We roast the vegetables rather than bake them, which simply means we use a higher temperature, which causes the water to evaporate and concentrates their natural flavors.
We toss the raw veggies with olive oil and dried herbs, then put them in the oven. We finish them with a drizzle of balsamic glaze, our secret ingredient, to take the flavor to a whole new level.
If you’re like me and search for vegetable recipes that everyone in your family will love, I hope you’ll make our Southern-style green beans, sautéed asparagus (with loads of garlic!), fajita veggies, and honey-glazed carrots next.
SIDE DISH OR MAIN DISH
This recipe is a healthy, hearty side dish that works well with many main dishes. I truly make this recipe more often than just about any in my recipe box! That said, with 1 or 2 more ingredients and virtually no extra effort, this can be made into a fabulous sheet-pan main course.
Make It A Main Dish
Pop open a package or two of your favorite fully cooked sausage, and nestle them in on the baking sheet. We love this with Aidells chicken and apple sausage (no endorsement, just what we like!). Uncooked Italian sausage will work well, too. I cut the raw sausage into chunks.
Another way you can add protein to this dish to make it a main course is to add a crumbled block of Feta cheese. I sprinkle the roasting Feta over the vegetables, and it melts like a blanket during the roasting process. When I add Feta, I generally don’t flip the vegetables halfway through the process as directed.
FRESH OR DRIED HERBS
As the recipe is written, we use dried herbs. While I’m a huge fan of fresh herbs, the dried Italian combination is really wonderful in this dish. I think sometimes people think that using dry herbs or fresh herbs is a culinary compromise. In this recipe, nothing could be further from the truth. They impart great flavor and stand up to the roasting temperature without burning. We mix the dried herbs with olive oil to moisten the herbs and help them adhere to the vegetables. They can become concentrated in the curves of the bell pepper, so I use a pastry brush to help thin out areas that have become too thick.
Well, when my herb garden is overflowing with fresh herbs, you bet those are the ones I use. I like to use a combo of fresh basil, sage, oregano, thyme, and rosemary. Fresh herbs should be added after the vegetables have been roasted. Just sprinkle them over the veggies.
You can also make a compound butter, as I do in my roasted carrots and parsnips. In that recipe, we combine butter, shallots, fresh chives, thyme, rosemary, and thyme. It’s truly marvelous. If I were to make a compound butter for this recipe, I’d switch up the herbs to include rosemary, sage, basil, and or oregano. You, of course, don’t have to use them all; just combine a couple of them. Because our Mediterranean vegetables are roasted with only 2 tablespoons of oil, a compound butter works very well without becoming too heavy with fat.
MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES INGREDIENTS
- Zucchini: Also known as courgettes. I like to quarter the zucchini and cut it into about 1 1/2-inch lengths.
- Eggplant: Aka aubergine. Cut the pieces about the same size as the zucchini pieces.
- Carrots: I cut these smaller than the zucchini and eggplant. The carrots are dense and take longer to cook, but if they’re smaller, they cook in about the same amount of time.
- Bell Peppers: You can use any color bell pepper you like. My favorites are the red and orange.
- Onion: I use a red onion. Love the roasted onion flavor.
- Tomatoes: I like to use grape or cherry tomatoes. I leave them whole.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I use olive oil. You can use any neutral-flavored oil.
- Italian Seasoning: This is a great dried seasoning mix! I use McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning. It adds great flavor, and it comes in one easy-to-find container.
- Salt + Black Pepper: We use this as our foundational seasoning. Adjust the amount to taste.
- Balsamic Glaze: This is our secret ingredient! The roasted vegetables seasoned with dried herbs are incredibly delicious on their own. A thin drizzle of this glaze will make a dish that jumps off the deliciousness chart!
- Pine Nuts: I love the flavor and texture these nuts add. I toast them ahead of time in a dash of oil and a sprinkle of salt, then sprinkle them over the finished vegetables.
- Lemon Juice: Optional. A fresh squeeze of lemon juice is a nice finish.
MEDITERRANEAN ROASTED VEGETABLES TIPS
- Amount of Oil: We use only 2 tablespoons of oil. For 16 cups of vegetables, that’s not a lot of oil. It works really well, though, and keeps this recipe very healthy. Of course, you can add more oil to your taste.
- Mix Up The Combination: We use about 16 cups of cut-up vegetables. Feel free to mix up the combination as you like.
- Size Matters: I cut the zucchini and eggplant about the same size, and the peppers the same size. I like the grape tomatoes whole. I cut the carrots smaller because they’re denser and take longer to cook. This way, everything cooks for about the same amount of time.
- Don’t Crowd Them: I use 2 baking sheets to give the veggies plenty of room to roast. If you crowd them, they’ll end up steaming instead of roasting, and you won’t get the fabulous flavor.
- Add Garlic: Garlic cloves are a great addition to this dish. I add them whole. If they’re minced, they can and often burn.
- Make Mine Lebanese: When seasoning the vegetables, add za’atar, Aleppo pepper, or a small amount of allspice! You can also add a combo of these spices.
- Other Vegetables To Use: Use a total of approximately 16 cups of vegetables. Try substituting some of the veggies and adding Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, or sweet potatoes.
STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Leftover roasted Mediterranean vegetables can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes. Cooked vegetables can be frozen for up to 9 months. They will soften after freezing. Frankly, they’re really best served fresh.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Chop all the veggies and set them aside in the refrigerator.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety, check out this link.
MAKE A DOUBLE BATCH
If you have leftovers or decide to make a double batch, these vegetables are great to mix into other dishes. I often make an extra batch so I can mix these into a pasta salad or a hearty green salad. We also like them mixed with a jar of marinara sauce and tossed with pasta.
My husband likes to chop the roasted vegetables up and mix them into scrambled eggs or the filling of an omelet. They’re wonderful on vegetable pizzas or as a condiment on sandwiches.
Remember that root vegetables, like carrots, are considerably denser. Cut them smaller than you do the zucchini and eggplant so that they’ll all cook at relatively the same time.
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
Our family loves these veggies served with our honey glazed salmon recipe, creamy lemon chicken, balsamic chicken, honey balsamic sheet pan chicken, sheet pan Italian chicken, chicken Lombardy, chicken scarpariello, chicken Vesuvio, chicken Francaise, chicken Milanese, and or marry me chicken pasta.
These really are just a few! I promise these veggies are wonderful with darn near everything!
HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES RECIPE
- Toast the pine nuts.
- Cut the veggies.
- Mix and whisk the olive oil and Italian seasoning.
- Toss the vegetables with the olive oil mixture.
- Spread the vegetables on the sheet pan. Season with salt and pepper. Roast.
- Flip the veggies over. Roast again.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle the veggies with balsamic glaze.
- Sprinkle with pine nuts.
- Serve.
***See the full instructions below.
MORE VEGETABLE FAVORITES
- Fried Cabbage and Bacon
- Hoppin’ John Recipe
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Best Way To Cook Corn On The Cob
- Roasted Broccoli
- Green Beans With Bacon
- Roasted Green Beans
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Mediterranean Vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini, quartered + cut into 1 1/2 inches long
- 1 medium eggplant, cut the same size as the zucchini
- 2-3 carrots, quartered + cut into 1 1/2 inches long (slightly smaller than squash)
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 red onion, cut into chunks
- 1 (10-ounce) container grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Toppings
- balsamic glaze
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and salted
- just a squeeze fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack to the center position. Preheat oven to 425ºF (232ºC). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil (2 tablespoons) and Italian seasoning (1 tablespoon).
- Add cut vegetables to a large mixing bowl, then toss with olive oil and Italian seasoning mixture. pepper until evenly coated.
- Spread the mixture in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet (do not overcrowd, use 2 baking sheets if necessary). Sprinkle vegetables with salt (1/2 teaspoon) and pepper (1/2 teaspoon).
- Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and flip over. Return vegetables to oven and continue to roast until the vegetables are tender and begin to char, about 5-10 minutes (watch closely towards the end so they don't go from char to burn!)
- When vegetables come out of the oven then adjust the seasoning if needed. Lightly drizzle vegetables with balsamic glaze then sprinkle with pine nuts and serve immediately! Enjoy!
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Amount Of Oil: We use only 2 tablespoons of oil. For 16 cups of vegetables, that's not a lot of oil. It works really well, though, and keeps this recipe very healthy. You can of course, add more oil per your taste.
- Mix Up The Combination: We use about 16 cups of cut-up vegetables. Feel free to mix up the combination as you like.
- Size Matters: I cut the zucchini and eggplant about the same size. The peppers same size, as well. I like the grape tomatoes whole. I cut the carrots smaller because they're denser and take longer to cook. This way everything cooks about the same amount of time.
- Don't Crowd Them: I use 2 baking sheets to give the veggies plenty of room to roast. If you crowd them, they'll end up steaming and not roasting and you won't get the fabulous flavor.
- Add Garlic: Garlic cloves are a great addition to this dish. I add them whole. If they're minced, they can and often, burn.
- Make Mine Lebanese: When seasoning the vegetables add za'atar, Aleppo pepper, or a small amount of allspice! You can also add a combo of these spices.
- Other Vegetables To Use: Stick with using a total of approximately 16 cups of vegetables. Try subbing out some of the veggies and add Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, or sweet potatoes.
Nutrition
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We liked it so much! We always saute veggies, but roasting it is a different level! We made it with sausage. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Jeanie! So glad you enjoyed these veggies. Yes, roasting really makes these taste wonderful! Glad you tried it with the sausage.Thanks so much for leaving a comment and the 5 star rating!