Grilled Veggie Skewers with Smoky Chile Vinaigrette

Here’s a simple recipe for Veggie Skewers, an absolutely delicious side dish or vegan main for grilling season. Serve with a green chile vinaigrette made with minced garlic and smoked paprika. Healthy, easy, and so good!

This recipe was first posted on July 2, 2019 and last updated on May 16, 2022.

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Now that our vegetable garden is successfully planted, I’m stockpiling recipes that will use up all the bountiful produce destined to grow (fingers crossed). I’ve got eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, and lots of them.  Recipes that use a ton of veggies are where it’s at this summer!

Making vegetable skewers or vegetable kabobs is pretty basic and flexible. You can use just about any vegetable you like but what makes these veggie skewers special is the smoky green chile vinaigrette that gets spooned over the top right after you pull them off the grill.

More To Explore

Grilled Asparagus with Chunky Olive Dressing

Grilled New Potatoes with Garlic and Chives

Grilled Saffron Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Aioli

Ingredients For Vegetable Skewers

The vegetables listed here are my favorite combination but honestly you could use just about anything. All veggies benefit from being caramelized by the grill’s intense heat. Below are a few suggestions:

• Red onion or white onion.
• Yellow bell peppers or red bell peppers.
• Zucchini or patty pan squash.
• Summer squash or chayote.
• Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant
• Crimini mushrooms or portobellos.
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Canned diced green chiles
• Lime juice
• Chopped cilantro
• Smoked paprika
• Bamboo skewers, or metal skewers. Depending on the size of your skewers you will need 10-12.

How to make Vegetable Skewers on Grill

step one

Soak skewers. If you are using wooden skewers soak them in water for at least 15 minutes before grilling vegetables. I like to use these reusable metal skewers that don’t need soaking.

step two

Prep veggies. There’s no real science here just try to make them all the same size so they cook evenly and can stack nicely. The more dense vegetables like onion and peppers take longer to cook so can be thinner than the less dense ones like zucchini. See recipe for more detailed instructions on how I like to cut them. Pack the vegetables tightly together, they will shrink as they cook.

step three

Marinate and skewer vegetables. Toss the vegetables with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl so each vegetable is nicely seasoned then thread them onto the skewers. Stay away from sweet ingredients in marinades. Honey, brown sugar, and even balsamic vinegar will burn on the grill.

Once the veggies are ready, heat the grill. You can skewer the vegetables up to 4 hours in advance. Keep them covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill.

step four

Make vinaigrette. While grill is heating, stir all the ingredients together for the vinaigrette. Vinaigrette can be made up to 3 days in advance.

step five

Grill the skewers. Once the grill is hot, grill the skewers until veggies are tender and lightly charred, about 20 minutes.

step six

Serve. Transfer grilled vegetable kabobs to a serving platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette while still hot. Serve immediately.

What to serve with Grilled Veggie Skewers?

Spooning this smoky, slightly spicy green chile vinaigrette over the warm vegetable skewers grilled and still sizzling takes them to the next level.

The dressing combines chiles with smoked paprika, fresh lime juice, garlic, and olive oil for a dressing that whips up in minutes. Be sure to make extra, you’ll want to have all week for drizzling over grilled fish, rice bowls, really just about anything.

You can serve the veggie skewers as a vegan main course. They make amazing tacos or serve with our favorite Coconut-Cilantro Rice and The Best Pinto Beans. These vegetable skewers also make an amazing side with other grilled goodies like:

• Cuban Grilled Chicken
• Brown Sugar and Chipotle-Rubbed Salmon
• Red Wine and Garlic Marinated London Broil
• Garlic Cilantro Grilled Pork Chops
• Grilled Fish Tacos with Sweet Corn Salsa
• Sticky Jalapeño and Cherry Grilled Chicken
• Citrus Chicken Fajitas

What are the best vegetables to use for skewers?

As I said, you can use essentially any vegetable for kabobs.

There are certain vegetables however that will need to be blanched first. Baby potatoes, Brussels sprouts, or any other dense vegetable will need to be cooked in boiling, salted water until just barely tender then drained and submerged in ice water to stop the cooking. After that you can marinate, skewer them and grill.

The most important thing to keep in mind is you want the pieces to be the same size, that way they cook evenly.

Don’t skip the marinating step. Toss the vegetables in garlic, oil and season them with salt and pepper before threading them on the skewers. This way the vegetables get seasoned throughout. If you skewer them and then drizzle with oil, salt, and pepper only the outer edges get any love.

More Plant-Based Recipes To Try

• Authentic Chile Relleno Recipe
• Arroz Blanco {Mexican White Rice with Veggies}
• Best Ever Canned Black Beans
• Instant Pot Mexican Rice
• Authentic Mexican Chilaquiles with Scrambled Eggs
• Veracruz-Style Hominy Recipe
• Vegan Ceviche with Avocado and Lime

The Best Grilled Veggie Skewers Of Summer

There’s nothing better than slightly charred, smokey grilled veggies and topped with this green chile vinaigrette really takes these over the top! Let me know when you make them by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating) ! Also, sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

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