Chunky, bold, and beautiful, this colourful roasted summer vegetable salad with nuts and seeds is a picnic heavy weight. Thick cut vegetables: zucchini, eggplant and red pepper, turn splendidly slippery and silky when roasted, topped with a nuts and seeds crunch, finished with a creamy, dreamy tahini dressing. This salad is big-time nutritious, wholly satisfying and so simple to prepare. This summer season, you’re going to be invited everywhere!
Although they don’t have a name for it in the UK, potlucks are just as popular as in the US, especially in the summer when everyone is making the most of picnic and barbecue weather. Put this roasted vegetable salad on rotation with my dill potato salad and Greek Orzo salad because all three can be knocked up in advance and are excellent travellers.

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Roasted vegetable salad
This is my go-to summer salad for so so so many reasons I’ve lost count! But I’ll give you the basic rundown:
- Whether the guest or the host, this get-ahead salad maximises my time to get ready on the day.
- It makes an impression on the table thanks to its disarming use of COOKED VEGETABLES in a SALAD!
- There’s an irresistible clash between soft, oily roasted veg and the gritty (in a good way!) nature of nuts and seeds in each bite.
- I’ve snuck a variety of vegetables into a barbecue (or picnic), and no-one’s even batted an eyelid!
- Roasted vegetable salad goes with absolutely anything, so there’s no fear of bringing the ‘wrong dish’ to an event. And chances are, no-one else will have made one so low chance of doubling up.
- I love it when you get a slightly charred, sticky cube of soft caramelised eggplant. Or a crispy-edged but silky-centred shred of onion.
- You can lavish any dressing you can find on it; garlic mayo, creamy dill, lemon yoghurt, and you won’t be disappointed.

Honestly, I could go on! But you get the picture.
I’ve used eggplant, zucchini and red pepper in this recipe for the eye-catching colour combo and similar cook times. But mushrooms, any colour pepper, broccoli, tomatoes, or carrots could easily be used to. Just make sure you consider oven time!

Recipe tips and notes
- The key to success in a one-pan recipe like this one is choosing vegetables that take the same amount of time to cook and are cut to size accordingly. For example, eggplant can be cut chunkier than zucchini as it cooks more quickly.
- In this mix, all the veg have similar raw textures and therefore cook times. Throwing something firmer in like cauliflower, squash or sprouts will mean staggering the roast times beginning with the harder veg.
- Vegetable salads are versatile! Go Italian-inspired by seasoning with basil and oregano or Middle Eastern with ground cumin and coriander.
- Let your veg cool to room temperature before mixing them with the greens. You don’t want your leaves to wilt!
- Mixed nuts and seeds bring a desirable crunch factor. I love a silky roast vegetable, but the texture addition is a gastronomic twist. I’ve used a rosemary and garlic flavoured nut mix from the supermarket, it’s salty and savoury and adds some oomph.
- Dress with any salad dressing you like. My current fave is tahini Green Goddess, but this lemon garlic tahini one is a close second!

Serving suggestions
This beautifully soft and tender salad is both impressively event-worthy and modest enough for a quiet lunch.
When asked this summer to bring a dish to a barbecue, this roasted vegetable salad is what I’m backing! Not only is it delicious and stand out-beautiful, it can be made ahead of time, and will go with absolutely anything. Place it next to pasta salads, couscous salads, green salads to be heaped onto plates next to grilled meats, like chicken souvlaki, burgers or falafel.
And I can’t say I wouldn’t be in heaven filling some fresh focaccia with it, and a little Greek cheese, some olives and maybe even a glass of white wine for a laidback light lunch on my own.
Storage and leftovers
The roasted vegetables for this summer party salad can be cooked 3 or 4 days ahead of time. Keep them in an airtight container until you’re ready for them.
Assemble before serving first combining with the green leaves, then sprinkling with the nut mix and finally dressing with the salad dressing of your choice.
More salads to try
- Korean Carrot Salad
- Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Coronation Chicken Recipe
- Winter Salad with Red Cabbage, Kale and Pomegranate

Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad with Nuts and Seeds
Ingredients
- 3 zucchini / courgettes
- 2 eggplants / aubergine
- 1 red pepper
- 3 shallots, quartered or 1 red onion
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 150g / 4 cups salad greens (lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale or a mix of all)
- 2 tbsp roasted nut and seed mix (cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or your choice)
- 4 tbsp tahini green goddess dressing or dressing of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Cut the top off the eggplant and peel in stripes, removing approximately half of the skin. This helps oil to penetrate easier. Slice the eggplants and zucchini into 1 inch/2.5cm slices, then cut each slice in half. Cut the shallots into wedges and red pepper into strips.
- Spread all the vegetables on a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil all over, then season with the salt, paprika and garlic powder. Toss the vegetables to coat evenly.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
- To make the salad, mix the roasted vegetables with salad greens of your choice and drizzle with the salad dressing. Scatter the roasted nuts and seeds all over and serve immediately.
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