Welcome to barbeque season! Have you fired up the grill yet? I’ve been collecting some easy barbecue recipes to have on hand for July and August because we’re renovating our kitchen at the end of July. I’m doing a happy dance for the Future Kitchen, but I’ll be mourning the loss of Current Kitchen for several weeks. How’s a food blogger gonna get by? Well, I have a plan, my friends. Rather than abandoning the blog for 5-6 weeks, I’ve been setting aside recipes in advance that I can post during the renovation. I’m also setting aside recipes for late September/October while I’m soaking up time with our new baby. So, if things seem a bit quieter around here lately, that’s because I’ve been working hard sneaking away recipes for the upcoming months (you might see sneak peeks on Instagram though). I’m hoping this will help make these upcoming transitions a bit smoother!
Oh, and if any of you have any suggestions for “kitchen-free” or barbeque meals to make during a kitchen renovation, I welcome them with open arms. I have a feeling the spiralizer and Vitamix are going to get lots of use. We don’t own a microwave, but I’m wondering if I should invest in a hot plate to have on hand. Of course, lots of barbeque action will be going down too. This was a great one to kick off the season.
Vegan Green Goddess Dressing with Grilled Veggie Kabobs
Yield
about 3/4 cup dressing
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This recipe is adapted from my first attempt at a vegan Green Goddess dressing a few years ago. The former version was quite different from the original Goddess Dressing recipe, so this time I wanted to make something a bit more similar to the original using the same herbs (tarragon and chives) and a bit of egg-free mayo for an authentic flavour. I also added in some fresh avocado to give it a lovely creamy texture while giving it a boost of healthy fats. You can use this tangy and fresh dressing so many ways, but we especially love it spooned over grilled veggie kabobs. It's also lovely on a wrap, as a dip, or on a veggie burger.
Ingredients
FOR THE DRESSING:
- 1 small garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
- 4 tablespoons fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons egg-free mayo (I use soy-free Veganaise)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup avocado flesh (1/2 a small avocado)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE KABOBS:
- Bell peppers
- Red onion
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- For the dressing: Mince the garlic in a food processor. Now add in the tarragon and chives and process until minced. Finally, add in the rest of the ingredients and process until the dressing is smooth (or just about). Adjust seasonings to taste if desired. Dressing can be used immediately or stored in the fridge (in a sealed container) for 3-4 days.
- For the kabobs: Preheat the BBQ over medium-low heat. Chop vegetables into desired sizes and place on vegetable skewers. Brush oil on veggies to coat all sides and season with salt and pepper. Grill the kabobs for around 15 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes. We grilled for the first 10 minutes on the top rack and then moved them to the bottom rack for the last 3-5 minutes.
- Serve kabobs immediately with a drizzle of dressing on top.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Happy grilling!
Ohh I’m excited for you for the future kitchen, how exciting! Hope you post pictures when it’s all done : )
I’m sorry I just hallucinated and thought you said you don’t have a microwave. Kudos to you. I don’t know how I’d survive without mine for the smaller jobs while I’ve got everything else fired up. The grill will be your best friend for sure. When we had a hurricane a few years ago, we were without power for a week and I grilled everything from seafood to chocolate croissants that rose in an hour in 100 degree heat! :-)
Can’t wait to see the new kitchen!
hah…it was a bit of an adjustment at first, but 3 years later I don’t even notice not having one anymore. :)
How do you usually heat up leftovers? Stove or toaster oven? Steamer?
I am very excited to try these veggie kabobs this summer! I can’t get enough of BBQ season (my fav being bbq’d eggplant!). If I was stuck without a stove for a bit I’d be making lots of overnight oats, smoothies and salads! Good luck with the reno’s!
These Eurodib induction burners are extremely helpful! You might want to pick up one for boiling water and reheating leftovers: http://reviews.costco.ca/2070-en_ca/10330620/eurodib-single-induction-cooker-reviews/reviews.htm
Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.
I love kitchen remodels. Can’t wait to see yours! I also am loving the BBQ idea. I am excited to get some more summer grilling recipes!
Love this Green Goddess recipe, Angela! I really like the vegan take.
I don’t have a microwave either! I really want a BBQ though. We don’t have a yard or balcony…only a fire escape, but some neighbours illegally have ginormous BBQs out there, so I think I might have to do the same soon. Everyone just pulls them inside once a year when the fire marshal comes for inspection haha!
Excited for your new kitchen! and hopefully the remodel goes smoothly and quickly and isn’t too much of a pain in the butt :D
Your smile in that photo just caught me!
It makes me happy. Thanks!
And a lovely recipe I must try this summer
…and make all the meat-eaters jeaulous…or share, maybe :D.
There is nothing better then grilled veggies on the BBQ. Yum! I have company coming this weekend so I think I might attempt this dressing. It looks delish! Love your necklace too by the way!
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Love grilled veggies and I need at least 3 bowls of that dip, just for myself! It looks delish – pinned!
Love the look of these kabobs – so colourful and so tasty!
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I vote for a toaster oven, more specifically a convection toaster oven. I find we use ours a lot…as much, if not more than, the oven and BBQ.
On a side note…the way you are carrying, you are totally having a boy!
I second the convection toaster oven! I thought it would be a huge waste of counter space but it’s one of my most used appliances, only second to my Vitamix and coffeemaker. I very rarely turn on the oven anymore.
This looks so good! I’ve been trying to think of what to bbq, that my husband will love too and this fits the bill for sure! Can’t wait to see photos of the new kitchen, so fun!
Wow. I would never live without a microwave. I use it at least 5x/day!
I’m honestly not usually the biggest fan of grilled veggies, but these look absolutely delicious with all the different types, colors, and sauce–I will (hopefully) be trying these at a BBQ this summer for something different!
Yum!
Any replacement ingredient for the vegan mayonnaise? I am not a fan of the processed stuff! Maybe more avocado?
Thanks for sharing!!
Yup, I would say use more avocado – probably only need another 1/4-1/3 cup? The flavour will change though so you might need to adjust the other ingredients.
I believe there’s a recipe for homemade mayo in the cookbook, too, no? #ohsheglowsforlife!
Yes there is! Thanks for reminding me…I forgot to put that as an option in the recipe. :)
Ooooh this looks so delicious! I cant wait to get back to my boyfriends house to be able to grill! This would be so perfect, and that dressing looks divine. I would just have to add some carbs in there to fuel up for my runs. Love the colors in this :)
These look so good! I love simple grilled veggies – can’t get any better than that! Definitely want to try that dressing – yum!
Ooooo a new kitchen?! What style kitchen is it? I feel like I spend my life in the kitchen, but then again that is where some of the best memories are made! Tarragon is not a herb I use very often, I am looking forward to testing out this recipe, looks fabulous.
We’re going for white & bright. I’d say the style is classic and transitional (a nice compromise between modern and traditional).
I don’t use tarragon much either, but it really impressed me in this recipe! I’ll have to start growing some.
I started liking tarragon in Ricki Heller’s grilled vegetable salad (rickiheller.com/2010/07/salad-days-2-grilled-vegetable-salad-with-fresh-tarragon-dressing/). I’m hoping I’ll appreciate the tarragon just as much in this recipe, which looks much more appetising than the original! I’m looking forward to trying this out =)
The dressing sounds amazing, imagining what else I could use it on. And these kabobs are so perfect for summer. Love ’em!
I love grilling veggie kebabs on the BBQ. Loving the look of the sauce. I usually just drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar on them.
I’m looking forward to seeing the new kitchen photos.
Now this is my kind of kabob! Can’t wait to make it! The dressing sounds delicious! I’m also going to grill some fresh corn & add the dressing on top. I have your cookbook & I absolutely love it! Thank you for everything! =)
Outdoor dutch oven cooking is a summer fave in my family! An aluminum pan with hot coals on a safe cement area of the backyard, set the dutch oven on the coals, let it cook away! There are so many things you can make, and it will taste like you’re camping!
That dressing looks delicious! I like how you used avocados- one of my favorites! I love grilled veggies! This is perfect for summer!
I can’t wait to try this dressing–it looks delicious! And I love your necklace!!
Thanks Heather! :) I love using bright necklaces to add a pop to black clothing.
Kebabs are my ABSOLUTE favorite!!!! The street food here is alwayssss selling some or the other kind of kebabs!!!! But veggie ones are pretty hard to find! This is simply AMAZING!!!!!!! And that dressing is CALLING my name!!!!!
Pre-cook and freeze lots of grains + beans for easy re-heating. Invest in a pizza or grilling stone that is grill-safe for kebabs, pizza, socca…anything! An induction burner would be a great investment, but still use caution since the surface still retains heat for a bit after cooking. And you should probably bake and freeze at least 4 batches of cookies to have on hand at all times, which would be great re-heated in a toaster oven…! :) good luck…the new kitchen will be worth it.
love your ideas – having frozen cooked beans and grains on hand is a great idea! I imagine that I could throw together a burrito “salad” in some tin foil and heat it on the BBQ. Mmm!
I like to line my foil parcels with baking paper so that the aluminium doesn’t end up in the food or my body…then I don’t have to worry so much about detoxing it out again.
Wow, this is one of your best-looking recipes for sure! I’ve had LOTS to eat today, yet the mere sight of these kabobs was enough to make me drool. I’ll certainly make this in the near future. Like tomorrow.
It’s so great the way you manage the blog, thinking of your readers even when you’re at your busiest. All your hard work is much appreciated!
Any type of green goddess dressing has my name written all over it! Good luck with the renos!
This looks so delicious. Since we have finally some good weather in Calgary, I could actually this out.. yumm!
We do not have a microwave either. It has been about two years now and I don’t even miss it. Angela, you have such a cute little belly. Enjoy this amazing time in your life!
A BBQ is totally on our wishlist although we are totally working on simple meals lately. These salsa chickpea tacos were super easy and a real hit: tastespace.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/salsa-chickpea-tacos/
I see a lot of salads in your future! I look forward to your new quickie meals. :)
I went about 4 months without a kitchen during our remodel (don’t be surprised in 6 weeks turns into 7 and then 8…).
We also don’t have a microwave but we did get a toaster oven which was nice. I made all the simple soups from therawtarian.com in my Vitamix- they are all quick and have just a few ingredients: cashews+water+(mushrooms or celery or tomatoes)+ Herbamare +a clove of garlic. I also did a lot of mock salads, like “tuna” with mashed chickpeas, celery, tahini or cashew mayo, and kelp flakes, served on romaine or as a sandwich. And if you have Hilary’s Burgers at you grocery store, they have a super clean ingredient list and you can make them in a toaster. And forget shopping at the farmers market for veggies that need cleaning and prepping – bagged washed produce will be your friend! We did break down and get a hot plate after a few months. We did eventually get a hot plate, but it was nice to eat so much food for a while there. So it might be a good time to up your raw food ratio too :)
These look awesome, so fresh and easy! And I love that they’re also Paleo and gluten-free…and that my husband would eat and potentially even help make. Thanks for sharing!
These look great. We have a grill basket and just pile veggies in it for dinner. Marinate some portabellos and half tomatoes and you’ve got it made. We’ve already made your roasted Buddha bowl in the BBQ this year, broccoli cauliflower and chickpeas all together in the grill basket. Turned out great.
The green goddess dressing looks like an amazing addition to kebabs! Will have to try that this weekend.
I recently had my kitchen renovated- a month without a kitchen is hard. I am living overseas right now too, so there is no Whole Foods hot bar or anything remotely like it! I came up with some pretty inventive ways to steam veggies using boiling water and glass containers, and made a lot of salads with beans. I do have a convection oven though (size of a microwave), so I also was able to roast veggies. And, a lot of veggies went into my blender!
Yummy! Love grilled veggies. Nothing better. The green goddess dressing sounds perfect as a condiment for the veggies!
Those kabobs look amazing! My husband is obsessed with his new BBQ and our first backyard :) I’ve used hotel sinks and mini fridges to make smoothies, salads and snacks, but not for 6 weeks lol Wishing you lots of luck :)
These sound awesome Ange! Summer is all about the grill for me and I think food tastes so much better on the BBQ than out of the oven! One of my favourite things to have on the grill is pineapple drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon. You basically just grill it on a metal rack, placed on top of the grates of the BBQ. As far as recipes go for when the baby is around, I know Jenna (from Eat Live Run) posted a bunch of the ones she made and froze not long ago. I can’t remember how many of them were vegan but since you’re a super creative kitchen goddess, I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard for you to adapt them!
I love eating kabobs and summer is just the perfect time to enjoy these beauties!
Angela,
If you can barbeque things that look this good, you’ll be all set for kitchen reno’s. I was without one for a few months last year, and vast quantities of peanut butter were consumed! But, being constrained by lack of appliances will actually cause your creativity to flourish…you just may surprise yourself!
During that time, I couldn’t live without a kettle. Lots of calming tea, and homemade quick oatmeal. You can cook pasta by letting it soak in boiling water for a period of time & then draining. For the best corn, fresh from a roadside stand: clean the corn, put in the cooler, dump a kettle full of boiling water on it, and give it 30 minutes. Your large family backyard barbeques will forever be changed. Good luck!!
When my parents renovated, they cooked on their Coleman gas camp stove outside. You seem like a camping type :-) and once the baby is here, it will probably be easier to car camp than backpack, so the Coleman might be nice to have around (if you don’t have one already!) http://www.coleman.com/product/dual-fueltrade-2-burner-stove/3000000788?contextCategory=2020#.U5ezzl4WfQU
I think it’s so funny, because two summers ago when I was pregnant, I was traveling for the whole summer and I emailed you for ideas of what to eat! Now here you are pregnant and about to be kitchenless! At least you’ll have a fridge, right? :-) And hot water? And a place to clean dishes? I hope? Good luck!
And I second the comment that said, Thanks so much for thinking of your readers and planning ahead! It’s always fun to find a new post here; it would be so sad for you to just go quiet for weeks!! Even if you don’t have a recipe–post anyway, please!
hehe I remember that email! Too funny. Thanks for your tips. I’m sure we’ll get by just fine!
Oh yes we have been grilling! This sounds awesome! We are trying to eat more vegetables anyway and my husband has a harder time with it than me. Sauces are going to be the answer for us I believe.
Congratulations on the kitchen reno! I have heard people use their grills for a lot of their food prep during renos, also freezing lots of leftovers. Wow y’all have a lot of life changes going on this summer. Totally exciting!
We managed without a kitchen for 8 weeks with an outdoor grill and a slow cooker – the latter for oatmeal, soup, curry, etc. Even made a cake in it – delicious, though it was reluctant to leave the pan. You’ll be amazed what you can cook in there and it’ll be great for after the baby arrives, as you can time shift your cooking. Good luck with it all.
So excited to see the new kitchen- PLEASE do a tour when it’s done!
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baby bump! :-))
Congrats on the new kitchen! How exciting! One of my favorite non-stove tools, besides my grill, is my crockpot. It’s actually a pressure cooker/ crockpot combo, but the pressure cooker part has never worked right. However, the crock itself is metal, and the thing has a browning setting, so I can get it really hot. Hot enough to sautee or boil water. It’s also great because it gets my slow-cooker things up to temp quickly (I’m paranoid about food poisoning). You might look into something like that.
Have you considered getting an Instant Pot? I think if I had a grill, toaster oven and Instant Pot, I wouldn’t really need a stove!
You can make a lot more than just regular grilled item on the grill – although it’s not the most efficient heat mechanism, you can make skillet breads, stir-frys, campfire style stews, and simple soups (just have long gloves and tongs/grill utensils. In the summer it seems most of our meals are some grilled item on top of a salad with some grilled bread of some sort.
I’m glad you were able to manage the renovation now. We redid the kitchen ourselves when baby #1 was about 2 years old. It was completely fine, although we literally were running/sprinting through paint/appliance/floor install during naps, because one of us was always on duty with baby at the other times. It’s easier to accomplish big projects at this point.
These look awesome – love me some grilled veggies in summer! And I love the baby bump shots :) Also, great for you for being proactive about the renovation and thinking of your readers – you rock!
But I do have a recipe/substitution question: I can’t eat avocados (I know, bummer…) – they make me really ill so I try to avoid them at all costs – what kind of substitute could I use for this dressing? Usually in other recipes where avocado is present, I can just leave it out, but this one seems to really depend on the avocado. Thanks so much!