Vegan kebabs are a terrific Thanksgiving main course for folks in warm weather climates. It’s also a good fit for those looking for something outside-the-box for their holiday meal.
Cooked on the grill, these seitan and veggie skewers include all of your usual holiday favorites in deconstructed form. That includes herbed lemon seitan, stuffing, potatoes, and even sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
Humans are creatures of habit – especially at the holidays.
The same people bring the same dishes to the same Thanksgiving gatherings and holiday parties year after year.
And while it can be fun to revisit the standards, there’s a certain joy that comes with breaking out of it a little. Doing something outside the ordinary.
That’s where these vegan kebabs come in.
They give a nod to the holiday classics, while also offering a fresher way to enjoy them.
These kebabs are Thanksgiving in deconstructed form:
- Stuffing: Chunks of sourdough bread, mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper
- Savory seitan in an herbed lemon marinade
- Yukon gold potatoes
- Sweet potatoes with vegan marshmallows
The deconstructed stuffing includes the traditional ingredients of sourdough bread, mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper.
Savory seitan is the meaty aspect of this vegan Thanksgiving.
It is briefly soaked in a lemon herb marinade with rosemary, thyme, and sage.
Everyone loves mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. It’s a classic!
With potatoes on the grill, you can mash them afterwards with non-dairy butter, salt, and pepper.
And it will have the additional bonus of char from the barbecue.
I recommend using Yukon gold potatoes or any tiny yellow skinned potato you can find. For the most part, the smaller the better.
If you drew a Venn diagram between summer cookouts and Thanksgiving, the overlapping part would be marshmallows!
Who knows how kitschy sweet potatoes & marshmallows became a thing. But regardless, it’s a regular at the holidays.
In honor of that, the end of the vegan skewer is finished with a sweet potato slice, and then a toasted marshmallow.
If marshmallows don’t appeal, you can certainly leave that part off.
(Have bamboo skewers left over? Make vegan fried chicken next!)
Reminder: Most grocery store marshmallows aren’t vegan, because they contain gelatin. I recommend Dandies for your vegan marshmallow needs. You can find them at natural grocery stores. (Trader Joe’s also carries full-sized vegan marshmallows. But it’s a seasonal item, unfortunately. They only carry them in the summer.)
After the seitan and vegetables have been browned on the grill, and the marshmallow has been toasted separately, dinner is served!
It’s a full vegan Thanksgiving dinner on a stick.
In this post:
Step by step instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
Start by making the herbed lemon marinade for the skewers.
In a large mixing bowl, combine:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Lemon zest
- Balsamic vinegar
- Vegetable broth
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Sage
- Salt & pepper
Then add bite-sized chunks of seitan to the bowl to marinate.
You can make your own seitan chicken, or buy any neutral-flavored or chicken-style seitan.
I use Upton’s Naturals traditional seitan for this recipe.
It’s very convenient because the seitan comes in 8-ounce packages, which is just the size you’ll need. And the seitan is already in the correct bite-sized portions.
Next, you’ll want to soften the potatoes, so that they cook in the same amount of time as the other ingredients on the skewers.
Put a few inches of water into a pot with a steamer basket. Bring it to a boil.
Put tiny yellow-skinned potatoes into the steamer basket, along with a sweet potato cut into ¾-inch slices.
Let the potatoes steam until they can be easily pierced with a fork.
(Don’t let them get too soft, though, or they will fall off the skewers.)
Once the potatoes are ready, add them to the marinade bowl along with bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms.
Marinate for 10 minutes.
During the last couple minutes, add chunks of sourdough into the marinade as well, and toss to combine.
Bring the outdoor grill to 500 degrees.
(Or if you’re cooking on an indoor grill pan, bring it to a medium high heat. Spray the pan with oil.)
Put all of the ingredients onto long metal skewers, alternating ingredients between each one.
(If you don’t have skewers, you can use a grill basket instead. Keep in mind that you’ll likely need two baskets, so that the vegetables aren’t overcrowded and get equal access to the grill.)
Ideally you’ll want to finish the end of each skewer with a sweet potato slice, so that it can be next to a marshmallow when all is said and done for maximum kitsch-effect.
Don’t put the marshmallows on yet, however.
Grill the Thanksgiving skewers for 10 minutes, rotating a couple of times to evenly brown all sides.
When the skewers are done, set them aside.
Spear each marshmallow with a fork and toast them over a small flame.
I pierced my marshmallow with a fondue fork and toasted it over a small candle.
If you’d prefer, you can use your gas stove to toast the marshmallow on the flame.
Once each marshmallow has browned, carefully top each skewer with a vegan marshmallow.
Serving suggestions
Serve the vegan skewers with any of the following dishes:
- Delicata squash salad with persimmons
- Fall salad with candied pecans
- Broccolini
- Orange cranberry sauce
- Cranberry salsa
- Vegan turkey gravy
- Cashew gravy with chestnuts
And once Thanksgiving is over, these skewers are also perfect for vegan Christmas dinner!
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Deconstructed vegan Thanksgiving skewers
Ingredients
For tangy herb lemon marinade
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice freshly-squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of pepper
For skewers
- 8 ounces seitan chicken in medium-sized chunks
- 5 small Yukon Gold potatoes or other tiny yellow potato with thin skin
- 1 sweet potato small to medium-sized , cut into ¾ inch thick slices
- ½ red bell pepper cut into medium-sized pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion cut into medium-sized pieces
- 5 cremini mushrooms or white button
- 2 heaping cups sourdough bread cut into roughly 2 inch chunks
- 5 vegan marshmallows (Optional) I used Dandies
Instructions
To make tangy herb lemon marinade
- Combine marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
To make vegan skewers
- Put seitan chunks into the large mixing bowl with marinade and briefly combine. Let it marinate while you continue cooking, chopping, and preparing the remaining ingredients.
- Fill a pot that can hold a steamer basket insert with a few inches of water. Bring it to a boil. Put the potatoes and sweet potato slices into the insert and steam for about 15 minutes. Test the doneness of the potatoes with a fork. If fork tines can go in easily, the potatoes are ready. (They should be easily pierced, but you don't want the potatoes or sweet potatoes to fall apart when skewered.) If the potatoes aren’t quite soft enough, remove the sweet potatoes and continue steaming until done.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, steamed sweet potato, and steamed potatoes to the mixing bowl with marinade and toss to combine. Marinate for 10 minutes. During the last couple minutes, add the sourdough chunks and toss those with the marinade as well. The bowl will be heaping full at this point.
- Heat the outdoor grill to 500 degrees. Put all of the ingredients onto long metal skewers, alternating ingredients between each one. Ideally finish the end of each skewer with a sweet potato slice, so that it can be next to a marshmallow when all is said and done for maximum kitsch-effect. Don't put the marshmallows on yet, however.
- Grill the Thanksgiving skewers for 10 minutes, rotating a couple of times to evenly brown all sides. When the skewers are done, set them aside.
- Spear each marshmallow with a fork and toast them over a small flame. You can use your gas stove or a candle. Once each marshmallow has browned, carefully top each skewer with a vegan marshmallow. (Don't burn yourself on the fire or metal skewer.)
- Serve right away with cranberry sauce, cranberry salsa, and/or gravy.
Notes
Nutrition
Content updated February 20, 2024. Originally posted October 2012.
Mary Ellen - VNutrition
This is such a great idea! I bet they would be really great for leftovers too.
I hear you, the summer is so fun and the only thing to get me through the cold is celebrating the holidays. But January 2nd it’s no fun again lol.
Cadry
Yes, I wish that Christmas was in February instead of December. In December, the snow is kind of a novelty. By February, the temperatures are even more bitter and the snow is sludgy. It would be nice to see some twinkling lights and have a reason to trudge through it.
Ginny
I love kebabs and that line-up of goodies looks so pretty. Love the dressing too!
Cadry
Thanks, Ginny!
Becky
This is such a great idea! With the weird warm fall we are having, it might just be grilling weather on Thursday.
Cadry
No kidding! People were still in shorts just a few days ago, which is a rarity for November in Iowa.
Sarah
I totally believe that! My anniversary is Nov. 24 (yep, on actual Thanksgiving this year!). My birthday is 8 days later—on Dec. 2. I always say that the whole world decorates and puts up lights for my birthday. I often request for my “birthday present” that we go out and get a tree and decorate it—Irving hates the whole Christmas she-bang so that is my way of making him help 🙂 Now the boys are old enough to help so it doesn’t feel lonely, but there were a few years there where I would decorate by myself 🙂 So yes, my birthday season is hands down my favorite!!!
Cadry
Oh, that’s so cute! It’s nice that your birthday is still early in December, so that it doesn’t get too muddled with Christmas, but is still close enough to add its festive spirit. And that’s hilarious that you’re able to “convince” Irving to help by making it a birthday event.
Sarah
Ha, yes! Not too close! Although as a kid my parents always skimped on presents in the name of experiences. In hindisight the tickets they gave me to the theater were so much more special than toys, but in the moment I wasn’t a huge fan.
Mel |avirtualvegan.com
What a great idea for Thanksgiving. I do wish it was too warm to cook inside on Thanksgiving here though. Chance would be a fine thing!
Cadry
No kidding! If it was a Thanksgiving on the beach in flip flops and a sundress, I’d have zero complaints about that. 🙂
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
This is such a great idea, Cadry! And I love your rectangular plates.
Cadry
Thank you, Amy!
Jenn
Love the idea of Thanksgiving kabobs! And I really love that you added a marshmallow to the end! What?! YES!
Cadry
Haha! Yes, the toasted marshmallow at the end was a must. I don’t know how the idea of sweet potatoes with marshmallows became a thing, but it amuses me to give a nod to it. 🙂
Dianne's Vegan Kitchen
This is such a clever idea! It might be warm enough to do this this year.
Cadry
Thanks, Dianne! Yesterday it finally turned into fall, but the temperatures for Thursday still look plenty warm for grilling. I hope you have a wonderful holiday! 🙂
Somer
I’m dying that you put the marshmallow on there. Totally kitschy! Such a great idea Cadry and yes, now I really, really need to order Vegan Diner because I still haven’t figured out homemade seitan.
Cadry
Yes, I couldn’t help myself! Taste-wise it’s kind of random, because you have to eat that first. But I just had to do it anyway!
I heartily recommend any of the seitan recipes in Vegan Diner, but especially the chicken-style. If you’re into reubens, the seitan she uses for that is also amazing.
Maggie Muggins
I’d buy one 🙂
Cadry
Well, that makes it worth it already! 😀
michellini
I love this idea for kebabs.. and fall
Cadry
Thanks, Michellini!
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
That theory is pretty solid. For me it’s a toss up between spring and fall…I was born in April, so while my birthday is in the spring, my half birthday (surely that counts, right?) is in the fall. Whatever the case, I’m loving the idea of Thanksgiving on a stick! That seitan recipe from Vegan Diner is one of my favorites!
Cadry
Of course half birthdays count! 😉 That must be why I love Christmas so much. It’s practically my half birthday.
Yes, that Vegan Diner seitan is the best. I like to keep a batch in the freezer for unexpected seitan needs. Best of all, it thaws beautifully and tastes even more moist and delicious!
Maggie Muggins
What a cool idea, it’s thanksgiving on a stick!
I’m a spring chick but I much prefer the summer and fall months. That could also have to do with the fact that we don’t really have a spring here, it more or less goes from cold and muddy to hot.
Cadry
Yes, Thanksgiving on a stick for sure! I should start marketing it at fairs! 🙂
moonsword
lol…you are a screaming genius! T-Day on a Stick! I would so love to serve these for my oh-so-stubbornly-carnivorous family…just plop a big colorful squash on everyone’s plate and stab one of these babies straight up on each one, or maybe a few, like a turkey tail, and say Bon Appetit! Add some fancy dipping sauces and it’s vegan artsy minimalist cuisine. 😉
I’m a summer birthday kid and huge sunny warm weather worshipper. As far north as I live, winter lasts way too long and it’s way too grey, so I count the days until our all too brief summer days. 🙂
Cadry
Oh, man! How brilliant is that turkey tail idea? Where were you when I was brainstorming! 🙂 You’re absolutely right that it’s vegan minimalist cuisine. In foodie towns they’d call this Thanksgiving Deconstructed. I’m thinking about serving this for my Thanksgiving, and some fancy dipping sauces of cranberries & gravy would definitely be delightful with this.
ameyfm
I totally think your theory is right. I was born in Summer (june) and I’ve always been a big summer fan. In the last few years though, I’ve really increased my appreciation for other seasons. I think they all have something pretty special to offer.
These kabobs are so seriously wonderful, I cannot wait to make some. I LOVE this idea! maybe I will make some gravy as a dipping sauce to go with them!
Cadry
Yes! A gravy dipping sauce would definitely take these up a notch!
VegFusion (@VegFusion)
Serious kebab business here. I just love it! and I come from a kebab country 🙂
Cadry
Thanks, Veg Fusion! I wish I hailed from Kebab Country. It sounds like a delicious place to be! 🙂
Susmitha - Veganosaurus
Those are delicious looking kebabs!! I love how you’ve held a match to the marshmallow. Neat!! 🙂
Cadry
Thanks, Susmitha! Since we have a gas grill, I knew I’d lose my marshmallows if I tried to toast them through the grates. A match was easier!
Rose
Fun idea!!
I like all seasons, but late summer and autumn are my favs… doesn’t mesh with my birth month though.
Cadry
Rose, I think I’m going to have to throw this theory out the window!
Caitlin
it’s true, as a july baby, summer is my favorite. i love the heat.
i love your mash-up of summer and fall in the kebabs! i’m particularly intrigued by the marshmallow element. it makes me wish i had a grill.
Cadry
Another July baby! We’re taking over! 🙂
The marshmallow seems the most incongruous with all of the fall vegetables, but it was too good to pass up since that sweet potato casserole is such a quintessential Thanksgiving dish.
Mel
Yum, your kebabs look so delicious! I’m a Summer baby too and do prefer warmer weather over cold, it’s an interesting theory!
BTW – have you tried the Peruvian seitan and potato kebabs in Viva Vegan? They are really really good!
Cadry
Oh, yes! I’ve made those kebabs from Viva Vegan a couple of times. They’re very tasty! I also like to make her Latin Baked Tofu on the grill.
Kristy
Seriously, Cadry, I think you just gave me my thanksgiving dinner. It’s just gonna be me and Chris (we aren’t going anywhere) and I love the simplicity of these guys. So awesome!
I would have to say my favorite time of year is the fall, even though my brithday is in the summer- I love wearing my boots and scarves and there’s so much cinnamon everywhere. Summer would have to be a close second, though. 🙂
Cadry
I’m surprised you won’t be with one of your families for Thanksgiving! These would make a wonderful, simplified Thanksgiving dinner. I like to eat them with a great big kale salad to get some fresh vegetables in there as well. I’m half thinking of doing this for my Thanksgiving too even though we’ll be doing a big family thing, because it can get hectic in the kitchen when everyone is trying to warm their casseroles and dishes. I could be outside by the grill with plenty of space!
A summer birthday girl who loves fall the most! Okay, this theory is quickly falling apart by the minute! 🙂
Richa
i love grilled kebabs.. of course ours are usually just rubbed with a load of garam masala:)
i love the fresh tangy marinade!
hmm do i really like october.. i dont know:) i have a like dislike thing with it, since hubbs bday is 5 days before mine.. all the stress about the gifts and stuff:) and the weather starts to get all cloudy rainy and dreary. i want some sun back! i should have been born in august:)
Cadry
The theory seems to fall apart a little when it comes to people born in drearier months! 🙂
cookeasyvegan
I think my parents either forgot my real birth date or they lied to me about being born in October. Based on what you’ve said, I must have been born in July, like you. Yes, my dislike of winter and love of hot weather is all becoming clear now.
I love your veggie kabobs — even the celery — and wish it would stop raining long enough for one more grilled dinner. Just one.
Cadry
When it comes to whether this theory is flawed or your parents mislead you about your birthday, it seems most likely that your parents lead you astray! 😉 Next July, I’ll be sure to pop a birthday card in the mail to you!
That’s too bad that your shiny new grill isn’t able to get some more use until next spring. Maybe you need to move it closer to an awning. 🙂
Kale Crusaders
I love Thanksgiving food and grilling! This is so perfect!
Cadry
Yay! Thanks!
kittee
I was born in April, and although I’d never thought of it before, I do so love the Spring!
Cadry
There’s a lot to love about spring! It’s such a magical time of year!