Delicious Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe
Looking for an awesome grilled vegetables marinade recipe that pairs perfectly with chicken or steak? Look no further for an easy veggie marinade recipe that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
Have you been known to peruse Pinterest just to look at beautiful, mouthwatering recipes to try?
I certainly have!
Okay – I’ll ‘fess up. I admit that I have hundreds of amazing recipes saved in hopes of trying them out some day. There are just too many amazing and delicious recipes out there!
But I am one of those people who actually makes a lot of the Pinterest recipes that I find! So it’s justified, right?
When I became a blogger, I had no intention of becoming a food blogger.
Psst! If you need help with nutrition, check out my online nutrition for weight loss course!
Though I absolutely love and appreciate food bloggers, I didn’t see myself as a recipe developer partially just because of my poor food photography skills.
But as I have started to focus on blog growth as well as fine-tuning my own nutrition, I have decided to try doing more recipes!
Currently, I have a BCAA popsicle recipe, mandarin beef zoodle recipe, easy egg muffin cup recipe, and a few others.
But today, as summer sunshine filters through my windows, I am venturing into the world of BBQ with my grilled vegetables marinade recipe.
I can’t wait to share it with you!
While you are totally welcome to skip ahead to the recipe, I do have some tips and tricks when it comes to this recipe.
So if you want the best possible outcome and are looking to get it right the first time, you might want to keep reading here!
This recipe, like most of my recipes, does have a backstory. 🙂
I called it Mom’s Favorite Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe for a reason, after all!
One day almost a decade ago, my future mother-in-law, myself, and the rest of the family were out to dinner at a buffet.
Both my MIL and myself picked this FANTASTIC grilled veggie dish for part of our dinners. It was so good that we were immediately obsessed and couldn’t stop talking about it.
It had mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and a few other veggies in a yummy, slightly sweet marinade. My MIL liked the veggie dish so much that she decided to ask the chef for the recipe.
(I would absolutely never be brave enough to do that, but I’m glad SHE did!)
While she wasn’t able to get the exact measurements or specifics, the chef was able to give her a few pointers. There was honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and a few spices involved.
So my MIL went home and played with the recipe for awhile until she was able to replicate that amazing veggie dish.
Then, when she did, she gave me a recipe card with this exact marinade for vegetables on the grill! Even then, she knew me well enough to know it was already one of my faves!
Here’s the original recipe card for evidence. 😉 Actually, I have it written down twice because that’s just the sort of thing that happens when you find a recipe you don’t want to forget!
Related Reading: 10 Most Helpful Kitchen Tools For Weight Loss
New Favorite Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe
If you are into seasonal eating, you’ll especially love my version of this recipe.
Even though it can be used for many different vegetables, I think the combo of onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers does it most justice.
If you have fresh zuchs and peppers from your garden in the summer, even better! As a veggie-gardening plant lady myself, there is nothing better.
Related Reading: Tropical Island Green Smoothie Recipe
Anyway, like I mentioned, you definitely can use other veggies as you like.
However, there is something about the sweet and earthy flavors as well as the absorbency of these particular veggies that just goes super well with this particular marinade.
How Long Should I Marinate Vegetables Before Grilling?
You NEED these veggies to get a good soak in to truly appreciate this recipe. That is, if you want the flavor to really seep in rather than cook out as soon as the grill gets hot!
The length of time that you choose to marinate your veggies depends on the type of veggies and how porous they are.
For this recipe, I always aim for at least one hour of refrigerated marination. If I’m really trying to impress, I’ll do closer three hours.
Honestly, it’s just a matter of me remembering to prep the veggies in time for a good soak. 🙂
Since the veggies I suggest using are dense and juicy on their own when cooked, I definitely suggest a longer marinating time.
If you are just learning how to marinate vegetables for barbecue, maybe you’ll err on the side of caution. You decide!
Tips For The Best Marinated Grilled Vegetables
While you can make this recipe in foil, I love that smoky, charred flavor that a grill basket allows for.
For this recipe, I either use a simple grill basket, or my handy little BBQ pizza pan.
BTW, we just got a Traeger and the flavor is just SOOOO good. I didn’t even know this recipe could get better, but it did thanks to the pellet flavor and smokiness!
This also makes a good vegetable marinade for kabobs! You would just want to keep your veggie chunks bigger and maybe consider marinating them a little longer.
It would also probably work great on grilled chicken, but I like to have a couple of different flavors at each meal, so that’s your choice!
Okay, let’s get to it!
On this particular day, I didn’t have any bell peppers. (But highly suggest to pepper/mushroom/onion/zucchini combo.) So keep that in mind while looking at the pics!
Delicious Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe (Mom’s Favorite)
*Note – all ingredient amounts are just suggestions. You really can “eyeball” it and adjust to your liking. We like this a little on the sweeter side, so we add just a bit more syrup!
Ingredients
- 1-2 ripe zucchinis
- 1 medium onion (yellow or sweet are both good!)
- 8-12 oz Baby bella mushrooms
- 2-3 sweet bell peppers of choice
- 1/4 cup Maple syrup (may substitute honey)
- 3-4 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar (may sub balsamic vinaigrette in a pinch)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Minced garlic
- Italian blend seasoning to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
First up, wash all of your veggies well. Next, chop them up to your liking. The smaller the veggies, the more quickly they will cook on the grill. (And the better coated they will be when it’s marinating time.)
However, make sure to choose your veggie size depending on your grill basket or other grilling tools. I highly recommend a grill basket like this one but you can also use a BBQ pizza pan or baking sheet if needed.
Now put all of your veggies together in a bowl or big Ziploc bag.
I like to do the Ziploc bag so that I can easily flip everything while marinating, but you can just use a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap too. You’ll just need to stir the veggies about halfway through your marinating time.
Easy enough, right? Next up you’ll just dump all of the other ingredients right on top of the vegetables and stir/shake!
Seriously, it’s that easy.
Like I mentioned before, I like to go on the sweeter side with this marinade, so if it’s smelling a bit too “vinegary” then I just add a little bit more syrup.
(You will have to trust me on the syrup thing. It’s SO good.)
That’s it! Now all you have to do is cover the mixture if you haven’t already and refrigerate for 1-3 hours. You don’t want things soggy and droopy, so don’t go much longer than that.
Tip: If your veggies are marinating in a bowl, all of the juice will seep to the bottom. Make sure to give things a good stir about halfway through.
After that, you really just have to dump all of your yummy veggies into a grill basket and let everything cook for 20-30 minutes.
Your cooking time will vary based on grill temperature and your preference for doneness. (I do about 20 minutes.)
I like my zucchini cooked ALL the way through and I also love a good charred flavor. That being said, I typically cook my grilled vegetables a little longer.
It is seriously delicious.
And that’s it friends! I hope you enjoy my grilled vegetables marinade recipe.
Have a great summer!
-Chantal
Delicious Grilled Vegetables Marinade Recipe
Equipment
- 1 grill basket or similar
Ingredients
- 1-2 large ripe zucchinis
- 1 medium onion
- 8-12 oz Baby Bella mushrooms
- 2-3 sweet bell peppers
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 3-4 T Balsamic vinegar
- 1 T olive oil
- 1-2 T minced garlic
- Italian seasoning blend to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash all vegetables and chop.
- Place all of your veggies together in a bowl or big Ziploc bag.
- Dump the remaining ingredients on top of vegetables and stir/shake.
- Marinade for 1-3 hours, stirring once about halfway through.
- Grill and serve!
