A super easy and healthy potato bake with vegetables and melty cheese! This Vegetable Potato Bake is a versatile side dish that goes well with so many meals.
This easy and delicious side dish features thinly sliced potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots in a delicious sauce, baked until perfectly tender, then topped with melted mozzarella cheese.
It’s one of my favorite dishes, and I know it will become one of yours too.
There are so many different ways to cook potatoes, like mashed potatoes, crushed potatoes, air fryer roasted potatoes, and more!
And while potatoes are amazing on their own, they are even better when paired with healthy fresh veggies, a savory tomato sauce, and cheese. This veggie potato bake has all of that, and it’s super simple to make.
Why You’ll Love This Vegetable Casserole Recipe
- It’s a favorite at my house, and it will be at yours too! I first shared this recipe here in 2016. This new recipe is exactly the same, but I’ve made some small adjustments to make it totally fail-proof. I’ve also updated the pictures and included step-by-step photos for you.
- Simple, fresh ingredients make this a healthy side dish. You can use veggies from your backyard garden if you have them, or just pick up these staples from the grocery store.
- It’s perfectly cheesy! A topping of mozzarella cheese makes everything more delicious. Try this veggie bake with other types of cheese too, like gruyere or swiss.
Key Ingredients
- Tomato Sauce: Use regular unseasoned tomato sauce or Italian passata for this dish. You don’t want the sauce to overpower the natural deliciousness of the veggies here.
- Garlic, Onion, and Thyme: These aromatic vegetables and herbs go perfectly with this dish. Choose fresh thyme for the best flavor.
- Thinly Sliced Potatoes: Use a mandoline or the slicing blade of your food processor to slice your potatoes into ⅛-inch rounds. This is key to the recipe, as thicker slices won’t cook all the way through.
- Carrots, Zucchini, and Tomatoes. Slice the carrots into ⅛-inch rounds as well. The zucchini and tomatoes can be thicker, about ¼-inch thick. Once you have all the veggies sliced, you’re ready to put them together into the best potato vegetable casserole side dish!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Cheesy Vegetable Potato Bake
Start by making a simple tomato sauce, then mix it with thinly sliced potatoes and veggies, and bake! This recipe is so easy, you’re going to love it.
- Saute: To start the sauce, heat olive oil in an ovenproof skillet, and saute sliced carrots and onions for a few minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Then add the garlic and saute for just 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Make the Sauce: Add tomato sauce, water, and fresh thyme to the skillet. Stir and cook for 1 minute to combine. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Add Potatoes and Veggies to the pan, and stir gently with a rubber spatula to cover the vegetables with the sauce.
- Bake: Cover with a lid or foil, and take in a preheated 375°F/190°C oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake, uncovered for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Add the mozzarella cheese, and broil for 3-5 minutes to melt.
Tip!
You may need to add a bit of extra baking time to get the potatoes cooked all the way. You’ll know they’re done when they’re easily pierced with a fork!
Recipe Tips
- Choose your Baking Dish: I’m baking this veggie bake in a deep, round, 12-inch enameled skillet with a lid. You can also bake your casserole in a 9×13-inch baking pan or another oven-proof skillet covered in foil.
- Use starchy potatoes. In the UK you’ll have the best results with Maris Piper potatoes, or go for Russet Potatoes or Sebago potatoes. Avoid waxy potatoes for this recipe.
- You don’t have to peel the potatoes! If you’d like to leave the skins on, just be sure to scrub the potatoes well.
- Sauteeing the carrots and onions helps to soften them and pull out their natural sweetness. If you’re short on time, you can skip this step, but you might find that the veggies have a bit more bite to them.
- When stirring the veggies into the sauce, use a rubber spatula, and be gentle so that you don’t break the potato slices too much.
- Garlic can burn if sauteed for too long. It only needs about 30 seconds in the pan. Beready to add the tomato sauce to slow down the cooking process.
Storing Tips
Keep leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can reheat portions in the microwave, or reheat the entire casserole in a 350°F/180°C oven until heated through.
If you’d like to make this vegetable potato bake ahead, prepare the sauce, mix in the veggies, then cover and place in the fridge overnight. Bake as directed when you’re ready.
More Easy Side Dishes
All Sides →
What To Serve With Veggie Potato Bake
This delicious side dish goes well with so many meals. I enjoy serving it with grilled or roasted meats.
Try this vegetable potato bake with Instant Pot Drumsticks, Yogurt Marinated Chicken, or Juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops.
I also love to make Cedar Plank Salmon or Grilled T-Bone Steak in the summer with this veggie casserole on the side!
Need some new dessert ideas? Try my No-Bake Eclair Cake or S’More’s Cookie Bars.
Recipe FAQs
Potatoes might be seen as a “less healthy” vegetable, but potatoes are actually fat-free, gluten-free, and have high nutritional content! They’re also 100% natural, salt-free, low in sugar, and a great source of fiber and potassium.
Here I’m pairing potatoes with tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and onions. You can use any kind of veggies you like in this potato vegetable casserole though because all of them taste good with potatoes!
This easy Vegetable Potato Bake is such a delicious way to enjoy your vegetables! Be sure to Pin the recipe so you can easily find it again.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Vegetable Potato Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced into ⅛ inch thick rounds
- 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ½ cup tomato sauce or Italian passata
- ½ cup water
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 large tomato sliced into rounds
- 1 medium zucchini sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
- 3 medium potatoes peeled and sliced into ⅛ inch thick rounds
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
- In an oven-proof skillet, over the stovetop on medium-high heat. Heat olive oil, and saute the onion and carrot until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add tomato sauce, water, and thyme. Stir and cook for 1 minute then remove from heat. Taste the sauce, and adjust the seasonings if desired (salt and pepper).
- Add the sliced tomato, zucchini, and potatoes to the dish. With a rubber spatula stir to cover the vegetables with the sauce.
- Cover with an oven-proof lid or foil, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered.
- Uncover, and cook for 5 more minutes then check for doneness (the potatoes should be easily pierced with a fork, if not then cook for 5 more minutes and check again).
- Add the cheese, and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the top is lightly browned.
Notes:
- I’m baking this veggie bake in a deep, round, 12-inch enameled skillet with a lid. You can also bake your casserole in a 9×13-inch baking pan or another oven-proof skillet covered in foil.
- Use starchy potatoes. In the UK you’ll have the best results with Maris Piper potatoes, or go for Russet Potatoes or Sebago potatoes. Avoid waxy potatoes for this recipe.
- You don’t have to peel the potatoes! If you’d like to leave the skins on, just be sure to scrub the potatoes well.
- Sauteeing the carrots and onions helps to soften them and pull out their sweetness. If you’re short on time, you can skip this step, but you might find that they have a bit more bite to them.
- When stirring the veggies into the sauce, use a rubber spatula, and be gentle so that you don’t break the potato slices too much.
- Garlic can burn if sauteed for too long. It only needs about 30 seconds in the pan, and be ready to add the tomato sauce to slow down the cooking process.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Jessica says
Turned out perfect!! I added mushrooms to mine and really liked it. Super easy recipe. Definitely going to add this as a staple meal.