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!
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!