Grilled Vegetable Skewers
on Aug 08, 2021, Updated Jun 25, 2024
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Veggie kebabs are beautiful, versatile, flexible, and a must-make for summertime grilling meals.
Grilled vegetable kebabs have so much going for them. For starters, they are gorgeous — I challenge you to think of a summer menu that wouldn‘t be enhanced by the presence of these colorful, Mediterranean-vibed skewers of vegetables. They make use of whatever vegetables are in season, can be assembled ahead of time, and the skewers prevent you from losing your veggies through the grate into the fire!
The recipe is more of a template than instructions to follow to a tee…use the suggested simple marinade, or swap in another favorite marinade. Or swap it out for a simple combo of olive oil, salt, and pepper and skip the short marinating time.
Serve these veggie skewers with pretty much anything! Think about Grilled Chicken Thighs, Grilled Lamb Chops and Onions with Herbed Salad, and Grilled Scallops.
Table of Contents
Grilled Vegetable Skewers: Beautiful, versatile, flexible, and a must-make for summertime grilling meals.
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Vegetable Kebab Ingredients
- Vegetables – You’ll want to mix and match whatever is in season! Cut the veggies into 1 1/2-inch pieces. See below for suggestions.
- Lemon-garlic marinade – This recipe’s simple marinade is made with fresh lemon or lime juice, minced garlic, olive oil, and chopped fresh basil, thyme, and/or oregano.
Kitchen Smarts
If you want to skip the marinade, you can just use olive oil, salt, and pepper. With this option, there’s no marinating time needed. Just coat the skewered veggies and put them on the grill.
Best Vegetables for Veggie Skewers
- Onions
- Bell peppers
- Zucchini
- Summer squash
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Eggplant
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
How to Combine Vegetables on a Skewer
Partially cooking harder vegetables before combining them with softer ones will allow everything to finish cooking at the same time. If you cook other softer vegetables on a skewer with these denser vegetables, the softer veggies will cook through much more quickly, and you will end up with some overcooked items (like mushy tomatoes) while you wait for the broccoli or squash to become tender.
Grouping vegetables of similar density on a skewer will allow things to cook at the same rate. You might also think about combining skewers of short-cooking tomatoes and mushrooms, medium-length cooking zucchini and summer squash, and then longer-cooking skewers of onions and peppers.
When you are assembling the skewers, you might think about creating patterns with the cubes of vegetables or going for an explosion of color.
How to Make Vegetable Skewers
- Soak the skewers: If using wooden skewers, soak them in enough water to cover them for 30 minutes. You can also use metal skewers, which do not need soaking.
- Cube the vegetables: Cut the vegetables into 1 1/2-inch cubes or chunks.
- Make the marinade: Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well.
- Combine the vegetables and marinade: Add the veggies to a large bowl and pour the marinade over top. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil or marinade. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to a day in the fridge.
- Make the kebabs: Thread the skewers with the veggies, creating appealing patterns.
- Grill the kebabs: Grill the kebabs 4 inches from the heat source, until the vegetables are cooked through and everything has a nice grill-marked exterior. This will be anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on which vegetables you choose.
FAQs
SO many vegetables are great on the grill. You can grill larger pieces of vegetables in non-kebab form (see Grilled Vegetables), but for handheld ease and to showcase a nice variety of vegetables, skewers are a smart way to go. You can grill cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, Brussels sprouts, and more.
Toss cubed assorted vegetables with olive oil or a simple marinade. Grill the kebabs over medium-high heat 4 inches from the heat source, until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned in spots. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Vegetables will take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes depending on how delicate the vegetables are (mushrooms) vs. how hard/dense the vegetables are (cauliflower).
You can marinate vegetables in a simple marinade for anywhere from 20 minutes at room temperature to 24 hours in the fridge. But if you decide to just toss the vegetables with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkle them with kosher salt and pepper, you will have wonderful veggie skewers with nothing standing in the way of the flavor of the vegetables.
Cooking Tips
- Make sure the vegetables are nicely oiled or coated with the marinade.
- Make sure to oil the grill grates as well.
- Keep an eye on the skewers as they grill, and turn them as they brown on the bottoms. Remove each kebab as the vegetables become tender and the edges of the vegetables start to brown.
- Close the lid of the grill in between turning the kebabs to allow the heat to build and the kebabs to cook faster and more evenly.
Grilling Harder Vegetables
If you are looking to use denser vegetables in your veggie kebabs, like potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, winter squash, and the like, it is usually smart to par-cook them before grilling them, meaning to cook them part way through. Because they are so hard, they will take a very long time to become tender on the grill, and because of that, you will find it a little too easy to char the outsides before the insides become soft.
Try steaming them until they are somewhat tender but still firm in the middle before skewering and grilling them. You can cube them before steaming or boiling them and then let them cool before skewering them up. This might take between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on how hard the vegetable is.
What to Serve With Grilled Vegetable Skewers
You might want to serve these simply grilled vegetable kebabs with a sauce to fancy them up: try Chermoula Sauce, Ramp Chimichurri Sauce, or Kale Pesto.
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Grilled Vegetable Skewers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups vegetables cut into 1 ½-inch pieces (such as red onions, bell peppers, zucchini, summer squash, whole cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, eggplant, or lightly cooked cauliflower or broccoli; see Note)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, thyme, and/or oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Soak about 20 6-inch wooden skewers, or 10 12-inch skewers, in enough water to cover for 30 minutes. You can also use metal skewers, which do not need soaking.
- Combine the lemon or lime juice, garlic, olive oil, herbs of choice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl or plastic container and mix well.
- Place the vegetables in a mixing bowl, then pour over the marinade and toss to combine. Marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours and up to a day.
- Thread the skewers with the veggies, creating appealing patterns. Lightly salt and pepper the skewers.
- Heat the grill to medium-high. Grill the kebabs 4 inches from the heat source, until the vegetables are cooked through, and everything has a nice grill-marked exterior; anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes, depending on which vegetable you choose. Brush the kebabs with some of the marinade (if using) left behind in the bowl as they grill.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- If you prefer to just use olive oil, salt, and pepper instead of adding lemon juice and garlic to the marinade, that’s fine! You can skip any marinating time.
- If you are looking to grill more dense vegetables, like potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, winter squash, and the like, it is usually smart to par-cook them before grilling them, meaning to cook them part way through. Because they are so hard, they will take a very long time to become tender on the grill, and because of that, you will find it a little too easy to char the outsides before the insides become soft. And, if you are cooking other vegetables or meat on a skewer with these denser vegetables, those other items will cook through much more quickly, and you will end up with some overcooked items (mushy tomatoes) while you wait for the broccoli to become tender.
- Try steaming harder vegetables until they are somewhat tender but still firm in the middle before skewering and grilling them. You can cube them before steaming or boiling them and then let them cool before skewering them up. This might take between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on how hard the vegetable is.
- Make sure the vegetables are nicely oiled or coated with the marinade.
- Close the lid of the grill in between turning the kebabs to allow the heat to build and the kebabs to cook faster and more evenly.
- Keep your eye on the skewers as they grill, and turn them as they brown on the bottoms. Remove each kebab as the vegetables become tender and the edges of the vegetables start to brown.
- Make sure to oil the grill grates as well.
