Name: Pesto Roasted Green Vegetables
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: generous glug olive oil; 1/2 cabbage, cut into thick shreds; 1 small broccoli, cut into florets; 2 medium courgettes, cut into 2cm chunks and halved; 300 g Brussel sprouts, halved if very big; 100 g green pesto; 200 g frozen peas; 1/2 lemon, squeezed

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These pesto roasted green vegetables, make the ultimate veggie side. This super simple and yet incredibly versatile recipe is sure to liven up your greens and add some extra flavour to your meals.

baking tray of roasted green vegetables with pesto

Green vegetables are an absolute staple for pretty much every dinner in our house. But sometimes they can feel a little boring. Well not anymore. These pesto roasted vegetables are sure to liven up your meals and are delicious as a side or cooled and topped on a salad for something a little different.

For this recipe, you really can use any green vegetable you have or need to use up. I used a combination of cabbage, Brussel sprouts, courgettes and broccoli

closeup of a tray of pesto roasted green vegetables

The Pesto

I recommend using a good quality pesto for this recipe. This is because the pesto is the star ingredient in livening up your veg, therefore a good quality pesto can make all the difference.

You can of course make your pesto from scratch, but I am all about convenience! Therefore, I find that fresh or jarred pesto from the supermarket is just as good.

However, if you are catering for a vegetarian you will want to check your jar is clearly labelled as suitable for vegetarians or vegans. This is because most regular pesto is made with cheese which contains animal rennet (an enzyme extracted from the stomach lining of calves), so therefore it is not suitable for vegetarians.

To make this dish suitable for Vegans then simply use a pesto clearly labelled suitable for vegans. These pestos don’t include any dairy.

Cooking Tips for the perfect roasted vegetables

The key to this recipe is in ensuring you don’t end up with soggy vegetables.

The first way to avoid this catastrophe is to try to ensure that you have relatively equal-sized vegetables when you are preparing them
Secondly is your oven temperature. Turn the oven temperature up to 220c or 200c Fan. The high heat will help to keep the vegetables tender and crisp.
Finally, ensure that your vegetables have plenty of room to roast and crisp up beautifully. I suggest using two baking trays.

Serving suggestions for your pesto-roasted green vegetables

These roasted vegetables make a great side dish. But they can also be used to make a brilliant vegetarian main dish or lunch. Even if you have some leftovers (unheard of in our house), here are a few ideas that I like to use them for:

Pasta Make this rich tomato sauce and simply mix it with some cooked pasta and the pesto roasted green vegetables.
Gnocchi – Make this rich tomato sauce and simply mix with with some cooked gnocchi and these roasted green vegetables.
Pizza- Using a prepared pizza crust (or one you have made ) spread it with a thin layer of pesto or rich tomato sauce . Top with mozzarella cheese and the pesto roasted vegetables. Bake as directed
Toastie– Grab two slices of crusty bread and spread a layer of pesto. Next, add the roasted green vegetables and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Finally, grill until each side is golden.
Salad– Prepare some salad leaves of your choice and place the pesto roasted vegetables on top. Next, add some crumbled feta or goat’s cheese and then dress with a Balsamic vinaigrette.
Soup – Simply sweat your sofrito (onion, celery and carrot) for 10 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables and 800ml of vegetable stock and cook for 15-20 minutes. Blitz in a blender or hand blender for a delicious soup.

More Easy Side Dish Recipes

If you loved this recipe, then take a look at these other tasty side dishes and make your vegetables shine!

What you will need for the Pesto Roasted Green Vegetables :

Cabbage
- Any variety
- Rich in vitamin c and fiber
Brussel Sprouts
- Part of the Brassica family and essentially look like mini cabbages
- They are high in many nutrients, especially fiber, vitamin K and vitamin C.
Broccoli
- This has got to be my all time favourite and it is rare for us to have a meal without broccoli making an appearance!
- A vegetable powerhouse and is a rich source of multiple vitamins, minerals and fiber
Courgette
- Contains a variety of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds
- Great source of vitamin A
Olive oil
- Rich in healthy monounsaturated fat and loaded with antioxidants
Pesto
- See notes above
- I use a jarred vegetarian option

How to make the perfect pesto roasted vegetables

An all in one quick and easy recipe.

Start by preheating the oven to 220 c / 200 c fan. Then place all the prepared vegetables into a large bowl, add the pesto, drizzle with a little olive oil, mix and season well.

Spread the vegetables across 2 large baking trays so that the vegetables have plenty of space and place them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until slightly charred and crisp

While the vegetables are roasting, pop the peas in a bowl with a little water and cook in the microwave on high for 2 minutes

Take the vegetables out of the oven and mix through the drained peas. Squeeze over the lemon if used and serve straight away.

Diabetes Note

For us, this is a carb count free side dish. This is because due to the amount of pesto used per serving the overall carb count was only just over 1g of carbs.

However, this calculation is based on the pesto and quantity we used. As always you know what best to count for.

Please note this carb count amount per portion is based on the standard ingredients listed above and may differ depending on what you use and how much you choose to eat.

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