While browsing through Facebook on a lazy Sunday morning, I recently came across a mouth-watering recipe for Vegetable Tian.
The term tian simply refers to a dish of thinly sliced vegetables that have been cooked in olive oil and baked au gratin.
One of my very best friends recently gave me a few squash fresh from the garden. Another awesome friend gave me tomatoes (I obviously have great friends!). All I really had to get to make this dish was zucchini, Italian cheese and an onion. The remaining ingredients I already had on-hand.
It all starts with sauteing sweet onions with minced garlic in olive oil. Evenly distribute the onion and garlic mixture in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Arrange thinly sliced tomatoes, squash, potatoes and zucchini over the onion mixture.
Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle with an Italian cheese blend and bake again (uncovered) until the cheese browns, about an additional 15 minutes.
This is an excellent and healthy way to use your fresh garden vegetables. I always like to give credit where it is due… this recipe was shared by one of my friends and came from a closed group on Facebook called Healthy Choices. I also found the same recipe on Just a Pinch.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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Vegetable Tian
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cups diced sweet onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
- 1 medium baking potato, thinly sliced
- 3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
- Italian seasoning, to taste
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a skillet.
- Spread the onion and garlic mixture in the bottom of a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- Evenly arrange the vegetable slices vertically in the casserole dish, alternating vegetables. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove aluminum foil. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes (uncovered), or until cheese is browned.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegetable tian
Has anyone ever assembled this and then baked it the next day?
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Love this dish. Colorful and delicious. The previous comments were very helpful. I salted the veggies and let them sit for about an hour, then wiped away the excess water and stacked them as Lori said. Great time-saver. I had eggplant in my garden, so I added it also. It was a big hit with family and friends. It has become a favorite.
Eggplant sounds like a delicious addition, Carla! Thanks so much and so happy to hear your family and friends enjoyed it! 🙂
Can this dish be made ahead and baked the next day?
Hi Carla, I’ve never made this ahead of time so I can’t say with certainty. I would probably not do it because the sliced vegetables would lose their moisture over time and the potatoes would brown (after being sliced) but again, I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure.
I have made this before and it’s delicious, I make several times a year, but it’s really great with fresh Vegas from the garden.
Thanks so much, Lyn… it’s one of my favorites as well! 🙂
Wow! This looks so beautiful and delicious!
Do you think it will work without the onion? My husband can’t eat onion at all.
Thanks!
Hi Diana, I’ve never made it without onion but think it would be good without it. Thanks so much and hope you enjoy! 🙂
I used to make this years ago and just remembered it today. I love your version. I leave out the potatoes and add white beans to the onions and garlic. Yum!
I love it too… thanks so much, Michelle! 🙂
Should you try to salt the zucchini and squash before and drain to get some of the water out?
Hi Mary, I’ve never salted it and it has turned out perfect every time. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I’ve never done that, but I do find I need to drain excess liquid near the end to avoid soupy results. It’s delicious either way.
I know this is an old post, so I might not get a reply. I was wondering, if you are planning to make this and then take it somewhere, how would this re heat and how might you alter the cooking times to account for that? Thanks!
Hi Katie! I’m so sorry — I cannot say because I’ve always served it immediately after cooking. I have re-heated leftovers and it was great! Happy Thanksgiving!
I’ve made it for Thanksgiving the last couple of years–baked in the morning, transported, and then reheated before dinner, and it’s always been great! I just cover it with foil to transport, then put back in the over for 20 minutes or so right before dinner (haven’t altered earlier cooking times).
Thanks so much, Laura! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Made this today for the first time.. Easy and tasty!..and it looked as good as it tastes!
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The credit should go to Beth from Budget Bytes. I came across her website years ago from Pinterest and she is the original creator of this recipe. All the credit for this tasty dish should go to her! 🙂
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/summer-vegetable-tian/
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Hi Jess, thank you! I am currently out of town, but will include her link when I get home. It is definitely a delicious side dish!
This is a traditional french provincial recipe. It was created long before any of us were born. The credit goes down in history.
That’s cute, but this exact recipe came from another site, which was the point of my response since this blog’s writer didn’t know exactly whom to credit. I’m sure the Italian cheese blend and Italian seasoning wasn’t in the French provencial recipes… Have a good day, boo 🙂
OMG, you are so adorable, salt, pepper, and italian cheese. Yes, definitely someone deserves credit.
Oh yes, thank you for thinking so! Considering that you can make all sorts of dishes from those simple ingredients you mentioned, if it’s different, then it’s different and credit is due to the original content poster, especially when it’s word for word. I’m glad you’re still concerned about it, though. It’s important to talk about it. More important than anything else we could possibly give attention to.
Thanks Jesi50. Very, very old recipe. The French do know some fabulous foods.
Approximately how many ppl does this dish serve?
Hi Caytee, this serves approximately 6. Hope you enjoy it!
I love the use of the vegetables. perfect for summertime.
I too saw this on facebook and was inspired to try it — delicious and colorful side for any meal. Thanks for hunting down the original, I tried and couldn’t find it. Credit is important and it is a very good recipe. 🙂
Wow – this dish is absolutely beautiful! The colors, the pattern of the veggies…it looks amazing. I definitely want to try this out for myself!
This sounds amazing and easy, I would use a mandolin to slice everybody, I don’t think I would change anything until I tried it… Thanks..
One of my favourites! Here’s a shortcut that I use. After all vegetables are sliced, on a large cutting board, make a single layer of tomatoes. Put a slice of potato on each tomato. Then a slice of zucchini on top of each, etc. When filling up your baking dish, pick up one veggie stack at a time and arrange them in a spiral as you show in your photo. Saves me lots of time.
What a great tip, thank you, can’t wait to make it !!!!
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