Why can’t vegetables be plentiful and yummy all year long? I don’t know, but I intend to enjoy them while they’re around. This Summer Vegetable Tian is the perfect easy side to showcase the medley of delicious vegetables the summer has to offer.
I like to enjoy the natural subtle flavors of vegetables. I’m not all for frying or smothering with thick, rich sauces, but sometimes I want something a little more. This Summer Vegetable Tian lands half way between both worlds. The vegetables are sliced thin, seasoned only with a little salt, pepper, and thyme, and then topped with just a small amount of flavorful cheese. Roasting the vegetables magnifies their flavor and gives them just a hint of sweetness. It’s veggietastic.
Creamy cheeses work really well with this dish but I happened to have a four cheese Italian blend on hand so I used that.
Summer Vegetable Tian
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.42)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.11)
- 1 medium zucchini ($0.75)
- 1 medium yellow squash ($0.56)
- 1 medium potato ($0.77)
- 1 medium tomato ($0.71)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.10)
- Salt & pepper ($0.05)
- 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese ($1.40)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, optional garnish ($0.08)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
- While the onion and garlic are sautéing, slice the zucchini, yellow squash, tomato, and potato thinly (1/4-inch slices). Make sure the potatoes are very thin so that they soften quickly while in the oven.
- Coat the inside of an 8×8″ casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread the sautéed onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Arrange the other sliced vegetables, stacked vertically like dominos, in an alternating pattern. Season the top of the vegetables generously with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with the shredded cheese, and bake without the foil for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Top with chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if desired.
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Nutrition
How to Make a Vegetable Tian – Step By Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until soft and transparent.
Place the sautéed onion and garlic in the bottom of an 8×8 (or similar size) casserole dish.
Wash one potato, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomato to remove any dirt or debris.
Slice the vegetables into 1/4-inch thick slices. The tomato and potato had very large diameters compared to the squash, so I cut them in half before slicing to make them a more similar size.
Layer the potato, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomato in the dish over the onion and garlic in an alternating pattern. It doesn’t need to be pretty, just squeeze them in there any way you can.
Season the top of the vegetables generously with salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
After baking for 30 minutes, remove the foil and top with about 1 cup of shredded Italian blend cheese. Return the Summer Vegetable Tian to the oven (without the foil) and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Top with a little fresh chopped parsley for garnish, if desired.
Helllooooo gorgeous.
Original Photos
I don’t love thyme. Would rosemary be an OK alternate for this recipe?
Yes, I think that would be okay. The beauty of this dish is that you can almost use any herbs that you like. :) I think my first choice after thyme would be oregano.
Love this. Made small pan first time and had leftovers one day. Making double batch tonight, will have for lunch next two days.
I had a lot of moisture first time. I salted and let veggies sit for 20 min before assembling this time, I expect I will also be pouring off extra juice when I uncover, as I did last time.
Has anyone tried prepping and baking covered the day before then bringing to room temp Adding cheese and finishing the next day? I love do ahead short cuts
Hi, Jan
I just made this last night and it was delish. I prepped it in the morning and baked it at 6:00pm. I bought a ball of fresh moz, slice it and added in between veggies as another layer. (Added some basil from the garden.) Also sprinkled parmesan on top for extra crispy yumminess.
Great recipe!
I prepped mine yesterday at around noon and cooked it at around 6pm tonight then added the cheese and it was perfect!
I made this tonight. It is just like a ratatouille recipe only this is baked. My family loved it and kept raving about it being delicious. I didn’t add the thyme as I couldn’t find any in my spice cabinet and didn’t have any potatoes but It was still so yummy. Thank you for such a great recipe to use up summer veggies! I will be passing this one on!
Just made this again for the first time this summer and WOW, I’d forgotten how much I love this dish! I left out the tomato (I loathe them) and the potato (just plain forgot it), but added some asparagus that I sauteed after the onion. I still got some of the “soupy” on the bottom, but I could not stop eating this. Every time I wandered through the kitchen after dinner, I’d nab a few veggie slices to gobble down. Simply delicious!
I will definitely try this recipe, but I have concerns about the cooking spray. Research shows that cooking sprays (1) negatively affect lung health, (2) have unhealthy additives in addition to the oil, (3) use propellants and nitrous oxide (greenhouse gas) that are bad for the environment, not to mention the can itself. I just spread some oil with a paper towel.
Keep it a healthy dish; skip the cooking spray.
Hi! I was wondering if the bottom of the pan got really soupy from the tomato. I love all your recipes thanks so much!
There is sometimes a little liquid from the vegetables at the bottom of the dish, but you can just scoop the vegetables up out of the self made broth.
I’ve made this several times with whatever summer squash is in our Organics box, whatever cheese I have on hand and herbs from our box….always yummy and I’m not a fan of vegetables. Thank you for a great recipe! I’ve already shared it several times.
Made this recipe tonight with one yellow squash, one green zucchini squash, my own homegrown tomatoes, and fresh thyme from my “garden.” Didn’t have a potato, but the rest of the recipe was as you presented it to us. Really delicious and healthy too! I’ll be making it again.
Just started gluten free diet so cheese is probably out. Any suggestions
Natural, unprocessed cheese doesn’t have gluten. So as long as you stay away from the processed stuff, you should be fine. :)
Made this for the first time tonight. It WILL be made again and again. We loved it. I did it just as the recipe says, but did use more Italian cheese than it called for. The zucchini and yellow squash we really slender and not overly large, so I used 2 of both kinds of squash, and also 2 potatoes sliced thin as I didn’t have and larger one. The tomato was larger than the squash rounds or the potato, so I cut them in half. worked really well and was not overly watery. In fact it wasn’t watery at all, as I was afraid it might be. All in all, my husband dubbed it a “keeper” and it will grace our table often this season.
Would this freeze well if you needed individual portions for much later?
Hi there.
I can prep this a day ahead? Do you think it will work just as well?
I think that might work well with this recipe, although I haven’t actually tried it.
Potatoes will have to be kept in cold water until ready to cook, otherwise they will turn black
Hi, wife sent this recipe to me and we made it last night. As the others have said its awesome!
I wish I made more as I ate all the leftovers in just one day.
The tomatoes really add something with their acidity, so if anyone leaves those out, they may want to put some acid back in with a sprinkle of vinegar or salad dressing or something.
I also tossed all the rounds with a little olive oil and all the other seasonings (except salt) before assembling.
It is a little runny, but I like the juice afterwards. Some bread to sop it up, or maybe over a small spoon of leftover rice would take care of that.
Will have to try it with some fresh corn (since its real cheap) or some eggplant next time.
I used sweet potatoes instead of white as well. More nutrition.
I just made this and it was wonderful! I’m new to cooking but this was easy and delicious.