Easy Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables

Truly an all-purpose side dish, these Easy Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables are made with quick-cooking veggies like zucchini and bell peppers. They’re colorful, versatile, and adapt well to most weeknight main dish meals or meal prep lunches.

Ingredients in these Easy Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables:

You can probably guess everything it takes to put this roasty side dish together. Vegetables, seasonings, and oil are the requirements. For extra credit, some jarred pepperoncinis are a really smart move (I’ll explain!); here are the details:

• zucchini – The most abundant summer veggie, am I right? While it doesn’t use a ton, this is a great way to throw one into any meal and not make it the focus.
• yellow summer squash – Also known as crookneck. If you can’t find this, just swap with another zucchini.
• bell peppers – Use two bell peppers of different colors to give varying flavors. I prefer red and orange for sweeter peppers, but you can use green if you wish.
• red onion – Roasting a red onion brings out the flavor and sweetness. It compliments the other more savory veggies really well.
• extra virgin olive oil – Roasting with EVOO provides flavor and helps with browning.
• salt, fresh ground black pepper & garlic powder – Keeping the seasoning simple keeps these roasted vegetables versatile. Garlic powder is skippable, but don’t leave out the salt and pepper.
• sliced pepperoncinis – Forgive me for using any excuse I can to sneak in pepperoncinis, but they really do add a touch of acidity and flavor. But it’s not a dealbreaker; you can skip them if you don’t have any.

Equipment you’ll need to make these Roasted Summer Vegetables:

The most important thing you’ll need here is some sheet pans, plus some other common kitchen tools. I do have some recommendations on brands to look for:

• sharp chef’s knife – If I had to pick one thing in my kitchen to use forever, it would be my Misen Chef’s Knife (affiliate link!). This knife is super high quality while being affordable. I’ve had mine for years (and there’s a lifetime guarantee!).
• rimmed sheet pans – All kitchens need a set of two rimmed sheet pans. The standard half sheet pan (affiliate link!) is a go-to and essential for roasting, baking, and more!
• wooden cutting board – For chopping the veggies, I recommend this Greener Chef XL Bamboo Cutting Board (affiliate link!). The XL size is perfect but not too huge. I use it for everything except cutting raw meat. Hand wash only!
• flipper or rubber spatula – It’s really helpful for quickly flipping and stirring all the veggies on the sheet pans. I love this OXO Large Silicone Flipper (affiliate link!).

How to make Easy Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables:

This recipe is made with a simple medley of summer vegetables, plus some basic seasonings and oil. It’s such a simple one to put together – you can even mix everything together right on the pan.

Here’s a breakdown of each cooking step, plus some extra tips you might find helpful:

Best tips for making Easy Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables:

Here are my best tips for making these roasted veggies successfully in your own kitchen:

• Cut all vegetables into approximately the same size. This helps ensure an even cooking time for all the veggies. Try to slice the zucchini about the same thickness as the wall of a bell pepper, too.
• Line the pans with parchment paper for super easy cleaning. Yes, you could skip this and roast directly on the pans for a little more charring, but I really hate scrubbing sheet pans!
• Use two sheet pans, and rotate halfway through cooking. If you put all of these veggies on one pan, they’ll be too crowded to roast properly. They may take longer to cook and end up steaming (= mushy!) rather than charring on the edges.

What to serve with these Oven Roasted Summer Vegetables:

These veggies are just dying to fit into a main dish for lunch or dinner, along with a protein, carb, maybe a sauce too! Here’s a list of recipes I would gladly serve these veggies with:

• thin sliced chicken breast – Always and forever I will love this thin sliced stovetop chicken and veggies pairing. It’s what’s pictured below ⬇️ and pretty close to how I usually serve these veggies.
• add to pasta salad – You’ll find two perfect examples in my Roasted Veggie Pesto Pasta Salad, and this Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad. Just mix them right in!
• make a bowl of it – These veggies are so versatile, they can be a supporting role for lots of other different flavor profiles. My favorite example is this Indian-Inspired Spiced Chicken Meal Prep where I seasoned with cumin seeds, salt and pepper.

Ways to customize this recipe:

Here are some ideas on ways to customize these veggies to your own tastes:

• pick your seasoning – omit the pepperoncinis, then season with any of the following flavor options:

  • Herby: 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • Taco: 1 teaspoon cumin + 1/2 teaspoon chili powder + 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (like this chickpea taco bowl!)
  • Savory: 1/2 teaspoon onion powder + 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • other specialized seasoning combos, like lemon pepper seasoning (or use fresh ground pepper + fresh squeezed lemon after roasting)
• use your favorite summer squash – any softer summer squash variety will work, including Crookneck (yellow), pattypan, tromboncino, and zephyr squash
• I think most of the customization will happen when you serve the vegetables and what you serve them with!

Ways to meal prep this recipe:

Here are a couple ways to prep these veggies ahead of time for later:

• Ingredient prep: All of these vegetables can be roughly chopped ahead of time and stored in a bowl with lid in the fridge until you’re ready to roast. 
• Complete prep: Make the recipe start to finish, then save the cooked veggies in an airtight bowl in the fridge to pair with meals over the next 4 days.
• Prep and pair: Prepare these veggies as part of a meal prep lunch such as this grain bowl or this chicken and veggie meal prep.

I do not recommend freezing this recipe, due to the fresh vegetables involved. Once thawed, I think they would be too mushy to be good anymore.

Once the veggies are done, serve immediately, transfer to a serving bowl, or store with other meal prep foods after letting them cool for several minutes.

Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container and enjoyed for up to 5 days, though I prefer to eat them by day 3, since they start to get mushy around day 4.

Reheat leftover vegetables with the rest of a meal prep meal, or with other leftovers in any of the following methods:

• Microwave: Loosely cover the meal with the lid and microwave on High for 90 seconds, stirring and then continuing to heat in 30 second increments until it’s hot and steamy all the way through.
• HotLogic: These leftovers can be reheated in a HotLogic Mini Portable Oven with the rest of a meal prep meal; just be sure to drizzle 1-2 tablespoons water over everything to create steam.
• Can be eaten cold! Pair with lemon dill hummus and thin sliced chicken on a pita for a meal that is really good cold or served at room temperature.

Did you make this? I want to see how it turned out! Tag me in your social media post @projectmealplan and use #projectmealplan when you share!

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