Mediterranean Roast Vegetables (Oven Or Air Fryer)

Why you’ll love them

I make these roasted Mediterranean vegetables at least once a week – sometimes more. They’re a great summer side for quick midweek meals, BBQs and more. But I make them all year round. Here’s why:

• They’re so easy to prep. You can even do the ‘work’ in advance. All you do is chop all the vegetables roughly, throw them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and toss them in olive oil and a few basic herbs and spices.

• They take only around 30 minutes to roast. Or half that time in an air fryer. Maybe toss them around half way through cooking. That’s it.

• You probably have the vegetables in your fridge already. There’s nothing unusual or hard to find. If you don’t have one of the veggies, you can skip it or replace with something else.

• They go with almost anything. I most commonly serve them with baked salmon or easy baked chicken thighs, crustless quiche, or creamy pesto chicken. Leftovers are perfect on toasted sandwiches or pizza!

• They’re colourful. They’re healthy. They’re crowd pleasers. What more can I say?

About the ingredients

You might be wondering why I call these Mediterranean vegetables!

There are actually many vegetables that are commonly grown and cooked with in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy. But the 5 vegetables listed below (+ garlic!) are the ones I most commonly roast together, because they all cook in around the same amount of time (apart from the tomatoes which I add later).

You could say they’re roasted summer vegetables, because they’re plentiful and at their best in the summer. But to be honest I make them all year round!

I forgot the garlic in the photo below, but you may find it helpful to ‘see’ which veggies I include.

Eggplant: You only need part of a small eggplant. I recommend slicing it into rounds, then into roughly 1 inch cubes. Roasted eggplant is delicious, but not if it’s undercooked!

Zucchini/Courgette: I slice it into thick rounds, then slice each round into quarters.

Red onion: Slice into thick(ish) chunks. I usually use 1 big or 2 smaller onions. Roasted onions are particularly delicious! If you don’t have red onion, any onion is fine.

Peppers/Capsicum: I always include peppers because they add sweetness and colour. Red pepper is usually my first choice, but I often include a yellow, orange or green one, too. I usually keep the pieces a bit larger because peppers cook quite quickly.

Cherry tomatoes: I ALWAYS throw in a whole container of cherry tomatoes (around 250 grams or 9 ounces). They add more colour and almost become like a sauce when you squish them with your fork. I add them around half way through because they cook in less time than the other veggies.

Olive oil: Of course, no self respecting Mediterranean vegetables recipe would be complete without a good drenching in olive oil! Actually, you need around 3 tablespoons – roughly. Not too much, not too little.

Garlic: Throw loads of cloves of garlic on the tray, too (at least 5 to 6 cloves, but more if you like). Roasted garlic is mild, sticky, sweet and delicious!

Mixed Italian herbs (or similar): I usually throw on a good teaspoon of dried mixed herbs. I use mixed herbs for ease, but if you’ve only got basil or oregano or thyme, that’s fine too.

Paprika: You could say this is the ‘secret’ ingredient. Just half a teaspoon adds some extra smoky flavour, but you can easily skip it if you don’t have any.

Salt and pepper: Of course! I usually just grind plenty of both over before giving the veggies a final toss and popping them into the oven.

Step 1: Quickly chop all the vegetables apart from the tomatoes. You don’t need to be very precise about it. I usually cut the eggplant into smallish cubes and keep the peppers quite large so that everything cooks evenly in around half an hour.

Step 2: Throw them all onto a lined baking tray. You don’t have to line the tray but it makes clean-up SO much easier. Toss with all the herbs and spices and around 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for around 15 minutes at a fairly high temperature – so 220C/425F.

Step 3: Add the tomatoes to the tray, then roast again for another 15 or 20 minutes or until the vegetables are browning and starting to caramelise – but not burnt!

How to make them in your air fryer

These vegetables are also perfect for air frying! Prep them in the same way as you would for the oven, except it’s better to season them with the flavourings in a big bowl. Mix them well with the oil (you can spray it on if you’d like to use less). Then empty into the air fryer basket.

If you have a basket-style air fryer, I’d recommend halving the recipe, or saving the second half of a full batch to cook another day. If you have an oven-style air fryer you might be able to get away with cooking the full amount.

Preheat your air fryer to 190C/375F. Pour the vegetables into the basket, then air fry for between 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and crisp in parts. Toss the vegetables every 5 minutes so that they cook evenly. Also this way you can check on their progress as you’ll need to learn how long to cook them in your particular brand of air fryer (cook time varies!).

As with the oven version, you’ll want to add the tomatoes around half way through the cooking time.

Make the recipe your own

Vegetable substitutions: I usually don’t add root vegetables such as carrots, beetroot or parsnips to the tray because they do better roasted at a higher temperature and for a longer time.

However… I must admit that I do sometimes add some sweet potato. The key is to cut it into really small cubes so that it’s done at the same time as the other vegetables. You could do this with ordinary potato, too – but don’t forget to cut it into small cubes.

Mushrooms also roast well in the same amount of time as the other vegetables, so why not add a few to the tray as well?

Flavour substitutions: Although my go-to is Italian mixed herbs, you can literally throw a teaspoon of ANY dried herbs you have or like – basil, oregano, thyme or a mixture. You could also sprinkle over a pinch of chili flakes. If you don’t have garlic cloves and/or onion, sprinkle over around a quarter teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder.

If you want to be really fancy (!) you can add a few sprigs of fresh herbs to the tray instead of dried – oregano, thyme, or a bit of rosemary, although go easy on the rosemary.

My ‘wild card’ suggestion? Try tossing a drizzle of honey through the veg, too. Add it at the same time as adding the tomatoes to prevent burning. Delicious!

Optional toppings/garnishes: Why not sprinkle some fresh basil or parsley over the dish just before serving? Or even some crumbled feta cheese? Mmmm.

This even makes a good side dish when you have guests. Just pile the veg into a nice serving bowl, sprinkle with a little chopped parsley or basil, and let everyone serve themselves.