Make it colorful and the flavor will follow
These Mediterranean Roasted Rainbow Vegetables are one of my favorite ways to instill some big flavors and colors into dinner in a simple way. I find that the more colorful the dish, the more complex the flavor usually is. Looking at the rainbow of colors in this dish, one might assume that the color is added in artificially – but they’d be incorrect. These beauties are naturally vibrant and colorful, straight from the ground!
The key here is variety. This dish contains an assortment of different vegetables, herbs, an even fruit (olives!) which each offer their own flavor profile to make a complex assortment of sweet, salty, bitter, briny, and spicy. Eat the rainbow, friends!
Is purple cauliflower different than regular cauliflower?
Not really, no. The difference between regular white cauliflower and purple or orange cauliflower is so negligible that I feel confident most wouldn’t be able to taste the difference. I use them interchangeably, but like the purple best for the sole reason that it’s just really pretty. I picked this gorgeous purple cauliflower up at my local farmers’ market in Portland, but I regularly see both purple and orange cauliflower at most local grocery stores. Take a look at your local produce market and I bet you’ll be surprised at how easily you can find it too!
I know what’s lurking in your crisper right now
I’m going to hazard a strong guess that you currently have a mostly full bag of carrots lurking in your crisper right now. You probably bought a big 5lb bag over a week ago because your dinner recipe called for two carrots, and you figured “What the heck, I’m sure I’ll find a use for the rest of them. They’re only $2.99 for the bag, afterall!” We all do this. I am supremely guilty of always buying the huge bag of carrots with nearly zero specific ideas in mind for their use.
Lucky for you, these Mediterranean Roasted Rainbow Vegetables will take a 6-carrot-chunk out of that bag, so you can feel smug about actually using the carrots instead of just buying them and guiltily tossing most of them in the compost 2 weeks later.
A note for special diets
These Mediterranean Roasted Rainbow Vegetables are grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and friendly for Paleo, SIBO, and Whole30 diets. Carrots carry more natural sugar than other vegetables, so they are sparingly used in Keto diets, but the net carb count for this dish is only 10g per serving so I say if your daily intake will allow it, go for it!
Mediterranean Roasted Rainbow Vegetables
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 portions
Ingredients
- 1 medium purple cauliflower, cut into florets
- 6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup firm green olives, pitted (I like Castelvetrano or Manzanilla best)
- 1/2 cup marinated red peppers, chopped (mild or spicy)
- 1 (6.5 oz) jar artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup garlic oil (may sub avocado oil plus 4 cloves minced garlic)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp, fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (or more if you like things salty)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 C).
- Wash and prep any ingredients that require chopping.
- Add all ingredients to a large glass baking dish and toss to combine, making sure to coat the vegetables with garlic oil evenly.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. I like to check this mixture 30 minutes in to make sure that the vegetables are roasting evenly. If things are browning too much on top for your personal preference, you can toss vegetables once again or cover them in foil for the final 15-20 minutes.
Courses Sides
Cuisine Mediterranean
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 portion
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 181 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 13 g | 20% | |
Saturated Fat 2 g | 10% | |
Sodium 672 mg | 28% | |
Total Carbohydrates 16 g | 5% | |
Dietary Fiber 6 g | 24% | |
Sugars 6 g | ||
Protein 3 g | 6% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
These sound delightful! Always looking for new and interesting ways to mix up our weeknight veggies
Wow those are so beautiful! I honestly had no idea cauliflower came in different colors until recently and now I’m obsessed. Now I know what to do with that bag of carrots 😉 thanks!
These are such excellent colorful veggies! DEFINITELY a must have for me this fall!
I love roasted vegetable and these would be beautiful on a Sunday Dinner table ! I love to marinate vegetables in flavored olive oils too! Oh so yummy!
Yum! Is it just me or does food taste better when it looks pretty!
These roasted vegetables look so very delicious. I haven’t had purple cauliflower. I wonder if it tastes any different.
Im trying to eat more veggies and this is perfect! Need to look for that purple cauliflower!
Oh i didn’t even know purple cauliflower existed! I need it! Thanks for sharing!
Not only does that look so good, but the colors look absolutely amazing! I need to make that soon.
This looks so delicious! I love all the fresh veg and color! So yummy!
Such a beautiful plate of veggies! I love roasted veggies, and purple cauliflower is way more fun than regular cauliflower.
Oh my word what a gorgeous dish! I’m definitely making this for the next potluck I attend.
Such great colors!! This looks super fresh and delicious. Definitely need to get this together before end of summer.
The colors are just SO pretty. What a vibrant and healthy dish for the final days of summer!
Wow – this has absolutely stunning color! I love roasted vegetables at the best of times, so this is right up my alley!
Wow!! I looooove roasted veggies but wouldn’t have thought to add artichoke hearts and olives! Gotta try this!
I like purple cauliflower the best too just because it is so pretty, Isn’t if funny how much more enjoyable food is when it looks pretty!
There are so many beautiful colors in this dish, it would be hard to not eat all of it! I love how appetizing it looks
wow this is supper pretty I just love how the cauliflower looks I have bought it before and it never popped in color like this did .. what a great dish to serve!
We love our roasted veggies! They taste so much better — the flavor is concentrated! The colors of the veggies are beautiful. It seems like a party on a platter!! I could make an entire meal just out of the veggies.
I love the idea of rainbow veggies. We love to roast veggies in our home but this might just jazz things ups. Looks so pretty. I bet purple cauliflower sounds more fun than regular cauliflower.
I love these Mediterranean Roasted Veggies. Using the purple cauliflower is awesome. I love using the same in my recipes because as you said, it is just so pretty. Adding the artichokes and olives is a great way to add in unique flavors to really add to the Mediterranean flavors. I love that these are dairy-free as my daughters can’t have too much dairy.
The purple cauliflower is just so fun to cook with! I hope your daughters love this!
That is colorful roasted vegetables, Kids will eat it because of the rain bow colors. I love the way you spiced it. I need to check for purple cauliflower.
Roasting is my favorite way to prepare vegetables – it brings out such big, rich flavors. I love the kaleidoscope of colors you have going on here, too!
I agree! It brings out the flavors in the best way and leaves a bit of crunch intact that steaming doesn’t usually allow. We eat with our eyes first!
This dish is so pretty! I love the different colored cauliflower and purple is my favorite! I love the Mediterranean flavors you incorporated and am excited to give this recipe a try!
Love all the colours and textures on that plate. Roasted veggies are the BEST (other than grilling). I could almost make a meal on these alone. The perfect side to ANY protein. The perfect colour for fall.
I could make a meal out of a platter of these veggies alone and call it a day! Roasted veggies are on high rotation in our home – I just love the flavour that roasting brings 🙂
Love the colors of these vegetables. It looks like you are really eating the rainbow 😉
These look and sound amazing! What a perfect way to clean out my crisper! And that purple cauliflower…so beautiful! I love the spices you added here to this recipe!
Ironically, tomorrow I am going to my favorite farm to pick up purple cauliflower, It is one of my most favorite veggies! It is just gorgeous in a dish, just like this one! I love how simple and delicious your roasted veggies are to prepare!
Not only is this dish full of good-for-you vegetables and lots of flavors, but it’s also gorgeous! Perfect dish for the upcoming holidays.
Oh yummy. I adore roasted vegetables and there are some ingredients in this mix that I haven’t used before but I certainly will now.
The purple cauliflower gets me every single time. Such a fun color! I live on these kinds of veggies all fall!
This is all I’m craving recently, roasted vegetables! I love how easy it is to make them, healthy, and so tasty! The purple cauliflower is my favorite!)
Wow, these colors are gorgeous!! This would be the perfect side dish to impress at a dinner party! Who even cares what the main dish is LOL!
What a beautiful dish! And you’ve styled it amazingly! Definitely makes me want to whip up a batch right now.
These are beautiful! I love roasted vegetables for the flavor, but these are also a feast for the eyes, too.
A great way to get your veggies in. This side dish has all the colors of the rainbow and it looks ah-mazing!