Grilled Vegetable Kabobs (+5 Marinades)

Best vegetables for kabobs

Obviously, summer gives us an abundance of vegetables to choose from. However, not all vegetables are created equal. Some of them are easy to skew, while others might fall apart. Some of them are easy to cook this way, while other ones will remain hard or uncooked. The best veggies to grill on a skewer are the ones in this recipe. 🙂 Let me tell you why.

• Corn – Well, corn is perfect even on its own. Grilled corn on the cob is kind of a summer must-have.
• Mushrooms – They are one of the easiest vegetables to grill. If you choose smaller ones, you don’t need to cut them or peel them, just skew them, and they are good to go.
• Zucchini – Zucchinis are the first vegetables we buy if we plan to do some grilling. You don’t really need to do much to make them delicious. They are perfect with only a pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Eggplant – You need eggplants. Salt them a bit in advance to release some moisture. This way, you’ll end up with perfect texture and taste.
• Bell pepper – Roasted bell pepper is so delicious. When we don’t add them to our kabob, we make roasted eggplant and bell pepper dip.
• Onion – Unless you are not allergic or intolerant to allium, you need onions on your skewer. Full stop. Grilling onions makes them from “It is so strong, I am crying my eyes out!” to “Yum, sweet and delicious!”
• Cherry tomato – To be honest, I prefer roasted tomatoes as a soup, but my husband loves them as part of our veggie kabob. Large tomatoes may fall apart since you have to cut them, but the skin of cherry tomatoes keeps them more or less intact.

Never grill these vegetables on a skewer

We also collected some examples, which – in our opinion – are better to be left off of your skewer, like:

• Spring onions or scallions will get charcoaled easily, as they need less time to cook than red or yellow onions.
• Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and all cruciferous vegetables must be blanched or pre-cooked as they need a long time to soften. Not to mention, getting them on a skewer might not be fun as well.
• Leafy greens don’t work on skewers. They will brown and wilt in no time.
• Carrots and other root vegetables usually need more cooking time than the other veggies on your skewer. It is highly possible that they remain hard and uncooked if you add them to your selection.
• Potatoes can end up as carrots, hard and uncooked. To save you some headaches, it may be easier to wrap them in foil one by one with some oil/butter and spices and grill them separately.

Instructions

Preparing the vegetables

Your kabob vegetables will be tasty if you make sure that all of them are ready at the same time. For that to work, you need to decide on the correct size depending on the cooking time of each vegetable.

• Corn, cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper will be the fastest to become tender.
• Zucchini, eggplant, and mushroom should be the same size as they need similar cooking times.
• The onion needs longer to soften, so you might need to cut them at least in quarters.

Grilling them in a pan on the stovetop

The easiest way is if you have a grill pan and cook them on a stovetop.

1. Place all vegetables on skewers. Read our prepping tips if you are unsure.
2. Brush them with your favorite marinade. We have five options for you in this post.
3. Heat the grill pan to medium heat, then place the veggie kabobs on it, leaving a small space between the skewers.
4. Cook both sides for approx. 5 minutes. Brush them so more. See how the veggies progress, and adjust time accordingly.

In the oven

You can use a glass oven-safe dish or a baking tray with a grill rack. Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit (ca. 204 °C) and grill them under the broiler for 10 minutes, turning the kabobs at halftime.

On a gas grill or charcoal grill

Our little trick is to use aluminum foil drip pans. Similar to oven grilling, preheat your grill to 400 Fahrenheit (ca. 204 °C) and grill your rainbow veggie kabobs for 10 minutes, turning them at halftime.

Prepping tips

• For cutting, make sure to choose thinner corn. If your corn rings are too big, the other veggies will not touch the pan, making it harder to get them cooked.
• Don’t peel the zucchini and the eggplant, as without their peel, they might get too soft to stay on the skewers.
• Put the vegetables that don’t lose their size so much during cooking at the end: corn, onion, or mushroom.
• Leave a small space in between to ensure that the heat reaches all sides. If the veggies are pressed against each other, you need a longer time to cook. Or even some will remain uncooked, while the cherry tomato will be vastly overcooked.
• We pre-poke the corn with a turkey lacer (from the old days) before adding it to the skewer. 

Grilling tips

• Watch kabobs frequently and brush them with the marinade after turning. It is especially important on the gas grill.
• Use tongs or heat-proof gloves to turn the metal skewers. They can still be hot after serving, so be sure to inform your guests.
• Use wooden skewers in a grill pan. You can easily turn them with your hands.

Variations / Marinades

Here are 5 of our favorite kabob marinades that are perfect for any vegetable.

⇒ Get these 5 awesome kabob marinade recipes as printable recipe cards here ⇐

Italian herbs

If we prepare them for the whole family, we usually make an easy, mixed herb marinade using olive oil, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper. It is absolutely kid-friendly as well.

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Spicy fajitas 

How about some adult-only hot and spicy Tex Mex flavor? This is our favorite fajitas mix, which consists of olive oil, hot chili powder or chili flakes, sweet smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, oregano (or Mexican oregano if you can get your hands on it), salt, and black pepper. You can download the exact amounts from our fajita veggies post. 

Spicy mixed herbs

Our third marinade mixes olive oil, garlic powder, sweet paprika powder, chili powder, ground oregano, ground basil, ground rosemary, salt, and black pepper. You can download the exact amounts from our cauliflower steak post. 

Harissa

The fourth option is to make a juicy, spicy, sweet harissa marinade. It is harissa paste, maple syrup, ginger powder, freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, fresh mint leaves, and soy sauce. You can download the exact amounts from our harissa tofu post. 

Chili miso

The fifth marinade you can try is a spicy miso marinade: miso paste, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can download the exact amounts from our chili miso tofu post. 

We also love to whip up a quick dip in which you can dunk your veggies. If we go for a spicy marinade, we’d love to make some tzatziki to balance the hotness. If we make a light herby marinade, then a spicy BBQ sauce is the only thing missing. How about you? Here are some homemade recipes, if you’d want to try some.

• Vegan tzatziki sauce
• Lemon herb tahini sauce
• Maple Dijon tahini sauce
• Vegan BBQ sauce (or store-bought)
• Vegan ranch dressing (or store-bought)
• Vegan buffalo sauce from our buffalo tofu skewers recipe
• Satay peanut sauce (or store-bought)

Equipment

There are three options to choose from:

1. Wooden skewers (bamboo skewers) – You need to soak them for 20 minutes if you plan to use them on a gas grill or charcoal grill. No soaking is needed for the oven or for the stovetop. 
2. Metal skewers (usually made of stainless steel) – It is a perfect zero-waste alternative. 
3. Herb stems as skewers (rosemary is one of the sturdiest) – Only for soft veggies like cherry tomato or bell pepper. Not recommended for a gas grill at all!!!

Storing ideas

Vegetable kabobs are best enjoyed right off the grill while they are hot.

To store them, allow them to cool to room temperature. We recommend removing the vegetables from the skewers for easier storage. Refrigerate them in airtight containers for up to 3-4 days.

When ready to enjoy, you can reheat the kabobs on the grill, in the oven, or in a skillet until heated through. Keep in mind that the texture and flavors may change slightly upon reheating.

We don’t recommend freezing them.

FAQs

More veggie sides

You can browse through our vegan side dishes or check out