Mexican Roasted Vegetables

Mexican roasted vegetables are the perfect side dish for your your next Tex-Mex meal, taco night, or addition to a taco salad. Made with simple ingredients and flavorful spices like chili powder, cumin, and coriander.

These roasted Mexican vegetables are not only easy to prepare, but they're absolutely filled with warm savory flavor and a hint of spice. Perfect for adding veggies to your next taco salad, use as a fajita topping, or add as a side dish to your next entrée.

Thick sliced zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and onion are tossed in olive oil and a blend of savory spices to make this simple roasted veggie recipe. The perfect way to add more vegetables to your meals.

Roasting is my favorite way to prepare vegetables (like my roasted zucchini and broccoli). The reason roasting makes vegetables taste so good? Roasting evaporates some of the water from your vegetables, concentrating their flavor and caramelizing the edges, adding a hint of sweetness.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Vegetables - I used zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and onion. Other great roasting vegetables include brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower. Remember the more dense your vegetable, the smaller you'll want to slice it to keep the same cook time.
• Olive oil - Any neutral cooking oil works in this recipe.
• Seasoning - Chili powder, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, oregano, and salt add a complex, savory, and slightly spicy flavor to your veggies.
• Fresh cilantro - I like to sprinkle some fresh chopped cilantro on top of my roasted veggies just before serving. If you don't like cilantro, it can be substituted with parsley or omitted entirely.

What veggies are good in Mexican food?

I chose a few common vegetables found in Mexican cooking, including zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, and onion.

Corn, potatoes, poblano peppers, and avocado are a few other common vegetables found in Mexican cooking. Here's a great article about traditional Mexican fruits and vegetables: 7 Traditional Mexican Vegetables and Fruits

How to prevent soggy vegetables

Zucchini and yellow squash have a very high water content - they're about 90 to 95% water. To help prevent your vegetables from getting soggy, here are a few tips:

• After slicing your zucchini and yellow squash, they'll begin to 'sweat' as they sit. Pat your squash dry with a paper towel just before tossing in the olive oil and spices.
• Take care not to overcook your squash in the oven. Zucchini cooks fairly quickly in the oven, needing only 16-18 minutes at most to cook through (when thick sliced).
• Slice your zucchini and yellow squash into thick, ½ inch circles. Thin zucchini cooks faster.
• Slice heartier vegetables, like bell pepper, broccoli, or brussels sprouts, into smaller pieces. These vegetables take longer to cook, so slicing them smaller gives them similar cook time when paired with squash.

Ways to serve roasted vegetables

Serve these Mexican roasted vegetables in a variety of ways:

• As a fajita topping over your favorite meat filling.
• Added to a taco salad.
• In a tortilla with lettuce and your favorite dressing as a light wrap.
• As a side dish with your favorite main course, like meatloaf, grilled chicken, or pork chops.
• Stir into cooked rice for a filling side dish.
• Add to marinara sauce and serve over pasta.