🌶️🧅🍄 My Grilled Mixed Vegetables with Basil Vinaigrette are simple to prepare and offer the perfect amount of smoky flavor thanks to teh cooking method and my basil vinaigrette! The basil sauce is LOADED with layers of flavor and ready in 1 minute! Healthy, fast, EASY, minimal cleanup = the PERFECT side dish recipe!
Grilled Mixed Vegetables with Basil Dressing
This is my idea of a summer dinner. Loads of grilled veggies, simply tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and an easy vinaigrette that’s exploding with flavor.
The dressing comes together in one minute in a blender or food processor and tastes like a beautiful basil plant exploded in your mouth. I mean that in the best way possible.
There’s fresh basil, shallot, rice wine vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Simple but so intensely flavorful. Use my recipe as a guideline, but taste and tweak it based on what you think it needs.
There’s nothing like the smoky flavor of grilled food, and lately I can’t get enough grilled mixed veggies. I’ve eaten this or something similar to this for dinner most nights the past few weeks. Simple, easy, fast, virtually no cleanup, and I don’t heat up my house.
Recipe Ingredients
For this easy grilled veggies recipe that’s perfect for summer, I used:
- Vegetables – Red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, baby portobello mushrooms, and cauliflower. Feel free to mix and match based on what you have on hand. Try yellow onions, red onions, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet potatoes, and even broccoli
- Olive oil – Avocado oil will also work, but I prefer the stronger flavor of olive oil
- Salt and peppr – Adjust to taste
For the basil sauce for the grilled vegetables you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Basil – Fresh basil is best
- Olive oil – I don’t recommend using any other oil for the sauce
- Shallot
- Rice vinegar – Do NOT substitute any other vinegar
- Honey – Maple syrup will also work
- Salt and pepper – Again, adjust to taste
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Grilled Mixed Vegetables
It doesn’t get any easy than this fast and easy Italian grilled vegetables recipe! Follow these easy steps:
- Heat a gas grill to medium-high heat or a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick grill spray.
- Add the vegetables to a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
- Grill for about 10 minutes total or until the vegetables are tender, flipping once or twice as needed. Grill directly on a grill grate, or use a grill pan or grill basket if needed!
- For the basil dressing, simply add all the ingredients to the canister of a high speed blender and blend away!
- Drizzle over your grilled veggies as desired.
What to Serve with Grilled Mixed Vegetables
Storage:
It’s always a nice treat to enjoy your grilled vegetables hot and fresh from the grill. However, I tend to make extra to toss over salads in the upcoming day or two.
Generally speaking most grilled vegetables will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.
The basil vinaigrette isn’t quite as forgiving and will begin to oxidize and turn darker as time passes. The taste won’t be affected but it doesn’t look quite as pretty. So, I recommend consuming that within 1 to 2 days. Store it airtight in the fridge.
Recipe FAQs
Sure it it! If you want to add protein but still keep it light and vegetarian, grilled tofu or tempeh is great. I was going to add some tempeh here but already had plenty going on.
Tip: I prefer grilling tempeh to tofu because it’s much firmer to begin with, holds together better for me, and I like the texture of the final result better.
If you want to add grilled chicken, I have so many summery grilled chicken recipes including Grilled Lime Cilantro Chicken, Grilled Lemon Chicken, or Peach Chili Grilled Chicken.
Thanks to the vinaigrette, these veggies are already bursting with flavor. However, if you want to add even more, try using garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, or any seasoning blend you have on hand.
I love using this basil dressing for grilled vegetables, but you can also dunk or drizzle the veggies with one of the following:
– Smoky Honey Mustard Sauce
– Lime Cilantro Dressing
– Mustard Dipping Sauce or Marinade
– Green Goddess Dip
– Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
Grilled Mixed Vegetables with Basil Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 Grill or Grill Pan
- 1 High-Speed Blender or Food Processor
Ingredients
Vegetables
- 1 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced on the bias into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 medium yellow squash, trimmed and sliced on the bias into 1/2-inch rounds
- half of 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
- half of 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
- about 6 baby portobello mushrooms, with cores removed
- about 2 cups cauliflower florets, broccoli florets may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Basil Vinaigrette
- about 2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed (about 2 ounces or about 2 large handfuls)
- about 1/3 cup olive oil
- half of 1 large shallot, about the size of 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, apple cider or your favorite vinegar may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon honey, or to taste (agave may be substituted)
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- splash water, optional see note below
Instructions
Vegetables
- Heat a gas grill to medium-high heat or a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick grill spray.
- To a large bowl, add the vegetables, oil, salt, pepper, and toss to coat evenly.
- Arrange vegetables on grill in a single layer and cook for about 5 minutes on first side, flip and cook for about 5 minutes on second side, or until as done, tender, and as blackened as desired. All grills, vegetables, and personal preference for blackening vary; cook until done based on your variables. Remove vegetables from grill, arrange on a platter; set aside.
Basil Vinaigrette
- To the canister of a high speed blender or food processor, add all ingredients except water, and blend on high speed until smooth.* (See Notes)
- Taste and make any necessary flavor adjustments (more salt, pepper, honey, etc.).
- Serve vinaigrette with the vegetables either on the side or drizzled over the top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Creamy Corn and Zucchini Salad— A healthy EASY salad that’s ready in 15 minutes and so flavorful! Corn, zucchini, cilantro, queso fresco and more are tossed in a DELISH creamy lime sauce!
Second time. First was very good, this time I am mixing up the vegies for a try
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad you’re trying it again with different veggies.
great