Vegan Pesto Veggie Bake (2024)

By Stacey Homemaker on May 16, 2020, Updated September 27, 2020 47 Comments

This delicious vegan pesto veggie bake is easy to make, surprisingly quick to assemble, and it's so IMPRESSIVE! This beautiful and healthy side dish is perfect to make for the holidays or to go with your weeknight dinner.

I know that you're thinking this vegan veggie bake looksfancy and time-intensive, but it's actually very easy to make! This is why I always make this dish for holiday meals and family events because it looks so special. In addition to being a beautiful dish to look at it also tastes incredibly delicious!

If you like ratatouille, I think that you're really going to enjoy this zucchini tomato pesto bake. This dish is similar to ratatouille because of the thinly sliced layered vegetables, but what sets it apart is the flavorful pesto sauce that's used instead of traditional tomato sauce.

I just love how the pesto sauce seeps into every nook and cranny of the vegetables while they're roasting. It's seriously tasty! Trust me, serve this side dish at your holiday dinner or jazz up your weeknight dinner, your family is going to love it!

How To Make a Pesto Veggie Bake

First, you're going to make the pesto sauce. Add the fresh basil leaves, pumpkin seeds, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until the sauce until smooth and set it aside for later.

Next, use a hand mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini, tomatoes, and red onions into thin slices.

Arrange the sliced vegetables in the pan in this order: zucchini, tomato, zucchini, red onion. Start with the outer ring first and then work your way in. Keep stacking the vegetables until you run out.

Drizzle the vegan pesto sauce over the vegetables and then use a silicone brush to evenly brush the sauce over all the vegetables in the pan.

Lastly, lay a piece of unbleached parchment paper on top of the vegetables and bake it until all the vegetables are tender.

What Should You Serve With This Veggie Bake?

This zucchini tomato pesto bake can pretty much be enjoyed with any meal. It looks fancy so I always serve it as a side dish to our Thanksgiving feast and Christmas dinner, but I also like it on the side withroasted lemon garlic cauliflower steaks or vegan meatloaf to jazz upa simple weeknight dinner.

What Can You Do With Leftovers?

You can enjoy the leftovers just as they are or you could mix the leftover roasted vegetables with pasta and tomato sauce or with cooked quinoa and more pesto sauce.

Notes & Substitutions

• What Type of Tomatoes Should You Use? When you're picking out Roma tomatoes, look for firm tomatoes so they slice easily. If you buy soft, mushy tomatoes, it will be very difficult to slice them using a hand mandolin and you'll have to cut them by hand with a knife.
• Do You Have to Use a Cast Iron Skillet? You don't have to use a cast-iron skillet, you could arrange the vegetables in any type of casserole dish.
• Sliced Vegetable Bake Arrangement Option: If you don't want to arrange the vegetable slices standing up like the pictures, you can layer them flat in a casserole dish too. Do whatever is easier for you, either way, it will taste delicious.
• Vegetable Substitutions: Instead of tomatoes and zucchini, you could use slices of summer squash, eggplant, or mini bell peppers.
• Oil Substitution:If you're oil-free, you can omit the oil completely and use water or aquafaba in place of the oil.

Success Tips

• Try to buy zucchini and Roma tomatoes that are similar in size, width-wise. Also, look for the smallest red onions. You want the vegetables to be uniform in size so they roast evenly.
• Use a hand mandolin to quickly slice the vegetables. Using this tool really reduces your prep time!
• You can use store-bought vegan pesto sauce if you don't want to make it from scratch. I often use the organic vegan pesto sauce from Sprout's, it's delish!
• Store the leftover roasted vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
• This recipe does not freeze well. Tomatoes and zucchini get very mushy after they've been frozen and defrosted.

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