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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!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
Made this for dinner tonight. AMAZING! So happy I found this recipe! Thank you! Served it with a simple salad and warm crusty bread… I could eat this every day.
This looks amazing. I’m going to try cooking it in a meatloaf pan so the liquids drain away.
I have made this twice and love it! Very simple and very tasty.
I love this recipe, but whenever I make it I always end up with tons of liquid at the bottom of the dish! The tops of the veggies are great, but the bottoms are soaked! Still tastes good, but how do you avoid this? I don’t see any liquid on your pictures. (PS, I love your blog, you are awesome!)
Sorry, now I see the other comments about salting the veggies. I wonder if it will really address the problem. The zuchs i use release so much liquid!
This was an incredibly simple way to enjoy the fresh vegetables in season. I used a simple tasty cheese rather than an Italian mix and Italian Herbs in place of Thyme. The best aspect has to be how flexible this dish would be for a range of vegetables. I look forward to trying this recipe again in another season using sweet potato and pumpkin.
I have been making this for years but not always with cheese, I have on occasion tossed in extra veggies (Broccoli, Asparagus etc.) I have around and love it. This is one of my favorites, it’s easy simple and guilt free.
I love this dish but I like to pump up the flavor so I used garlic salt instead of just regular salt and pepper and I thought it was much better. I also have been having issues with it being too watery from the squash. Has anyone else had this problem/have a solution?
After slicing the squash, lay out flat on a baking sheet (with a rim) or in a colander and sprinkle it with a liberal amount of salt. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then quickly(!) rinse them and squeeze dry. The salt pulls all the water out of the squash so the dish won’t be too wet. I did find though that with this method it adds to the saltiness of the dish so I wouldn’t recommend adding any extra salt (or even the salt asked for in the recipe).
gracias por esta receta, la haré y
disfrutare con mis dos hijos
me encantaron faciles de realizar y quedaron exquisitas gracias
This was delicious. A few thing though. I do not care for tomatoes or white potatoes, so, I used sweet potatoes and a few mushrooms. Lastly, I didn’t have any Italian cheese so I used pepper jack. It was extremely delicious and I ate it til all the leftovers were all gone!
I love this recipe! I don’t use tomato, however. I use a mandolin on the thinnest setting to slice the squash and potatoes. I sprinkle everything with Spike seasoning vs salt and pepper. Also, I sauté the onion and garlic in a stovetop safe baking dish that I then use to bake the dish in, to cut back on cleanup. No need to dirty a sauté pan!
Delicious! I followed the advice in the comments of removing the tomato seeds and salting and draining the zucchini and squash about 30 minutes before baking, and I think it helped! There was some juiciness at the bottom, but not soupy-ness. I used the Kirkland no-salt seasoning instead of thyme. Also I tossed the zucchini and squash in some olive oil before lining them up in the pan. I sliced the potatoes very thinly, and they cooked perfectly! I think they added a really nice substance to the dish. My husband LOVED it and though I’d made enough to have leftovers… we ate it all in one sitting. Great recipe!!
Muy buena idea para consumir verduras en otras preparación. Riquisimo sabor conservador de las verduras asadas a horno.
Can’t wait to try this one. Yummy!
Hi there Beth, Just to say thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I’ve tried it and it was delicious! I’ve mentioned your site on my blog here:
https://bramblinginbrittany.blogspot.fr/2016/08/dont-get-caught-in-grease-trap.html
Thank you! :)
Great dish! You can’t go wrong with adding sliced mushrooms (sweet peppers, eggplants, etc.) and using different spices to your taste. Thank you for your wonderful recipe!