I love grilled vegetables. I have tried a few different skewer recipes but wanted to focus on a base recipe for my summer rotation. After doing some research, I found some secrets to grilling veggie skewers to perfection.
Here are the top 5:
1. Soak the skewers
The first time I made grilled vegetable skewers someone asked if I soaked the wood skewers first. I was like, “why?” Then I was told that if you don’t soak them in water first they can burn. So I quickly got on it!
So don’t forget to soak wood skewers for at least 30 minutes before adding the veggies.
2. Chop the veggies in uniform pieces
You can grill almost any vegetable but the key to cooking each evenly is cutting them into uniform pieces. I make a 1-inch square visual and try to stay true to it when chopping. For mushrooms, I just cut off the stumps, peppers are small squares and onions are wedges. They may be in different shapes but they are all about the same size and thickness.
3. Create a base marinade
Using oil and acid mixed with garlic and spices works nicely. I like a 1/3 cup oil to 2 Tbsp. lemon juice ratio. In the recipe below, I add in garlic, salt, and my Italian spice mix. But any herbs or spices you prefer (fresh or dried) will work. If I can get my act together, I try to make the marinade the day before so the flavors can really meld.
4. Marinade in a glass pan
I got this idea off this YouTube video. Mix veggies with marinade in a 9X13 glass dish and cover for at least an hour. When you take out the vegetables, put them on skewers and keep them in the glass dish.
5. Grill and brush with drippings
The nice thing about marinating vegetables is the leftover drippings are totally usable, In other words, it’s not tainted by raw meat. Simply dip a brush in the leftover marinade in the glass dish and coat veggies while grilling.
- 8-10 wood or bamboo skewers
- 2 medium zucchini
- ½ pound mushrooms
- 1 red and 1 yellow pepper
- 2 yellow squash
- ½ red onion
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- Soak the skewers in water for 30 minutes.
- Wash and chop vegetables in uniform pieces. Cut stems off mushrooms, chop hard veggies in same round thickness, and cut onions into wedges.
- Make marinade and mix with the veggies in a 9X13-inch glass dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Thread veggies onto skewers, alternating colors, and place back in the glass dish.
- Grill vegetable son medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, turning and periodically basting with leftover marinade.
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