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
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
This veggie tian is AMAZING! I layered in some fresh mozzarella and used a dash of balsamic when it was finished. I could have eaten the entire thing in one serving. SO yummy!
So pretty and simple — summer perfection
Could this be done in a slow cooker. I hate using the oven in the summer.
No, unfortunately slow cookers hold in all the moisture, whereas ovens allow for evaporation, so you end up with very different results.
Do you think this would freeze okay? I was thinking of making 2 and freezing one for later, but I’m concerned there’s too much moisture in all the vegetables for that to work. Anyone try it? Thanks!
I don’t think this would freeze well, unfortunately, for the reason you mentioned.
Thanks for the quick reply. I ended up making only one – I’ll have to just roast the leftover veggies & do something else with them. Thanks again!
I’m really late posting about this recipe it’s been about 2 years maybe longer since I made it, but oh my goodness it was so good. I did not use the yellow squash but everything else was as the recipe stated, and yes, again I have to say it was so good. I’m glad to see this recipe again, I think I’ll make it within the next few weeks, thank you!
Would this be good at room temperature? I’d like to make the night before and take to a picnic.
I’m not sure I’d like this one at room temp.
Can I substitute sweet potatoes for the white potatoes and will the cooking and/or temperature change?
I’d need to test it to say for sure, but I think if you slice them thin enough it should be fine. That being said, I don’t think the flavor of sweet potatoes would go as well as regular potatoes here.
Could the cheese be replaced with a nutritional yeast sauce and what amount would be sufficient?
I made this last night and it was really good. My husband is vegan, so I left the cheese off his share but really enjoyed it on mine.
Came across this and was wondering if vegan cheese would work. It melts a bit differently than normal cheese so I’m not sure how it would taste
Any tips on making this ahead of time? I would love to have this as a side for a party, but I won’t have too much time to get things prepped and cooked before the actual party. Could I prep it the day before and bake it the next day? My concern was it being kinda mushy if it’s in the fridge for a day or two before being baked.
You could probably slice the vegetables ahead of time, but if you season them with salt they will get soft as they sit in the refrigerator, so I’d wait to season until just before you bake it.
Haven’t had a chance to taste it yet, was running late and put it in the fridge, but it looks and smells great!
Changed I made :
I added mushrooms to the slices, salted the veggies beforehand to lessen the liquid and added panko crumbs to the garlic and onion on the bottom. Toasted the crumbs too before adding the slices
Taste great and easy! Baked it after it cooled off outside as I live without air conditioning. Will eat it tomorrow and freeze in individual servings in freezer bags what I do not eat.
Making this for dinner tonight! Looks so yummy! Perfect for a warm stormy summer night! Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this for dinner last night & it was so good! Definitely cut the potatoes VERY thin to make sure they cook through. I put the broiler on for a minute at the end to get it extra bubbly and crisped up.
Could I make this on the Bbq?
I’m not very well versed in cooking with a bbq grill, so I’m not sure what adjustments you’d need to make to ensure that it baked through.
I cooked this on my Trager grill. I left it in for an extra 15 min. I brought it inside and used the broiler for just a few min to make the top nice and golden. It turned out great. I love this recipe.