Roasted Vegetable Traybake
Caramelised vegetables and crisp chickpeas on a single tray, finished with a lemony yoghurt drizzle. The dinner I make when I've barely got the energy to cook.
A traybake dinner is only ever as good as the technique behind it. Done badly, you get sad, steamy vegetables. Done right, you get crisp edges, soft centres and bursts of caramelisation.
The two non-negotiables: cut everything roughly the same size, and don't crowd the tray. Use two trays if you need to — overcrowding is what steams vegetables instead of roasting them.
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 courgette (zucchini), thickly sliced
- 1 × 400g (14 oz) tin chickpeas, drained and dried
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper
- 150g (⅔ cup) Greek yoghurt
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh herbs, to serve (parsley, mint, or dill)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
- Toss the squash, onion, pepper, courgette and chickpeas with the olive oil, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper on a large rimmed baking tray. Spread out in a single layer.
- Roast for 30–35 minutes, tossing once halfway, until everything is caramelised at the edges.
- While the vegetables roast, stir the yoghurt with the garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
- Pile the vegetables onto plates, dollop with the yoghurt, and scatter with fresh herbs.
Cooking tips
- Dry the chickpeas thoroughly — wet chickpeas never crisp.
- Hard vegetables (squash, carrots) take longer than soft (courgette, peppers). For perfect texture, give the hard ones a 10-minute head start.
- Leftover vegetables are excellent stuffed into pita with the yoghurt the next day.
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If you enjoyed this recipe, you'll find more of my favourite main dishes recipes in the archive, or browse the full collection.
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