Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes
Submitted by algerg
Overlapping slices of zucchini and ripe tomatoes baked with bell pepper, onion, and olive oil until crisp-tender. A vegan, low-calorie side that looks as gorgeous as it tastes.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
25 minREADY
45 minThis is vegetable cooking stripped down to its most beautiful form.
Alternating slices of zucchini and ripe tomatoes overlap in a buttered baking dish like shingles on a roof, scattered with chopped bell pepper and onion, drizzled with good olive oil, and roasted until the edges caramelize and the squash turns crisp-tender.
No cheese, no breadcrumbs, no fuss. Just vegetables, olive oil, and a hot oven doing what they do best.
It’s the kind of side dish that quietly outshines the main course, especially in summer when tomatoes and zucchini are at their peak.
Variations
- Tuck fresh basil leaves or thyme sprigs between the slices before baking for an herby lift.
- Add thin rounds of yellow squash alongside the zucchini for extra color.
- Scatter crumbled feta or shaved Parmesan over the top in the last 5 minutes if you want a non-vegan upgrade.
Pro Tips
- Use tomatoes and zucchini that are roughly the same diameter so the slices overlap neatly.
- Don’t crowd the dish. A slight overlap is fine, but stacking too thick means the vegetables steam instead of roast.
- The olive oil is doing all the flavoring here, so use one you actually like the taste of. This is not the place for the bargain bottle.
- Pull the dish when the zucchini is crisp-tender, not soft. It should still have a bit of bite.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Core, seed and chop pepper.
Peel and finely chop onion.
Trim ends off the zucchini and remove the stem end from the tomatoes.
Cut both vegetables into ½-inch slices and arrange them in a buttered 1-or 1½-quart baking dish with their edges overlapping slightly, alternating the tomato with zucchini.
Scatter the green pepper, onion, salt, and pepper over the slices.
Drizzle the oil evenly over the vegetables.
Place the dish in the oven and bake, uncovered, about 25 minutes, or until the squash is crisp-tender.
Comments
