Vegetarian BBQ Menu

This vegetarian BBQ menu is built around colorful veggie skewers — tomatoes, onion, Portobello mushrooms and bell peppers, dusted with sweet paprika, salt and pepper, then grilled until smoky and tender. It is light, naturally vegan and gluten-free, and the kind of spread that wins over meat-eaters without anyone missing the meat. If you want a cookout that feels generous but stays diet-friendly, start here.

This was the first time I made a vegetarian BBQ and it was a success! Even my non-veg friends enjoyed it. I also made a huge salad bowl to round it out, but unfortunately I didn’t take any pics — I was just starving and not in the mood for a photo session. The skewers below are the heart of the menu, and they are about as easy as grilling gets.

What goes on the skewers

The veggie list is short on purpose, because at a BBQ you want the smoke and char to do the seasoning. Tomatoes bring juiciness and a little acidity, the big onion turns sweet and jammy over the coals, the Portobello mushrooms add the meaty, savory bite that keeps non-vegetarians happy, and the bell peppers contribute color and a soft, blistered sweetness. Sweet paprika, salt and pepper are all the seasoning you need. Choose firm, ripe tomatoes that will hold together on the skewer, and look for Portobellos with tight, dry caps rather than soft or slimy ones.

How to grill them right

Chop the vegetables into chunks of roughly the same size and thread them onto skewers so everything cooks at the same pace. Cut the onion and peppers a bit smaller than the tomatoes and mushrooms, since the denser pieces need more time over the heat. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes first so they do not burn through. Grill over medium-hot coals, turning the skewers so each side picks up color, and pull them off when the peppers and onion are softened and lightly charred and the mushrooms feel tender. Tomatoes will be the most fragile, so handle the skewers gently when you turn them.

Why the mushrooms make this work

Portobellos are the reason a vegetable skewer can satisfy people who came for burgers. As they cook, their high moisture content concentrates and the natural glutamates deliver a deep, savory, almost meaty flavor — the same umami quality that makes grilled mushrooms so addictive. The dry heat of the grill drives off water and lets the surface caramelize, which is exactly what you want. That is also why crowding too many wet vegetables on one skewer can leave them steamed instead of charred, so give each piece a little breathing room.

The rest of the BBQ spread

The skewers are the centerpiece, but the original menu had a few more easy hits worth grilling alongside them. Grilled Portobello caps on their own, brushed with a little oil, make a great burger-style filling. Potatoes wrapped and cooked right in the hot embers come out fluffy inside with a smoky skin. And crispy pita bread is almost effortless: just place the pita over the still-hot wood ash and leave it there for a couple of minutes until it crisps up. A big salad bowl on the side keeps the whole thing fresh and light.

Make-ahead, storage and what to serve with it

You can chop the vegetables and thread the skewers a few hours ahead, then keep them covered in the fridge until the coals are ready — this is a lifesaver when you are hosting. Leftover grilled veggies keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days and are lovely cold, tossed into a grain bowl or chopped into a salad the next day. To turn this into a fuller meal, serve the skewers with a hearty side like vegetarian Serbian rice pilaf or pair them with vegetarian mushroom dolmas for a Mediterranean-style table. If you want to lean into more grilled comfort food another day, my azuki bean veggie burgers are a natural match for the same crowd, and a glass of sea buckthorn juice keeps everyone refreshed.

I’d love to discover other healthy, veg recipes for BBQ, so if you try these skewers please rate the recipe and leave a comment with how they turned out — and tell me your favorite veggie to throw on the grill. Let me know what you think!

Frequently Asked Questions