Grilled Vegetable Salad combines smoky notes from freshly grilled assortment of seasonal vegetables, aromatic basil, and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Make a large batch to feed a crowd or enjoy it yourself for a couple of days for easy lunch or dinner meals.
Jump to RecipeHello folks – how are you doing? Did you all have a nice weekend?
last week was quite busy and stressful – especially for out pets. First, we had our windows and doors changed, so it was noisy for a couple of days (and we also have our siding changed next week!) Then the heat wave for nearly three days happened. We all cannot stand temperature higher than 25 degrees C, especially when it’s also super humid. And it is even worse for pure pets.
But at least the temperature has dropped significantly, so it is really pleasant now. Hopefully, it lasts for a bit like this.
And today I am excited to share a recipe that would be perfect for your grilling season!
Grilled Vegetable Salad
This Grilled Vegetable Salad is super easy to make. It is also healthy and light, yet it delivers a great flavour profile. And basically it is effortless as your grill does most of the work for you. Well, except for chopping; this feature is probably still not available!
I used for this recipe an assortment of summer vegetables such as eggplant, peppers, zucchinis, tomatoes, sweet onions, and garlic. You can certainly choose whatever veggies you like or have on hand; just be mindful that cooking times could vary, so you will need to adjust it accordingly. Oh yeah, mushrooms would have been excellent here, too! You will also need some olive oil for greasing the veggies plus for a light dressing (along with some balsamic vinegar). And fresh herbs, too. I used basil and oregano, but other herbs like parsley or maybe even mint would work as well.
This is quite a large batch that would be perfect for a gathering or picnic. Or refrigerate any leftovers and enjoy it for your light lunch and dinner meals, along with some crusty bread. And you can always add some extra things like cheese (e.g. feta) or processed meats (e.g. prosciutto). Needless to say, it will be a perfect side to your grilled meats and fish. Or perhaps even with roasted potatoes, if you are looking for a meatless meal.
I hope you like Grilled Vegetable Salad, and you will give it a try soon. If you try it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Course: Sides, MainDifficulty: Easy4-10
servings15
minutes45
minutesGrilled Vegetable Salad combines smoky notes from freshly grilled assortment of seasonal vegetables with, aromatic basil, and a simple and fresh dressing made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Serves ~ 4 as the main course or more as a side dish.
Ingredients
1 large (~450 gr.) eggplant – quartered lengthwise
2Â medium zucchini (~400 gr. total) – halved lengthwise
3 large sweet peppers (ideally different colours) – cored and seeded and cut into 3 to 4 pieces each
2 sweet red onions – cut into 4-5 wedges
2-3 large meaty tomatoes – halved lengthwise
1 large garlic head – keep the skin on
oil or spray for greasing
- Dressing:
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. smoke paprika (optional)
Fresh basil oregano or other herbs
Directions
- Heat the grill to high medium (400-450 degrees F).
- Just before adding the vegetables, spray or brush some oil onto the grill.Â
- Using a sharp knife, slice the top off of the garlic bulb to expose the individual garlic cloves. Brush the garlic clove with some oil and wrap in few layers of foil. Place the wrapped garlic on the grill, over indirect heat, for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Exact time will be based on the size it.
- Place the remaining vegetables onto the grill; skin side down for the eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers, and cut-side down for the red onion and tomatoes. Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to grill in batches.
- Allow to grill for about 5-7 minutes until the soften and start to colour on the underside then flip the vegetables and grill the other side; at this point you may need to reduce the heat to 400 degrees F. You may also want to flip them few time more to ensure they are being cooked and charred evenly.
- Generally the cooking time should be 15-25 minutes, but it will vary with each of the vegetables. So make sure check on them regularly and remove them those pieces that are done to your liking, e.g., onions tend to need more time. Using tongues, remove the cooked pieces onto a plate or bowl and let cool a bit.
- Once the vegetables have cooled a little, chop into pieces of preferable size (really chunky here) and transfer to a bowl.
- Carefully unwrap the garlic and remove the skins. With a knife or even a spoon remove as many garlic gloves as you wish (roasted garlic is super sweet and not so “garlicky”). Roughly chop or smash it with a knife depending on doneness, it may be super soft like paste.) Add in the garlic to the vegetables.
- Chop fresh herbs and add in as well.
- For a dressing, simply whisk the olive oil and balsamic with a touch of salt and pepper; you can also add smoked paprika (optional). Add it to the bowl and toss until coated.
- You can serve the salad right away or refrigerate until ready to serve. When refrigerated, it will stay fresh for up to 3-4 days. Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
Love all those meaty vegetables — such a perfect summer meal! (Minus that head of garlic for mine! ????)
Those question marks were supposed to be a winky face!
Definitely summer looks near from where you are, this salad sounds like the ultimate summer dish!
oh yum. i love eggplant and red onions and garlic …
cheers
sherry
Me too!
Thanks Sherry
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
Oh we are definitely channeling the same grilled veggie vibes this week, Ben! Glad to see that you pulled the grill out. And hopefully the pets will be ok with the siding change – they certainly like to keep the same routines, right??
David @ Spiced recently posted…Grilled Vegetable Souvlaki
Yeah, pure Daisy even needed some anxiety meds – but she is doing fine now!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
A lovely way to get those veggies in during the hot summer months! I’d gladly have this with quinoa :)
Thank you Michelle!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
This is beautiful. We enjoy rice noodles aside too!
Davorka recently posted…Cotton Candy Latte
Thank you Davorka!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
A simple yet so perfect meal itself!
angiesrecipes recently posted…Prawns with Vanilla Coconut Sauce
Thank you Angie!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
This roasted veggie salad is summer perfection! Add some crusty bread and a glass of wine and it would be a perfect meal on the patio!
Tasia recently posted…No Churn Sugar Cookie Ice Cream
Thank you Tasia!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
Beautiful! The smoked paprika should not be optional!!!
Thank you Mimi – and agreed on smoked paprika!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri
This is a fantastic summer dinner — both colors and flavors are calling to me. I hope it has cooled down where you are. :-) ~Valentina
Thank you Valentina!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Blackberry Daiquiri