Delight in these roasted summer vegetables from Greece. Greek Briam is an amazingly simple dish that encapsulates the essence of the authentic Mediterranean Diet.

Briam is an amazing vegetable and olive oil based dish in the ladera family. Ladera (lathera) is a Greek word meaning “in oil”. These foods are usually vegetable or bean-based dishes that are cooked in copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil.

Briam is basically all of the summer vegetables from your garden like peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, and some potatoes all cooked in a lot of fresh and dried herbs, onion, garlic, and a ridiculous amount of extra virgin olive oil.

It is a completely vegan dish that isn’t lacking in flavor whatsoever. These summer vegetables become melt in your mouth delicious. This is one of my favorite ways to eat vegetables because they taste rich and decadent without being unhealthy.

One of the great things about this recipe is that you can use whatever herbs and vegetables you have on hand!

Besides the summer vegetables used in this recipe you can also add: sweet potatoes, pumpkin, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, celery, fennel, leeks, chili peppers, or pretty much anything else you can cut into large pieces! Fresh and dried herbs are very interchangeable for this recipe. You can use just fresh, just dried, or a mixture of both. I like a mixture of both but it’s up to you! Here is a list of herbs you can use for this recipe (but not limited to): parsley, basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and dill.

Two Important Tips not to ignore:

1. Cut everything into large pieces as shown below!

2. Don’t skimp on the olive oil! This is what makes this dish amazing! (try our Cretan extra virgin olive oil here)

 

 

I make this dish when I have a bunch of different vegetables and herbs lying around and want to clean out my fridge and make something healthy that I can eat throughout the week. Most ladera dishes taste even better the next day because they’ve been soaking up the olive oil and herb flavor all night, kind of marinating the vegetables if you will. In late August, early September, I can go out to my garden and pick all of these vegetables and herbs and make it fresh. Peak tomato season is when this dish tastes the absolute best but I make it year round, and it’s a very comforting dish in the winter too.

 

You may think this is a side dish, but in Greece it’s actually a main dish. You get most of your calories from extra virgin olive oil in this dish. Take your favorite bread to dip in the leftover oil on your plate (because there will be some), and you’ll be completely satisfied after eating, without feeling groggy or weighed down.

 

This is what your plate should look like after eating Briam, but don’t forget to soak all that olive oil up with bread!

 

Some traditional Greek dishes to pair with Briam:

Authentic Greek Salad (Horiatiki Salata)

Greek Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (Soutzoukakia)

Zucchini Fritters with Feta, Cheddar, Mint, and Parsley

summer vegetables (briam)

Greek Briam (Summer Vegetables Baked in Olive Oil)

George Zikos
4.41 from 20 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 376 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 large eggplant, cut into large wedges
  • 2 medium zucchini, cut into large wedges
  • 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into large wedges
  • 2 colored peppers, cut into 1/4's
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced or 4 small tomatoes
  • 1 red onion, cut into large pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, washed and chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, washed and chopped
  • 1/2 bunch fresh dill, washed and chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 1/4 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3/4 cup water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 F.
  • Make sure when cutting the vegetables, they are kept in large pieces. This will allow them to hold their shape even when cooked down to a soft texture.
  • To a mixing bowl add all of the vegetables, fresh herbs, dried herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and tomato paste. Mix well with your hands until the vegetables are completely coated.
  • Carefully pour the vegetables onto a sheet pan evenly, then drizzle the water onto all of the vegetables.
  • Put the sheet pan into the oven and set a timer for 1 hour.
  • After 30 minutes has gone by, using a spatula carefully flip over the vegetables.
  • After an hour total has gone by, check the briam and make sure the potatoes are completely cooked and there's a nice golden caramelization on the vegetables. If there isn't, bake for 10 more minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 5gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 626mgPotassium: 963mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1950IUVitamin C: 97mgCalcium: 76mgIron: 3mg
Have you tried this recipe? Tell us about it!Click here to rate this recipe in the comments section below.
About the Author: George Zikos
George studied International Business in Greece in 2015 for three semesters. His family is from the island of Crete, and he lived with them for a whole summer. During that time, he started working for Mediterranean Living and contributing his firsthand experiences of the traditional Cretan diet. He learned fluent Greek along the way, being fully immersed in a traditional Cretan village. He is since graduated with a business degree from Worcester State University. George loves language and traveling, so he completed a TEFL certificate program at the Boston Language Institute in order to teach English abroad and travel the world. He currently works full-time blogging, recipe formulating, and social media marketing for Mediterranean Living. His passions include language, gardening, hiking, skateboarding, and watching sports. He dreams of living in Crete one day, after he travels the world learning as many languages and cultures as possible.

11 Comments

  1. Andi October 2, 2023 at 12:59 pm - Reply

    5 stars
    It is soooo delicious! It is enough for few days. I am glade that I gave it a try. That is on my best recipes list. Thank you Bill for sharing :)

  2. Kathy September 29, 2022 at 9:54 pm - Reply

    5 stars
    Surprisingly (to me) flavorful. Delicious!

  3. Kathleen Metsala August 20, 2022 at 1:09 pm - Reply

    5 stars
    Simply delicious.

  4. Melissa McCallum August 12, 2022 at 12:08 am - Reply

    I love grilling or roasting veggies with the same herbs and grapeseed oil or avocado oil drizzled since their smoking temps are higher than olive. Sprinkled with goat”s milk feta on brioche, yuuuuummmm!!

  5. Lisa November 5, 2021 at 8:38 pm - Reply

    Though I skip the bread, being gluten sensitive, this dish is easy and amazing. Simple to put together and the flavors are outstanding. Full of flavor and color- getting in those wonderful antioxidants! And, of course, the EVOO is a wonderful addition to a healthful diet. Wonderful wonderful dish!!

    • Bill Bradley, R.D. November 8, 2021 at 10:00 am - Reply

      One of my favorite Greek dishes. Glad you enjoyed! -Bill

  6. Chrissy July 27, 2020 at 8:36 pm - Reply

    This dish is sooooo ? delicious! It’s a meal in itself but would be delicious paired with chicken or steak on the grill. And yes, don’t forget the bread to soak up all the gorgeous juices. 5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    • Bill Bradley, R.D. August 7, 2020 at 8:59 pm - Reply

      Glad you liked it!

    • Joanne Hawk July 26, 2022 at 2:14 pm - Reply

      5 stars
      I’ve had this several times while in Greece and then back in the States it is one of my favorite meals. I think the key is a good quality olive oil.

  7. Pamela April 30, 2019 at 11:43 pm - Reply

    Sensational 10/10

    • George Zikos May 7, 2019 at 4:10 pm - Reply

      I really appreciate it! Thank you!!

4.41 from 20 votes (16 ratings without comment)

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