Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads
These Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads are a delicious (and easy) summer recipe. Feel free to use whatever veggies are in the garden or on sale!
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We’ve been making some form of these Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads for years. They’re a summer staple around here, so I finally decided to actually write down a recipe. Do you have recipes like that? Meals/snacks/appetizers/etc that you’ve been making for years, and the recipe varies a little bit each time? Sometimes I add some chopped broccolini. Sometimes I add some grilled bell peppers. I’ve even topped these flatbreads with chopped pickled banana peppers and/or pickled jalapenos. Just go with what you have around!
There are a couple of essentials pieces to these flatbreads, though. First, the flatbread. Hard to have Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads without the flatbread, right? I typically pick up a couple packs of roasted garlic naan in the bread aisle to serve as the base for these flatbreads. Our grocery store sells ’em in packs of 2 in the bread aisle. I’ve also seen naan in the international section of the frozen aisle. And I’ve also seen packaged naan in the bakery department. They move around depending on the store, but they’re always there. Naan is the perfect base for these flatbreads as it has a little bit of thickness to it, and it grills up wonderfully!
Side tip: buy extra naan or flatbreads. You’ll be really tempted to eat a hot piece of grilled naan right off the grill! Been there, done that, will do it again.
Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads
Grilled Vegetable FlatbreadsOnce you’ve got the flatbreads taken care of, the next step is the base. I’ve experimented with all sorts of sauces and bases for these flatbreads. In the past, I’ve made a roasted garlic sauce similar to what I used on these Grilled Chicken Flatbreads. Other times, I’ve just used a simple mix of shredded cheeses as the base. This time, though, I went with a summer favorite – pesto!
Instead of the classic basil pesto, I made an easy parsley pesto for these Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads. Fresh bunches of parsley are always plentiful and super cheap in our grocery stores at this time of the year, so I grabbed 2 bunches to make this batch. Just make sure to use Italian (or flat-leaf) parsley. Curly parsley isn’t what you want here. In fact, what is curly parsley used for besides garnishing plates back in the 1980’s? Ah, I digress. Whether it’s melty cheese, a creamy roasted garlic sauce or your favorite pesto, find a tasty base for your flatbreads.
And the final piece of the puzzle for these flatbreads is the shining star – the veggies. As noted above, we use whatever we have on hand. If bell peppers are on sale, use those! (A variety of colors is nice.) I’m partial to fresh corn on these as I think grilled corn is the cat’s pajamas. (<–A slang phrase meaning awesome. It makes zero sense as cat’s clearly don’t wear pajamas. At least I don’t think they do.) The point remains – use whatever veggies you like. Heck, we’ve even cut a head of cauliflower into 1″ slices, brushed it with olive oil and then grilled it up.
If you’re looking for a fun way to mix up weekly dinners, add these Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads to the lineup. Have fun with different sauces and veggies. No matter what, enjoy being outside next to the grill! Cheers!
Did you make these Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Grilled Vegetable Flatbreads
Ingredients
For the Parsley Pesto
- 1½ cups chopped Italian parsley
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest ~1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
For the Flatbreads
- 2 zucchini cut into ⅓” slices
- 8 oz. asparagus thick ends snapped off
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
- 1 large red onion cut into ⅓” slices
- 2 ears corn husks and silk removed
- 4 flatbreads
- vegetable oil for brushing grill grates
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
Instructions
For the Parsley Pesto
- Using a food processor, add parsley, basil, chives, Parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice; pulse until mixture forms a paste.
- With the food processor running, gradually add olive oil. Set pesto aside.
For the Flatbreads
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat (~375°F).
- Using a large bowl, add zucchini, asparagus, salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp olive oil; toss until vegetables are well coated with olive oil. Brush both sides of onion slices with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. (Note: The remaining tablespoon of olive oil will be used later.)
- Place vegetables and corn on grill; grill for 5-20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until vegetables start to get soft and slightly charred. (Note: The vegetables will grill at different rates, and corn will likely take the longest. As vegetables turn charred and tender, simply remove from grill and wait for other vegetables to finish.)
- Slice charred corn off of cobs; set aside.
- Brush both sides of flatbreads with the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
- Brush grill grates with vegetable oil to prevent flatbreads from sticking.
- Grill flatbreads for 1-2 minutes per side, or until lightly charred.
- Spread 2-3 Tbsp of pesto evenly onto flatbreads. Top each flatbread with grilled vegetables and spoonfuls of ricotta. Cut flatbreads into wedges and serve hot.
Notes
Looking for more tasty grilled recipes? Check out a couple of my other favorites below:
I think we get those same 2 pack naan breads from time to time – if we are talking about the same brand, I’ve even bought the four pack to eat with curry. But Gosh! David- grilling the naan before adding the grilled veggies onto them sounds so glorious. The nice crunchy naan mingling with charred delicious veggies! Oooh! Is it lunch time yet????
Dude, I seriously need to rethink visiting your blog when I’m not armed with some sort of snack! I’m drooling THROUGH my mask while at work right now!
That naan bread is SO good, Shashi! There is also a frozen version that I can find up here on occasion that might be *even* better. Look for that next time you go to the store! And speaking of going to the store, pick up a load of whatever veggies are on sale. I’m thinking one of these grilled flatbreads needs to be on the menu soon!
YUM. It might be a random kind of meal, but it’s obviously worth doing! I love everything about your recipe. And it’s restaurant worthy.
Sometimes random meals are the best! Thanks so much, Mimi!
The “cat’s pajamas?” That’s new to my ears. LOL And so is this grilled vegetables on flatbread. It looks amazing and so fun to eat, definitely need to give this a try.
Haha. Thanks so much, Tonya! These grilled flatbreads are a fun summer meal. Plus, they’re so easy to adapt to whatever veggies you happen to like and/or have on hand. Enjoy!
Flatbread. You’re speaking my language today, David! You can never go wrong with a flatbread as long as the bread itself is delicious. I always make 3-4 flatbreads. We would eat two right away (I consider one flatbread – one serving lol) and keep the remaining for later on or even our breakfast. Yup, I belong to those few weird folks who like a cold pizza or flatbread. I tend to make fruit (fruit & savoury) combos in summer, but I’m a huge fan of eggplant + tomatoes + cheese. And I certainly like these juicy chunks of grilled veggies (and ricotta) on your version. Stunning!
I hear ya, Ben! I’ve always said a sandwich is only as good as the bread it’s made on…so it stands to reason that a flatbread is only as good as the flatbread it’s made on. And a grilled flatbread? That’s some awesome flavor right there! Thanks so much, my friend. Now I’m wishing I had leftovers of this one for lunch…or maybe breakfast!?
This sounds simple and delicious. The perfect way to eat grilled vegetable. I would never thought of adding grilled vegetables on top of flat bread, so good.
Grilled flatbreads are the perfect ‘blank canvas’ for all sorts of things, Dawn! Just make sure to use a sauce of some sort to help hold the toppings on there. (Or cheese. Cheese works great, too!) I like this grilled veggie version as it lets me take advantage of whatever veggies we have on hand (or whatever is on super sale at the store). Enjoy!
Yes, I’ve totally got those kinds of recipes — I make them so often that I don’t even bother photographing them haha. These flatbreads look so fresh and delicious David! We’ve always got naan in the freezer, so I’m gonna have to whip them out soon for this recipe!
Yes! I just made a batch of peach jam the other day, and my wife reminded me that I should take pictures of it. I didn’t even think about it! Perhaps I’ll grab some photos before I eat it all. Haha! So if you’ve got naan in the freezer, then you’re halfway there. Grill ’em up, top ’em with a sauce or cheese and then load on the toppings. SO good! 🙂
Excellent summer fare. We love grilling veggies and often wrap them in fresh pita. But, I’ve not approached the dish as you have and I’ve not thought of topping it with a dollop or two of ricotta. Your parsley pesto looks very tasty. We make a parsley za’atar pesto, but it doesn’t have chives or basil in it. I think the chives and basil would make for a fresher pesto than my version.
I think your Grilled Vegetable Flatbread would make a perfect lunch, especially with a nice cold beer. Thanks for, once again, inspiring this old dog.
You know, your version sounds like it’s not too far off of this one, Ron. (And on a side note, I was craving pita bread the other day…I haven’t had it in years!) I’m definitely intrigued about the use of za’atar in your pesto version. Sounds like a fun use for a different spice mix! Any pesto would work here…you just need something to hold the veggies in place. (Cheese works well, too!) Also, a cold beer sounds pretty fantastic right now. Cheers, buddy!
What a great flavor packed idea! I love cooking outside this time of year and a quick light meal is just the right thing for a hot day! Perfect for lunch or dinner!
I’m with ya on cooking outside, Kathy! We’re outside most of the time anyways either playing with Robbie, doing yardwork, etc…so why not go ahead and cook outside, too? This grilled flatbread is an easy but fun summer recipe!
I envy you for being such a grillmeister! I used to live in an apatment that had windows overlooking the back of a very good restaurant, and they used to grill vegetables on a big grill in the back every day – presumably as part of dinner prep – and it smelled so good! It used to make me so hungry. I’m sure these flatbreads are delicious, and probably fairly healthy to boot.
Oh man, so I have to know – why did you move out of that apartment? I’m thinking you should’ve stayed and then bought a drone to swoop down and “borrow” some of those grilled veggies. 🙂
Just the other day hubby and I were talking about how we love these kinds of recipes, especially in the summertime. So casual, easy and just straight up delicious! Yummy veggies on flatbread with ricotta on top? Yes please! I just finished up the last of our flatbreads, but going to have to pick up some more so I can make these 😉
You know me, Dawn – I’m all about the casual comfort food! And if I can add in the grill somehow? Then I’m in 110%! Grilled flatbreads have so much flavor in their own right…but then add on a bunch of grilled veggies, too? So good! Thanks so much, my friend 🙂
I do love na’an on the grill. I adore bread of all kinds and any excuse to grill it is one I’ll take. Especially when it’s the main course!
I’m with ya on the bread train, Abbe. I love all breads. I love baking ’em. I love eating ’em. I love grilling ’em. Naan on the grill is especially fantastic! And then top it with a pile of grilled veggies? SO good! Thanks so much, my friend!
apparently a cat was a term for a flapper in the 1920s! and their PJs were seen as a really ‘cool’ (read trendy) item et voila…. love the look of this healthy dish David.
Interesting. I appreciate the insight there, Sherry! 🙂 I guess that’s where the term ‘cool cat’ probably comes from, too.
These flatbreads are such a great stand in for pizza night when it’s so hot out that no one wants the oven on! Loving the summer veggies on this too – a knockout meal on its own.
You know, that’s a good point about pizza night! Top these flatbreads with a little red sauce and shredded mozzarella along with the grilled veggies…and you’ve got a grilled veggie pizza! Sounds pretty awesome to me! 🙂
YUM!!! This is my kind of meal David, I could literally eat these gorgeous flatbreads for dinner every night! 😋 Absolutely LOVE making pesto with other herbs, and parsley is such a great one. The flavors you’ve got here are just delicious!
We’ve been eating SO many flatbreads like this in the past few weeks, Shannon. They’re easy and delicious, and the grill flavor really shines through. Plus, you can mix up the flavors so that you don’t get bored with the same thing each time. Thanks so much, my friend!
Ahh, David! I haven’t thought about grilling flatbreads in a while! So glad you reminded me! And what a great idea to grill them with grilled veggies and some beautiful cheese! I love this idea! I imagine it will be making an appearance on my table, oh, sometime this week! Thanks for the inspo, my friend!
Hey Laura! You should totally put grilled flatbreads on the menu soon. They’re so easy and so flavorful. And you can get as creative or as simple as you like with the toppings. Happy grillin’, my friend!!