This Middle Eastern Vegetable tray bake is a wholesome and hearty plant-based dinner that requires minimal clean up. Topped with a marinade of warming spices and served with a creamy tahini and white bean dip, it’s a delicious hands-off dinner.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful and Warming: Packed with spices like cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika for a deliciously aromatic dish.
- Healthy and Plant-Based: A nutritious meal featuring a variety of vegetables and a creamy, protein-rich white bean dip.
- Easy and Minimal Cleanup: A one-pan dish that’s simple to prepare and clean up after.
- Versatile and Satisfying: Perfect as a hearty dinner, and can easily be adapted with different vegetables or spices to suit your taste.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Now, this recipe does look like it has a pretty long ingredients list, but don’t let that put you off! Once you’ve prepped your veggies and measured out your spices, I promise you, it’s very straightforward. Here’s a shopping list of everything you’ll need:
- Cauliflower
- Butternut squash
- Garlic
- Red bell pepper (capsicum)
- Red onion
- Canned chickpeas
- Canned cannellini beans
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Tahini
- Lemons
- White miso paste
- Fresh parsley leaves
Spices
- Ground cumin
- Ground coriander
- Smoked paprika
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Cracked pepper
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact measurements and quantities.
Instructions
I asked my audience on Instagram and on email what kinds of recipes they needed the most, and the answer loud and clear was more one-pot and one-tray dinners. So, the inspiration behind this recipe was to make a nutritious plant-based dinner with just the one tray. Now, technically, this recipe does have the extra component of the white bean dip which involves a blender, but it’s very easy and totally delicious. Aside from that, I think this recipe meets the brief very well! You do a bit of chopping and prep upfront, then it’s mostly hands-off. Here’s how to make it:
Step One: Preheat the oven and roast cauliflower, butternut squash, and garlic cloves with olive oil and salt.
Step Two: Make the dressing by mixing olive oil with spices.
Step Three: Add red bell pepper, red onion, and chickpeas to the tray. Drizzle with dressing and continue roasting.
Step Four: Blend roasted garlic cloves with white beans, tahini, lemon juice, miso paste, and salt to make the dip.
Step Five: Serve the roasted vegetables over the white bean dip with fresh parsley leaves and lemon wedges.
Substitutions & Variations
This recipe is versatile and you can easily make some tweaks depending on what veggies you have in the fridge. Here are some swaps that would work well:
Vegetables: Swap butternut squash with sweet potatoes or carrots. Use broccoli or red cabbage instead of cauliflower. And yes, roasted cabbage is delicious! It caramelizes and becomes very tender. If you’re curious to try it on its own, check out my roast cabbage recipe here.
Beans: Replace canned white cannellini beans with butter beans for the dip. I like cannellini beans because they are so tender, but butter beans will also work well. Chickpeas could also be used instead and will make a tasty hummus-style dip.
Spices: You can tweak the spice mix to suit your taste. This recipe is only mildly spiced, so if you’d like it to have more heat, increase the cayenne pepper to 1/2 – 1 tsp. If you don’t have smoked paprika, use regular sweet paprika. It won’t have the same smoky flavor, but it will still add to the overall flavor.
Herbs: I’ve opted for parsley to garnish, but any soft leafy herb will work well. Coriander, mint or dill would all be delicious.
Lemon Juice: Can be swapped with lime juice.
Miso Paste: I highly recommend getting miso paste for this recipe as it adds so much savory, umami flavor to the white bean dip. If you really can’t find it, then you can get by with some extra salt and tahini. Make the recipe as per instructions, but omit the miso paste. Taste test, then add more salt and tahini as needed until you are satisfied. Be careful to avoid over-blending the dip though, as this can result in the olive oil becoming bitter. If you want to test lots of little adjustments, mix the extra tahini and salt in with a whisk, by hand, rather than in the blender.
Equipment
I won’t list all the basic gear, but here are a couple of appliances that are must-haves for this recipe:
- Blender: I love my Vitamix for this recipe as it is a jug-style with an open top that allows me to drizzle the olive oil while the blender is running. It’s quite an investment as far as appliances go, but if you’re in the market for a blender, it’s regarded as the best of the best. You don’t need a special blender for this recipe though, as the dip ingredients are soft and any regular blender should be able to handle it. If you are using a closed blender like a Nutribullet, you will need to add a little bit at a time (about a tablespoon or two), stop, blend, then continue.
- Oven: This recipe is a tray bake, so you’ll need an oven to make it.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store the roasted vegetables and white bean dip in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the vegetables in the oven or microwave before serving.
Freezer: The roasted vegetables can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat before serving. The white bean dip is best fresh, I don’t recommend freezing it.
Meal Prep: If you’re making this for meal prep, put the vegetables in one container and the dip in a separate small container or jar. That way you don’t have to reheat the dip along with the veggies.
Expert Tips
If you have time, try using whole cumin and coriander seeds for an extra depth of flavor. Toast the whole cumin and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant before grinding them. You can use a mortar and pestle, spice mill or a small closed blender like a Nutribullet. This simple step enhances their aroma and brings out the spices’ natural oils, making your dressing even more flavorful.
FAQ
Absolutely! Feel free to use any vegetables you like or have on hand, such as sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, or red cabbage.
Store the roasted vegetables and white bean dip in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the vegetables in the oven or microwave before serving.
You can make the dip ahead of time, but the vegetables (although they can be reheated) are best straight out of the oven. If you want to cut down the time on the day, prepare the vegetables by peeling and dicing them so they are ready to be roasted, and getting all your spices together in a jar.
If you’re after more meal inspo, you need try my Tomato Baked Orzo, Harissa Butter Bean Bake, Curried Cauliflower Salad, or my Jerusalem Salad — all super tasty and easy to throw together!
I hope you enjoy this wholesome and hearty Middle Eastern-inspired tray bake! I would be super grateful if you could leave a star rating and review—it really helps the algorithm send my recipes to more people. You can also tag me in your photos on Instagram @glowdiaries___ and I will reshare to stories 🙂
Middle Eastern Vegetables with White Bean Dip
Equipment
- Oven
- High powered blender
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower cut into florets; approx. 2.2 lb / 1kg
- 4 cups butternut squash peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes; approx. 500g
- 3 cloves garlic unpeeled, for dip
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 medium red bell pepper cut into large pieces
- 1 medium red onion cut into 8 wedges
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed; approx. 400g
Spice Dressing
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- ½ tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper optional
- ¼ tsp black pepper cracked
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
White Bean Dip
- 2 15 oz cans white beans cannellini or butter beans rinsed and drained; approx. 800g total
- ⅓ cup tahini approx. 85g
- ⅓ cup lemon juice juice from about 2 large lemons; approx. 80g
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil extra virgin; approx. 67g
To Serve
- fresh parsley leaves for garnish
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the cauliflower, butternut squash, and unpeeled garlic cloves on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Toss to coat. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the squash is just tender.
Make the spice dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, cayenne (if using), black pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Remove the tray from the oven and carefully set the garlic cloves aside to cool. Add the red bell pepper, red onion, and chickpeas to the tray. Pour the spice dressing over the vegetables and gently toss or brush to coat.
- Return the tray to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender and golden.
Make the white bean dip:
- Peel the roasted garlic cloves. In a high-powered blender or food processor, combine the garlic, white beans, tahini, lemon juice, miso paste, and salt. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. With the motor running, gradually stream in the olive oil. Add a splash of water or extra oil if a thinner consistency is preferred. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve:
- Divide the dip between plates and spread into a thick layer. Top with the roasted vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
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