These pesto roasted vegetables are a fun and flavorful side dish for your evening meals! With all the delicious herby flavor of basil and a hint of garlic, the pesto sauce is so quick and easy to make. Pair these pesto veggies with pasta, chicken, fish or plant-based dishes!
Have a peek at my roasted vegetables with honey and my air fryer roasted root vegetables for more tasty side dishes!
Vegetable side dishes are such a staple for evening meals, and it's always nice to up the flavor even more. These colorful roasted vegetables with pesto are so tasty, so easy to make and can be paired with so many mains!
While I like to make my own dairy free pesto, you can of course use a store-bought jar for a time-saver if it works for you.
Looking for more veggie sides? Do have a peek at my rosemary roasted sweet potatoes and zucchini and my roasted Brussels sprouts and asparagus for more tasty ideas!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
So flavorful! Pesto always packs a punch with Italian flavor, with fragrant basil, garlic and creamy pine nuts.
Versatile side dish. Add your pesto vegetables to your sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes or enjoy as a vegetable side dish.
Quick and easy. You can of course use a pesto from the store, but making this homemade pesto is very simple and then we roast up our one pan pesto veggies in les than 30 minutes!
🥕 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Vegetables - it's super easy to swap out the veggies for those you like best (just make sure they have a similar cook time), but I suggest using bell peppers, carrots and zucchini for their delicious roasted sweetness.
- Basil - use fresh unbruised basil leaves (definitely not dried basil!).
- Pine nuts - the base of the pesto sauce, they give a lovely nutty taste.
- Olive oil - I suggest to use extra virgin olive oil for the pesto for its depth of flavor and health benefits.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap out the vegetables. You can easily use other vegetables such as green bell pepper, sweet potatoes or cauliflower. Just make sure to dice into roughly similar pieces and that they have a similar cook time.
Use a different pesto. There are so many to choose from here, including my pumpkin seed pesto, vegan pistachio pesto and macadamia pesto!
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making these homemade pesto roasted vegetables is very simple, with just a few steps:
Step 1: Dice the vegetables
Dice the bell peppers, carrots and zucchini into bite-size pieces, of roughly the same size (image 1).
Step 2: Make the pesto
Combine the pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil and garlic and blend to a thick pesto (image 2).
Step 3: Coat the vegetables
In a large bowl, stir the pesto through the vegetables. Add a little of the pesto to begin with, then more to preference (image 3).
Step 4: Roast the vegetables
Spread the vegetables evenly on a roasting tray and roast for 20-25 minutes, or longer depending upon the thickness of the vegetables (image 4).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Dice the vegetables into roughly similar size pieces for an even cook time.
- Spread the vegetables out on the baking tray so they roast rather than steam. I made the mistake of having overlapping vegetables on a recipe test and they came out overly soft. Give the vegetables some space on the baking tray!
- This recipe uses a fair amount of pesto as I like them well coated, but you can always use less and save (or freeze) any remaining for another meal.
- Check the vegetables after 20 minutes and adjust the cook time from there. The pesto makes them a little 'wet' so you will need to roast for about 25-30 minutes if you like more char.
- You can of course use a store-bought pesto instead of making your own. Use 2-3 tablespoons to preference.
📋 Frequently asked questions
There are many vegetables that are delicious when roasted in the oven including bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, butternut squash and sweet potatoes.
Many store-bought pesto sauces are not vegan as they contain cheese. You can easily make a homemade vegan pesto with basil, olive oil, pine nuts (or other nut or seed), olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
Depending upon the size of your vegetables and how soft you like them, roasted vegetables take 20-30 minutes to cook in the oven.
🍽 How to serve pesto roasted vegetables
- Pair with chicken mains, such as my air fried boneless chicken thighs or panko fried chicken, or some simple baked turkey or fish for a tasty evening meal.
- Want a super pesto-esque dinner? Have a look at my pesto chicken kabobs for a tasty and easy cookout idea!
- Stir into pasta for a veggie pesto pasta dinner!
- Leave to cool and enjoy in a sandwich or on crackers with fresh cheese!
- Make a pesto veggie bowl with some quinoa, couscous or rice and some leafy greens for a tasty lunch!
🥣 More vegetable and potato side dishes
Find lots of tasty side dishes to pair with your evening meal, including my frozen cauliflower rice recipe, steamed bok choy and my roasted Brussels sprouts with pesto. Some recent recipes to try:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Pesto Roasted Vegetables
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 large zucchini diced, or 2 small zucchini
- 2 carrots diced
For the pesto dressing
- 1 cup basil leaves loosely packed
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ⅛ cup olive oil more to preference
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- pinch salt
- pinch ground black pepper optional
Instructions
- Top and tail the carrots and zucchini, and peel the carrots. Dice into bite-size pieces, along with the red and yellow bell peppers.
- Combine the basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and black pepper in a blender. Blend to a thick pesto, but adjust with more olive oil if required.
- Add the diced vegetables to a large bowl and stir through the pesto. If you prefer, you can use less pesto to preference depending on how coated you like your vegetables to be (save any extra for another meal!).
- Spread the pesto vegetables on a baking tray lined with parchment paper in an even layer. Roast the vegetables for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through the cook time. Adjust the cook time as needed, cooking for longer for more char on the vegetables.
Notes
- This recipe uses a fair amount of pesto, but you can always use less and save (or freeze) any remaining for another meal.
- Check the vegetables after 20 minutes and adjust the cook time from there. The pesto makes them a little 'wet' so you will need to roast for about 25-30 minutes if you like a lot of char.
- You can of course use a store-bought pesto instead of making your own. Use 2-3 tablespoon to preference.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- pine nuts aren't rated.
- apple cider vinegar and garlic, which score 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
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