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Grilled vegetable skewers add color to your cookout. Fire-licked zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes are a beautiful side dish for any outdoor dinner. Vegan & gluten-free.
Everything tastes better cooked over a fire. Vegetables get soft & juicy with caramelized edges. And of course, those dark grill marks beckon you to dive in and enjoy.
That’s why I love having grilled vegetable skewers as a vibrant spring and summer side dish for my vegan cookouts.
Grilled vegetable skewers can be made over a fire pit or campfire with grate, or on an outdoor grill.
They come together quickly & easily. The longest part of the preparation is just letting them marinate in an herb, oil & vinegar marinade, and then threading them onto skewers. Once they go onto the fire, they’re ready in about ten minutes.
Great for camping trips
Grilled vegetable skewers are ideal for camping trips.
For camping purposes, I recommend making the marinade ahead of time, so that you don’t have to tote along the herbs, garlic, oil, and vinegar.
Put the marinade into a freezer bag or resealable container. Then just add the chopped vegetables to the marinade when you’re getting the fire started.
How to make grilled vegetable skewers
Clean cremini mushrooms, grape tomatoes, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Cut zucchini into ¾ inch slices, and red bell pepper into medium sized chunks. If your mushrooms are very large, you can cut them in half.
Make the marinade by combining the following in a large mixing bowl:
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Minced garlic
- Dried parsley
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
The garlic works best in the marinade when it’s almost like a paste. So I recommend using a Microplane zester or mincing very finely.
Add the vegetables to the marinade, and evenly coat them. Use your hands to make sure everything gets covered on all sides.
Put the bowl with the vegetables in the refrigerator. Allow them to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Bring a grill, fire pit, or grill pan to a medium high heat. I aim for 500 degrees on the gas grill.
Spear the vegetables onto skewers.
Grill the skewers on a grill or fire pit with grate for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating occasionally to brown all sides.
What kind of skewers should I use?
I like to use metal skewers. You can wash & reuse them all summer long, year after year. There’s also no chance of the skewers burning, no matter how hot the fire.
As a second choice, bamboo skewers also work fine. Soak them in water for about a half an hour before using, so that they don’t burn. (Use leftover skewers on vegan fried chicken as the drumstick!)
What if I don’t have skewers?
If you don’t have skewers, this recipe also works great in a grill basket.
Depending on the size of your grill basket, you may need to work in batches. You’ll get the best browning when the vegetables aren’t overcrowded.
Or you can cook them in an indoor grill pan without skewers.
Make it your own
There are lots of ways that you can make these grilled vegetable skewers your own.
The number one way is to vary the produce that you use. Pineapple, onion, sliced rounds of corn on the cob, steamed potato or sweet potato, and eggplant are all delicious on skewers.
(For more information on steaming potatoes for skewers, check out my Thanksgiving kebabs recipe.)
Ultimately, you’ll want 4 heaping cups of vegetables.
Here are some more variation ideas:
- Instead of red bell peppers, use yellow, orange, or green
- Use yellow summer squash instead of zucchini
- Swap out grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes
- Replace cremini mushrooms with white button or baby bellas
- Add cubed seitan chicken for a punch of protein
- Replace the red wine vinegar in the marinade with balsamic
- Instead of using dried parsley, basil, and oregano, use your favorite Italian seasoning mix
- Swap out the minced garlic for granulated garlic
What to serve with them
Grilled vegetable skewers are a terrific side dish for any warm weather meal.
Serve them with:
- Grilled tofu with lemon & rosemary
- Vegan BBQ sandwich
- Vegan potato salad
- Vegan coleslaw
- Grilled corn cakes
- Store-bought veggie burgers or meatball burgers
How to store
Leftover grilled vegetables will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 4 days.
There are so many ways to use the leftovers. Pile them onto a pizza. Put them in breakfast tacos, burrito bowls, or taco salad. Incorporate them into noodles & marinara.
If you’re reheating them on their own, warm in a pan with a little oil.
Grilled vegetable skewers
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil Plus more if needed
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Generous pinch salt
- Dash pepper
- 1/2 red bell pepper cut in chunks
- 6 cremini mushrooms
- 14 grape tomatoes
- 1 small zucchini cut in 3/4 inch pieces
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, a generous pinch of salt, and a dash of pepper. (For the garlic, I like to use a Microplane zester, so that it's almost paste-like & easy to combine with the other ingredients.)
- Add the red bell pepper, cremini mushrooms, grape tomatoes, and zucchini to the mixing bowl. Use your hands to make sure the vegetables get evenly covered on all sides in the marinade. If it looks like there's not quite enough oil for the vegetables, you can add more to make sure all of the spices are evenly dispersed.
- Put the bowl with vegetables in the refrigerator, and let them soak in the marinade for 30 minutes to an hour. (If your refrigerator isn't large enough to hold a mixing bowl, the vegetables can go into a freezer bag instead to marinate.)
- Bring a grill, fire pit with grate, or grill pan to a medium high heat. (For a gas grill, I aim for about 500 degrees.)
- Spear the vegetables onto skewers. Depending on the size of your skewers, you'll likely need 3 or 4 of them. (If you're using an indoor grill pan, make sure to use skewers that will fit on it.)
- Put the vegetable skewers on the grill, grate, or grill pan. Grill the skewers for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating a few times to evenly brown all sides. When the skewers are done, remove them from heat.
Shell says
This is so easy, quick and delicious. Cant wait for grilling season to start!