My vegetable tray bake features roasted pumpkin and red onion with cherry tomatoes and bacon then served with fresh basil and a mustard dressing.
This recipe for a vegetable tray bake is the way I successfully got my pumpkin-hating husband to eat pumpkin. Maybe pumpkin-hating is a bit strong, let’s just say pumpkin-averse…anyway…it worked! The secret to making this veggie bake more appealing was adding bacon (big surprise) and a yummy mustard dressing.
Even if it took bacon, I’m calling it a win!
Ingredients you will need for this mixed veg bake
- pumpkin (butternut squash)
- red (spanish) onion
- mixed cherry tomatoes – see my top tips
- bacon
- fresh basil
- olive oil
- garlic infused olive oil – see my top tips
- red wine vinegar
- juice of a lemon
- wholegrain mustard
- salt and pepper
*Please see the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions
To make this recipe we are going to bake the pumpkin pieces first, then add the tomatoes, onion & bacon to the oven – take them out, then drizzle with the dressing, throw on some basil & you’re done.
My top tips for making this tray bake recipe
- Any mini/cherry tomatoes will do for this recipe, they don’t need to be mixed.
- Garlic infused olive oil is readily available from most supermarkets or grocery stores, they usually stock a large variety of flavoured olive oils these days. Feel free to substitute plain olive oil.
- I like to space out the pumpkin pieces, this way they don’t get soggy.
More vegetable side dishes you may enjoy
Golden Potato Chunks with Herb Salt – little nuggets of cubed potato, oven baked until they are crispy then sprinkled with a rosemary and lemon salt. The perfect 180c/350f potato side!
Garlicky Mushrooms – plump, juicy mushrooms sauteed in plenty of garlic and butter then finished off with parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Pumpkin Couscous Salad – sweet butternut squash salad with chargrilled capsicum, mint & couscous.
Lee-Ann ♥
Vegetable Tray Bake
Ingredients
- 3 tsp olive oil divided
- 800 g pumpkin - I used butternut peeled, seeded & chopped into 2 cm / 3/4 inch cubes
- 2 small red/spanish onions
- 4 rashers streaky bacon
- 400 g mixed cherry/mini tomatoes
- 1/2 cup basil leaves firmly packed - with some reserved for serving
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- You will need 2 rimmed baking trays/sheets for this recipe, unless you have a really big oven with a tray to match!
- Pre heat oven to 190c/ 375f.
- Place chopped pumpkin on the first baking tray in a bit of a pile, drizzle over 2 tsp of olive oil then mix with your hands to coat pumpkin well with oil then spread out pumpkin on baking sheet as well spaced as you can, sprinkle over salt & pepper to taste and roast for 15 mins.
- Meanwhile, peel & cut each spanish onion into 12 wedges, roughly chop the bacon, and halve any large cherry/mini tomatoes but leave the others whole.
- Take the second baking tray, place the onion, bacon & tomatoes in a pile on the tray, drizzle over 1 tsp of olive oil then mix with your hands to coat then evenly spread out vegetables on baking sheet.
- After 15 mins, rotate baking tray of pumpkin in the oven if it needs it, then add second baking tray of vegetables and bake everything for a further 25 mins.
- While the vegetables are roasting, make the dressing by combining mustard, lemon juice, garlic infused olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
- When cooking time is up, combine pumpkin with other vegetables, adding basil leaves & dressing, mixing lightly to combine if needed then serve topped with extra basil.
Notes
- If you don't have garlic infused olive oil, you can just substitute the plain olive oil I have used for the rest of the recipe.
- Mixed cherry/mini tomatoes are also optional - any cherry/mini tomatoes will do the job just fine.
- The reason I put the pumpkin on a separate baking tray to the rest of the veg is space. I like to leave some space around the pumpkin as it roasts, that way it cooks up better on all sides and doesn't get soggy.
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