This roasted vegetable salad is an easy, flavorful, and nutrition packed dinner! Tender roasted vegetables are served over spinach with a side of avocado, then sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with green tahini sauce. This recipe is naturally paleo, Whole30 and vegan, and super customizable to your preferences.
Spring vegetables are rolling into town and I cannot get enough. I’ve been grilling them, tossing them into lentil salads, and dipping them into more muhammara that one person should reasonably consume. But by far my favorite way to enjoy the bounty of spring is roasted vegetables.
For an easy weeknight dinner, this roasted vegetable salad recipe is as delicious as it gets. It’s naturally paleo, Whole30, and vegan (hello all of the diets!) plus it’s super flexible for whatever veggies you have in the crisper or your pantry. If you need a kick of protein, it’s easy enough to season a few chicken breasts and roast ’em along with the vegetables.
Sweet, tender, crispy roasted vegetables pair perfectly with bright green tahini sauce and creamy avocado. It’s heaven on a plate (or in a bowl). Serve this for an easy weeknight dinner, or divide it into containers for a grab-and-go lunch prep. Less a recipe, more of a suggestion, some version of this roasted vegetable salad will keep your taste buds happy and your belly full well into summer.
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Roasted Vegetable Salad Recipe Notes
This roasted vegetable salad is super easy, deeply nutritious, and the perfect weeknight spring dinner. Swap out the vegetables listed in the recipe for whatever you have on hand, or the ones that you love (scroll to the bottom for suggestions and cooking times).
Tips for Roasting Vegetables
Make perfect roasted vegetables for this salad (or anything else) every single time with these easy tips:
- Cook ’em at high heat. Roast vegetables at high heat (at least 400*, and up to 450*) to get the perfect balance between crispy outsides and tender insides.
- Line the baking sheet to prevent sticking. I use parchment, but foil works well too.
- Cut to a consistent size. This will ensure even cooking, and will help with cooking times. Quartered potatoes will cook more quickly than whole potatoes. Sliced carrots will cook more quickly (and evenly) than large chunks.
- Oil and season properly. After preparing the vegetables, toss them with oil, seasoning, salt and pepper in a prep bowl to ensure each piece is evenly coated. The best utensil for properly coating the vegetables is your (clean) hands, but tongs or a wooden spoon work well too.
- Give them plenty of room. Packing the vegetables too tightly will result in steamed, not crispy, vegetables. Spread the vegetables into an even layer and make sure there’s a little room between them.
- Flip them halfway through to ensure even browning. When I flip my vegetables, I remove the entire tray from the oven, then close the oven immediately to prevent the heat from escaping. I flip the vegetables using tongs or a fork, and then return them to the tray.
- Cook similar vegetables together and adjust cooking times as needed. Group vegetables according to cooking times, and add them to the oven in stages if needed. Onions and potatoes take longer to roast, so they go onto their own tray and into the oven first. The broccoli, radishes, and carrots followed about 10 minutes later.
- Season with acid after roasting. This is a tip I picked up years ago, and it really takes roasted vegetables from “ooh, this is good” to “OMG WOWZA”. Sprinkle a bit of fresh lemon juice or other acid onto your vegetables right after they come out of the oven. The acid from the lemon juice combined with the sweetness from the roasted vegetables is amazing. Just be conservative – a little goes a long way. In this recipe, the green tahini brings the perfect amount of acid to the table.
- Eat ’em fast. Roasted vegetables will come out of the oven perfectly crisp and tender. Have your other ingredients prepped and ready to go so you can enjoy your roasted vegetables at their peak!
How to Make Green Tahini Sauce
It’s no secret that I love tahini sauce. Exhibit A. Exhibit B. Exhibit C. It’s my own personal magic sauce.
This herb packed green tahini sauce is bright, fresh, and the perfect pairing to crispy, sweet roasted vegetables. It’s also insanely easy to make!
Ready? Let’s do it!
Add one bunch of parsley into a blender along with some tahini, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Turn on the blender and start pureeing the sauce while you pour water in through the top. Start with half a cup of water, and add more to achieve the the perfect pourable texture. Keep processing until the sauce is super smooth, and pause once to scrape down the sides.
Remember to taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice. Go ahead and experiment with half parsley and half cilantro, or any other combination of herbs that you love and that are soft and blendable. Basil would be excellent for a roasted vegetable salad with summery varietals like tomatoes and squash.
Roasting Times for Alternative Vegetables
Feel free to customize this salad with your vegetables of choice! Just remember to group vegetables onto baking sheets by their cooking times, and to roast in stages. Add the longest cooking tray of vegetables first, followed by second tray 10, 15, or 20 minutes later.
I try to stick to two trays of vegetables, because that’s what my oven comfortably fits, but you could also use side-by-side quarter sheet pans to increase your oven’s capacity. The times below aren’t hard and fast, so keep an eye on them and check for doneness every 5-10 minutes.
Here are some other vegetables to try in this salad, along with approximate cooking times:
- 30 Minutes: quartered small/new potatoes, 2″ diced sweet potatoes, diced or sliced onions, diced beets
- 20 Minutes: broccoli, cauliflower, sliced carrots, quartered radishes, quartered brussels sprouts
- 10-15 Minutes: asparagus, green beans, diced or sliced zucchini or summer squash, whole cherry tomatoes, bell peppers
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Roasted Vegetable Salad with Green Tahini Sauce
This roasted vegetable salad is an easy, flavorful, and nutrition packed dinner! Tender roasted vegetables are served over spinach with a side of avocado, then sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with green tahini sauce. This recipe is naturally paleo, Whole30 and vegan, and super customizable to your preferences.
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetable Salad
- 1/2 lb baby potatoes quartered
- 1/2 red onion diced to 1"
- 1/2 lb radishes quartered
- 1 medium head broccoli cut into florets
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced into 1/2" coins
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil divided
- 1 tsp cumin divided
- 1 tsp paprika divided
- 1 tsp sea or kosher salt divided
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper divided
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 2 avocados sliced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Green Tahini Sauce
- 1 bunch parsley about 2 packed cups
- 1/2 c tahini
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced (about 2 tbsp)
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 c water or more to achieve desired consistency
Optional: Baked Chicken
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Position two racks in the oven, one in the upper third, and one in the lower third. Heat the oven to 425*. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Place the potatoes and red onions into a mixing bowl, then add 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Mix thoroughly to coat the vegetables, then spread the vegetables evenly onto one of the parchment lined trays. Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
While the potatoes and onions are roasting, prepare the remaining vegetables. In the same mixing bowl, add the radishes, broccoli and carrots, plus the remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil if needed, and toss to thoroughly coat the vegetables. Spread the vegetables in an even layer onto the second parchment lined baking sheet.
Once the timer goes off, add the second try of vegetables to the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the tahini sauce. Place the parsley, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper into a blender. Place the lid on the blender, but remove the lid cap. Turn on the blender and puree on high speed while pouring the water in through the lid cap opening. Stop once to scrape down the sides using a rubber spatula, then continue to blend until completely pureed. Add additional water to thin out the dressing to your preference.
Once the timer goes off for the second time, remove the trays from the oven, flip the vegetables using tongs, then return the trays to the oven, switching the positions of the trays on the racks to ensure even roasting. Roast the vegetables for a final 10 minutes.
During the last phase of roasting, prepare the remaining salad ingredients. Divide the spinach between four salad bowls, then top each bowl with half a sliced avocado.
Remove the vegetables from the oven and check for doneness. The vegetables should be crispy on the outside and easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Divide the vegetables between the four bowls, then sprinkle each salad with 1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds and tahini sauce to taste. Serve immediately. See notes for adding grilled chicken breast.
Recipe Notes
Add Roasted Chicken
Additional Calories: 254 per serving
Prepare one regular baking sheet and two quarter baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix 2 tablespoons of olive or avocado oil with 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Coat two chicken breasts with the olive mixture. Place the chicken one one of the parchment lined quarter baking sheets.
When preparing the vegetables, add the potatoes and red onion to a quarter baking sheet instead of a regular baking sheet. Roast the potatoes and prepare the vegetables through Step 3.
Add both the second tray of vegetables and the roasted chicken to the oven in Step 4. The chicken will roast with the second try of vegetables for 20 minutes.
Leave the chicken in the oven during Step 6, but do switch the position of the chicken when returning the vegetables to the oven.
Remove the chicken from the oven with the vegetables. Allow the chicken to rest on the baking sheet while you prepare the remainder of the salad. Slice the chicken and add to the salad before you top with sesame seeds and dress with tahini sauce.
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