Grilled Summer Vegetables with Easy Romesco Sauce

Grilled summer vegetables with easy romesco sauce is a seasonal favorite. Use zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, eggplant, onions, or whatever vegetables you have on hand. Just throw them on your grill and blend up the sauce! Serve it as a light main dish for dinner or a side with your veggie burgers. It's great for lunch, too. This recipe is super easy to make, and it's vegan and gluten-free.

Grilled Summer Vegetables 

Summer is almost here, which means I've already pulled the grill out of its winter home - the shed. I've already started grilling a lot of my meals in the backyard. Right now is my favorite time to sit outside and eat dinner, before the weather gets so swelteringly hot.

I love grilling up all manner of vegetables and serving them with different sauces. My favorites are corn on the cob with pesto and non-dairy parmesan, eggplant with spicy tahini, and lettuce (yes, I grill lettuce) with tangy vegan buttermilk dressing.

This Memorial Day weekend, you can find me outside firing up the barbecue, and these Grilled Summer Vegetables with Easy Romesco Sauce will definitely be on the menu.

Romesco Sauce

Romesco is a sauce made with roasted red peppers, and almonds or hazelnuts, and it originates from the Catalonia area of Spain. Making it is a little labor intensive, as it involves roasting peppers and tomatoes and grinding nuts. My Easy Romesco Sauce is made with jarred roasted red peppers, canned tomatoes, and almond butter, so it only takes a few minutes to prepare. It can be made ahead of time and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. It will also last in the freeze for up to 6 months.

Romesco sauce is usually served with meat of some sort, which, of course, is very unvegan. I really enjoy it with vegetables and tofu. It really compliments the flavor of grilled summer vegetables nicely. You can drizzle over just about any vegetable you can think of, use it as a pasta sauce, spread it on sandwiches, or just enjoy it on a piece of thick, crusty bread.

How to Make Grilled Summer Vegetables with Easy Romesco Sauce

This recipe is super easy to make!

• First you mix all of the romesco ingredients together in a blender. It mixes up super quickly in my Blendtec.
• Then you slice all of your vegetables into thin slices, about ¼ to ½ inch thick.
• Next you mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and brush it onto the veggies. 
• Then you grill the vegetables until they're tender and heated throughout with nice grill marks, about five to ten minutes per side.
• Finally, you the vegetables drizzled with sauce and garnished with slivered almonds and parsley.

Serving Your Grilled Summer Vegetables

You can serve this dish as a main with a grain such as brown rice or pasta. Or it can be served as side with veggie burgers. It's great hot, straight from the grill, but you can also serve it chilled. Grilled veggies with romesco are also delish on sandwich.

Indoor Grilling

If you don’t have an outdoor grill, you can cook these sandwiches on the stovetop in a grill pan or with an electric countertop grill. You can roast your vegetables in the oven if you don’t have either. Just place your vegetables on a baking sheet in a 400° oven and roast for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Be sure to flip them at the half way point.

Recipe Notes

• I used a big mixture of summer vegetables in this recipe, including summer squash, zucchini, and sweet onions.
• I used small eggplant, but any type of eggplant will do. And if you don't like eggplant, just leave it out and use a vegetable you do like instead!
• If you're not in the mood for romesco, you can top your veggies with pesto or chimichurri. 

Grilled Summer Vegetables with Easy Romesco Sauce

Dianne

Not sure what to do with all of that zucchini and summer squash in your garden? Grill it up and serve it with my Easy Romesco Sauce!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 291 kcal

Ingredients

  

For the Romesco Sauce

• 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 12-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• ½ cup almond butter
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup olive oil

For the Vegetables

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 2 medium summer squashes
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 sweet onions
• 2 medium eggplant
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

To Serve

• ¼ cup slivered almonds toasted
• ¼ cup chopped parsley loosely packed

Instructions

 

• To make the sauce, add the roasted red peppers, diced tomatoes, almond butter, garlic, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, and sea salt to a food processer, and process until very finely chopped. While the motor is running, slowing pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, and continue to process until the mixture is smooth.
• Preheat your grill to medium-high, or heat a grill pan on a stove over medium-high heat.
• Cut the vegetables into slices about ¼” to ½” thick.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Lightly brush the mixture on the vegetables.
• Grill the vegetables until tender and heated throughout with nice grill marks, about five to ten minutes per side.
• Serve the vegetables drizzled with sauce and garnished with slivered almonds and parsley.

Originally published August 28, 2017. Updated May 15, 2022.

Serve Your Grilled Vegetables With:

• Cruciferous Crunch Salad
• German Potato Salad
• Brown Rice Salad
• Vegan Tomato and Feta Pasta Salad

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More Grilling Recipes You Might Enjoy Include:

• Lemon-Rosemary Grilled Tofu Sandwich 
• Eggplant Wraps with Spicy Tahini
• Tofu and Pineapple Kebabs
• Grilled Ratatouille Sandwich