Ooooh these vegetable skewers (or kebabs) are so pretty!
I wasn’t sure what to call these, because naming conventions are different from place to place.
I think in South Africa we call them kebabs, but elsewhere they’re called skewers.
These vegetable skewers (kebabs) are beautifully colorful, deliciously roasted and served with a soy peanut dipping sauce.
There’s nothing like an array of colors in your food. That’s one way to know it’s healthy!
I knew I wanted to use tofu for these skewers but didn’t realize it would be a good idea to pre-bake the tofu.
So the first time I made these I just skewered the tofu directly on with the veg. And it wasn’t all that tasty.
The tofu came out pretty much the same as it went in, which wasn’t great.
So the next time I decided it would be good to bake it first. So I cut it into cubes and baked it for 15 minutes.
You have to soak the skewer sticks in water anyway (so they don’t catch on fire, you know – thin sticks of wood), so you might as well bake the tofu at the same time. And while that’s going on you can get busy chopping your veg.
Putting the pre-baked tofu onto the skewers along with the veg made all the difference here. The end result was crispy, browned and delicious.
The veg is very easy to prepare, I just cut them into pieces and tossed together in a bowl with toasted sesame oil, salt and black pepper.
When the tofu is baked, you just brush that with some sesame oil as well to keep things even and then thread the veg and tofu onto the skewers, place onto a parchment lined baking tray and then bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
It’s an easy, fun dish to make and serves two for a delicious entree. If you wanted to make this an appetizer you could, but I liked it as a main.
The soy peanut dipping sauce was simply divine and finishes off this dish perfectly.
I wasn’t sure if I made too much, because as it happened Jaye polished off his entire bowl of dipping sauce whereas I hardly made a dent in mine. If you think the same might happen to you, you can easily halve the sauce recipe.
I hope you’ll love these gorgeous vegetable skewers / kebabs, they are:
- Beautifully colorful
- Satisfying
- Healthy
- Served with soy peanut dipping sauce!
- Super easy!
Let me know what you think of these vegetable kebabs in the comments and if you have any questions fire away!
If you happen to make these, tag us #lovingitvegan on instagram so we can see!
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- For the Skewers:
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Zucchini (small)
- 10 Button Mushrooms
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper
- 12 oz (340g) Extra Firm Tofu
- 2 Thick Slices Pineapple (sliced into cubes)
- 3 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- 10 Wooden Skewer Sticks
- For the Soy Peanut Dipping Sauce:
- ½ cup (125g) Peanut Butter
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (use gluten-free if needed or switch for Tamari)
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Date Honey
- ¼ tsp Chili Spice
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- 4 Tbsp Hot Water
- Place the skewers into a shallow dish and cover with water and allow to soak for 15 minutes.
- Cut the tofu into large pieces and place onto a parchment lined baking tray and place into the oven to bake at 460°F (240°C) for 15 minutes.
- While the tofu is baking and the skewers are soaking, chop up the bell peppers into pieces (quite large so they can easily be threaded onto the skewers), and slice the zucchini into thick slices. Chop the pineapple slices into large chunks. The mushrooms and cherry tomatoes will stay whole.
- Toss the chopped veg, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in a bowl and add 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil, and some sea salt and black pepper and toss together so that everything is coated.
- When the tofu is ready, remove from the oven and brush with the remaining 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil.
- Thread the vegetables and tofu onto the skewers and place onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes.
- Prepare your dipping sauce by adding the peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup or date honey, chili and garlic spice together and whisking with a hand whisk to combine. Add hot water from the kettle and whisk to thin it out into the right consistency.
- Serve the vegetable skewers with a bowl of dipping sauce on the side.
Yummy, who needs meat?
Indeed!