Broiled Balsamic Vegetables with Lemon Parsley Rice - Budget Bytes (2024)

This recipe was originally designed to be a balsamic vegetable kebab, served over seasoned rice, but at the last minute I thought, “Why bother with skewers?” Sure, they look pretty and making food look pretty is half my job, but my practical side won over. So, I spread these marinated balsamic vegetables out over a baking sheet, broiled them until they were every so slightly charred and caramelized on the edges, then just spooned them over my special lemon parsley rice. And there it was. A delicious bowl full of Broiled Balsamic Vegetables with Lemon Parsley Rice.

How to Serve Balsamic Vegetables with Lemon Parsley Rice

This recipe will make about six side dish sized servings, or four larger main dish meals. If you want to up the protein, you could always serve it with an egg, some shredded chicken, or tofu. I’m not an expert on tofu, but I’d suggest pressing it first to extract some of the packing liquid, then dicing it and marinating it along with the vegetables so that it can soak up all that delicious flavor. A little sprinkle of Parmesan wouldn’t be so bad on this either, but then I like Parmesan oneverything.

What Vegetables Can I Use?

Since this broiling method is so fast, I would suggest sticking to softer summer-type vegetables, like onions, mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, or eggplant. If you prefer to make harder root-type winter vegetables, check out my oven roasted Balsamic Vegetables recipe.

What if I Don’t Have a Broiler?

No problem! You can still roast the balsamic marinated vegetables in the oven. After marinating the vegetables, simply follow the instructions outlined in my Roasted Summer Vegetables recipe.

How to Make Broiled Balsamic Vegetables and Lemon Parsley Rice – Step by Step Photos

Begin by mixing up this delicious balsamic marinade. Stir together 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp Dijon, 2 minced cloves of garlic, and a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper.

Next, chop up your vegetables. I used an 8oz. container of mushrooms (on sale, woo!), one bell pepper, one zucchini, a 4oz. container of grape tomatoes, and one yellow onion. I happened to have half of a red onion in my fridge that needed to be used, so I just threw that in there for giggles. You can use either a yellow or red/purple onion. Either will work.

Try to cut the vegetables in fairly uniform pieces, about one-inch cubes. Becausethe tomatoes are so small, you can just leave them whole. Place the cut vegetables in a gallon-sized zip top bag, then pour the marinade over top. Massage the bag a bit to make sure the marinade is distributed among the vegetables. Let them marinate for about 30 minutes. Since it’s such a short marination, it can be at room temperature. Any longer and I’d suggest placing it in the fridge just to be sure.

While the vegetables are marinating, start on the Lemon Parsley Rice. To cook the rice, combine 1.5 cups of long grain white rice with 2.5 cups water, 1 minced clove of garlic, and 1/2tsp salt. Place a lid on top and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.While the rice is cooking, Pull the leaves from the stems of about 1/2 bunch of parsley.

Chop the parsley until it is very finely minced.

Use a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater to scrape the yellow zest from one lemon.

Combine the minced parsley, about 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest, and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a small bowl.

Once the rice is finished cooking, let it cool just slightly (so that it doesn’t “cook” the parsley and lemon zest), then add the lemon parsley mix.

Gently fold the lemon parsley mix into the rice until the rice is evenly coated. Try to avoid vigorous stirring because that can make the rice sticky.

Finally, adjust your oven rack to the second level from the top and turn the broiler on to high. Spread the marinated vegetables out over a baking sheet (or two). I lined my baking sheet with parchment for easy clean up.

Place the baking sheet in the oven (it should be about 6-8 inches from the flame). Let the vegetables broil until they achieve a slight char on the edges.

Every oven is a little different and rack heights vary, so you’ll need to just keep a close eye on them. My vegetables took about 10 minutes before I liked the amount of brown they had. For more even browning, stir the vegetables halfway through.

Scoop some of the Lemon Parsley Rice into a bowl, then top it with the Broiled Balsamic Vegetables.

Then enjoy. :)