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
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! I just made it exactly how it says except I added extra squash, zucchini, tomatoes and potatoes and baked in a 9×13. I didn’t have thyme so I improvised with basil
Instead and it turned out very well. I do have to admit I was scared that the potatoes wouldn’t be done enough but they turned out perfect. I highly recommend this dish and I’m already gushing to all my friends, thanks for the post!!!
-Stef
Bethanee – I actually did not replace the foil because I wanted my cheese to brown, but maybe your oven runs a little hotter than mine :) You can just wait to add the cheese at the last minute or at least a little bit later than you did this last time and that should correct the problem.
MMM! I just made this for the first time! Absolutely loving the idea :) Only one question: Am I supposed to replace the foil after adding the cheese? I put it into the oven without the foil after adding the cheese, and after 10 minutes it was much more brown than I had wanted. I may have made a boo-boo. It tasted GREAT, but would’ve liked for it to look as pretty as yours as well.
This was awesome! Didn’t use as much cheese but added a little panko when I put the cheese on. Over the top yumminess!
Gonna make this tonite, overloaded with zuchhini and yellow squash. Thanks for the new idea!
This awesome. Thanks!!
Yes indeed! I just sliced all my veggies and reviewing the recipe to make sure everything is right. I plan to add a couple of dollops of neufchatel cheese, cannot WAIT to eat! :D
Hello!!! Im waiting in front the owen for the vegetable to be ready!! Thxs from Venezuela!!! :D
Absolutely wonderful! Presentation was amazing and it was enjoyed at dinner tonight. I used sharp cheddar as I didn’t have an Italian blend cheese. I also used a cream cheese based sauce to drizzle over the top before serving!
I’m making it right now…I also added mushrooms and feta to the mix…can’t wait!
I have made this recipe several times and it has always been a winner. I’ve used Roma tomatoes and sometimes added a few strips of bell pepper (any color) and mushrooms but I always use the basic ingredients, too. My one permanent additional is Tony Chachere’s seasoning or Slap Ya Mama. Thank you so much for this great recipe.
My hubby and I both tried this tonight and it was amazing! I found this recipe off of Pinterest and it has got to be our favorite recipe that we have made so far and I have tried a lot of them! We used the Kraft shredded Italian Cheese. I think we want to try adding bread crumbs on top for an added bonus next time. I wish I would have found tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash that were similar in size since mine were all different sizes and didn’t look as pretty as yours. Thanks for a yummy recipe that we will be adding to our dinner rotation.
A lot of brands sell an “Italian Cheese” mix of shredded cheese in a bag. It’s usually asiago, parmesan, mozzarella, and another cheese that I can’t remember :P
didn’t like the zucchini in this dish. it became mushy…also don’t know what italian cheese means?
Made this last night and it’s pretty wonderful, except I found the thyme to be a bit overbearing. I think next time I’ll use an Italian seasoning mix or maybe fresh basil from my Aero-Garden instead. But it’s definitely on my favorites list. I also used a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for added flavor.