We love to grill and have found that you can grill pretty much anything! Well, maybe not rice. . .it would fall through the grates on the grill. 😉 But maybe we'll try!🤷♀️ No matter what, grilled veggie kabobs are so good, and what a fun way to get your vegetables!! The freshness of the veggies with the zippy marinade and smoke from the grill makes a perfect summer meal.
Grilled Veggie Kabobs
For our veggie kabobs, we added Zucchini, summer squash, a sweet red pepper, yellow pepper, and purple onion. I know purple onions can be spicy, but when added to the marinade and grilled, the onion actually has a softer flavor and goes nicely with the other fun summer veggies. We also added mushrooms to the kabobs. The mushrooms have a great texture and they really soak up the marinade. So every bite is like a small yummy explosion of deliciousness in your mouth!
Now, you know we LOVE our hot peppers!!!! So to spice up our grilled veggie kabobs we added a couple of jalapeños. Just cut them in thirds and put them on the skewer. Let me tell you, these jalapeños were HOT! For some reason, they had a little more kick than most jalapeños. It was a nice addition to the veggie kabobs, but totally optional.
Marinade
We came up with this homemade marinade using some of our favorite herbs and spices. It's very simple to make but if you don't want to make the marinade you can also use low-fat Italian dressing (not the creamy dressing version). The bottled dressing works great and adds a nice flavor to the veggies. The vegetables can be marinated a day in advance before cooking them. The mushrooms really soak up the marinade so they only need about 30 minutes to one hour. We put the mushrooms in their own bag, so the other veggies could marinate for longer without having to worry about the mushrooms hogging all the good stuff. 😀
Grilling Veggies
When grilling veggies make sure to set aside enough time for the veggies to cook. If doing chicken or lamb kabobs we usually cook the veggies first since they take a little extra time. We start them directly over the fire and then move them off to the side so they roast and cook nice and slow. Cooking them slow keeps the crunch and ensures that you don't lose that veggie and marinade flavor.
TIPS:
- If using wooden skewers soak them in salted water for at least one hour. Wooden skewers burn easily on the grill. Soaking them in water before putting the veggies on will help them from completely burning up. The ends are still going to singe but not as fast as they would if not pre-soaked.
- Veggies can be cooked in a grilling pan. This can save time because you won't have to put the veggies on skewers. A Veggie Grill Pan (like this one from Weber) works great, the veggies are mixed together and will cook evenly. Plus, you don’t have to worry about soaking the skewers!
- Marinate the mushrooms in a separate bag. The mushroom will soak up the marinade
- The veggies can be skewered prior to marinating. But don't put the veggies in a bag, the skewers can punch a hole in the plastic bag. Instead, marinate them in a large casserole dish.
- Use roasted garlic powder. This is one of our favorite ways to add extra flavor to dishes. We've actually become obsessed with this spice!!! We love to make and use fresh roasted garlic but if we don't have any in the house, we substitute it with roasted garlic powder.
- Use your favorite summer veggies.
- Use tongs to turn the veggies on the grill. Don't use your hands. I may of tried that once. . .or twice. Yes, I have no feeling in my fingers!!!😆
Grilled Veggie Kabobs
Ingredients
Dry mix for Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1 teaspoon Roasted Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Minced onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Basil
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Celery
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper Optional - only if you want to add spice
- 1/2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoon Water
Veggies
- 2 Small Summer Squash
- 2 Small Zucchini
- 1/2 Purple Onion
- 1 Red Sweet pepper (Can use any Sweet Pepper - Green, red, yellow, or orange pepper)
- 1 Orange Sweet Pepper
- 2 Jalapeños Optional - Only if you want some spice
- 12 ounces Mushrooms We used white mushrooms and Bella mushrooms
Instructions
- Cut Summer Squash, Zucchini, Purple Onion, Red Pepper, Orange Pepper, and Jalapeno (if using) into one-inch pieces.
- Mix together dry spices
- Mix together the marinade. (spices, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and water). If you don't want to make homemade marinade use low-fat Italian dressing.
- Place the veggies into a storage bag (You can skewer veggies at this point if you're marinating in a casserole dish.)
- Pour the marinade over the veggies.
- Make sure the veggies are completely covered with the marinade. Marinate for at least two hours up to overnight.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes
- Skewer the veggies.
- Place veggies on the grill and cook until tender. Start to grill directly over the fire and then move them to the edges and cook until veggies become tender.
- When turning the veggies on the grill. Turn them with tongs. Don't try to turn it with the skewer.
- When veggies are soft and tender the way you want, remove them from the grill. They will cook for a few additional minutes after being removed from the grill.
- Enjoy with your favorite sauce. We used Tzatziki sauce.