Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Salad

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An easy, colorful and incredibly tasty roasted vegetable dinner salad packed full of Mediterranean vegetables tossed with basil pesto sauce, chickpeas and greens.

This Mediterranean-inspired warm salad is full of vibrantly colored vegetables. Like a classic salad from the South of France, eating this salad will make you feel like it’s always summer, no matter what time of year it is.

A colorful mess of vegetables tumbled together onto a sheet pan makes the best — and simplest — roasted vegetable salad you could ask for! Hint: The roasted veggies are amazing layered into vegetable lasagna or tossed to make the best veggie pasta!

Fortunately, all the vegetables you need to make this dinner salad recipe are readily available year-round. That means you can make this dish ANYTIME, even after your summer farmer’s market or weekly CSA box is long gone.

I am obsessed with cooking and eating Mediterranean food — it feeds my soul. If you feel same, don’t miss this collection of my best healthful Mediterranean diet recipes.

Vegetables for roasted veggie salad

• Eggplant: In summertime I scoop up baby eggplants or marbled purple-and-white eggplants whenever I see them. They have a mild creamy flesh I LOVE. The rest of the time, choosing firm medium-sized eggplants is a good bet.
• Tomatoes: Multi-colored cherry tomatoes are reliably sweet and juicy, and markets have them year round.
• Bell pepper: I like to use red, orange or yellow bell peppers for an extra colorful salad. Any combo or color you can get is great.
• Red onion: One of my favorite onions to eat raw, pickled or roasted because it’s sweet and not too sharp.
• Other vegetables to roast: Feel free to switch up the combination of vegetables here to fill your sheet pan. Zucchini, tender yellow squash, leeks and cauliflower florets are great too!

Roasted vegetable steps

1. Once you have your veggies cut into about equal-size pieces, the next step is simply to toss them together on a large rimmed baking sheet with plenty of good olive oil, salt and crushed red chili pepper.
2. I use this brand of kosher salt for cooking. For me, the perfect amount of salt is 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons for this amount of vegetables. Taste and season to your taste.
3. Be sure to grab a large enough pan that’s about 18″ x 13″ (also known as a half-sheet pan). To ensure they roast evenly, the veggies should fit snugly, but not piled on top of each other.
4. I recommend roasting vegetables at a moderately high temperature of 425 degrees. That way they’ll soften and caramelize in less than 30 minutes.
5. Give them a stir halfway through roasting so they cook evenly.

As soon as they’re ready, dress the vegetables with your favorite pesto sauce (I’m a fan of this perfectly-textured homemade basil pesto). Stir in the chickpeas and baby greens until the leaves wilt.

Serving tips and options

• Serve the salad as is or with cooked grains like couscous, orzo pasta, quinoa or farro to make it more hearty.
• Add about 1/2 cup of your favorite soft cheese to the salad just before serving. Feta, goat cheese, burrata or ricotta are all delicious choices.
• The vegetables are FANTASTIC over cheesy Parmesan Polenta!
• Instead of pesto, drizzle the salad with my favorite zesty Essential Green Sauce, tangy Lemon Tahini Dressing or Chimichurri Sauce.
• Any soft textured baby greens like kale, spinach, or arugula are perfect to use in the salad.
• Top the salad with grilled meat, seafood or chicken.

Make ahead

• The roasted vegetables taste delicious for days. Keep refrigerated and warm to room temperature or briefly heat in a microwave to serve.
• You can also freeze the roasted vegetables for up to one month. Cool completely and omit the greens before packing into freezer containers. Add the greens when you reheat the salad and enjoy!