Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs

These tasty kabobs feature marinated tofu and colorful vegetables and pineapple, grilled to perfection, and served up with a finger-lickin-good sauce – great on their own or served with rice or tabbouleh. 

Happy Labor Day!!

In the United States, we celebrate the first Monday in September as Labor Day. It’s a day dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers and is an annual tribute for how they contribute to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. (DOL)

With summer winding down, I thought I’d share these delicious Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs sooner rather than later. They’re delicious, healthy, easy, and fun. And they’re a fantastic dinner option for late summer and early fall weather.

Oh how I love this time of year! It’s not too hot during the day and cooler in the evenings. And because it’s still technically summer, there are loads of fresh summer vegetables available and a few more days to make these delicious Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs.

Healthy exudes in every bite of these mouthwatering kabobs. There are loads of vegetables, including zucchini, yellow squash, purple onion, baby bella or white button mushrooms, and sweet bell peppers. Then there are two of my favorite fruits – fresh pineapple and grape tomatoes. They add acidity, color, flavor, and depth to these delicious Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs.

Next up is Super Firm Tofu. You can definitely use firm and extra firm tofu. You just need to drain the excess fluid out first. But I really like using a block of Super Firm Tofu since it’s ready to go and is perfect for these kabobs.

And finally, there’s a really great oil-free finger-licking’-good sauce. It’s incredibly flavorful and complements the kabobs perfectly. I especially love this sauce because it does two jobs. It first works as a tofu marinade and then that pineapple marinade turns into a lovely sauce.

And I promise the sauce can’t get easier – all you do is add peanuts to the pineapple marinade and voila! That delicious pineapple marinade marinade transforms into a Peanutty Pineapple Sauce. Not only do you have an easy and delicious marinade, you’ve got a scrumptious sauce packed with tons of flavor.

And best of all, these Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs are so much fun! And when I say fun, it really can be fun. If you have older kids, they can load the veggies and marinated tofu onto the skewers.

You could even make a friendly competition out of it like Gordon Ramsay does on MasterChef or MasterChef Jr. The contestants are required to do the same task over and over again and are judged according to the number of pieces they produce just like the model. This ensures you don’t end up with fast and unenjoyable kabobs. They do all the work for you and enjoy the process.

Granted, if you don’t have kids, it can be just as much fun. Well, okay, maybe not necessarily fun. But they are definitely easy to make and so colorful. I love how fun they look on the tray together.

Besides, the results are so worth it! One these kabobs are skewered, they’re ready to cook. I highly recommend placing them directly on a preheated grill. The smoke and fire from a grill add such incredible depth and aroma. I absolutely love grilled food for this very reason.

If you don’t have a grill or the weather isn’t favorable for grilling, I get it. Simply cook them in the oven or the stove. You can briefly use the broil setting to add some slight char marks.

I hope you enjoy these Grilled Tofu and Vegetable Kabobs as much as I do.  Please leave a comment, comment and rate it on my site https://pebblesandtoast.com , tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   I’m just starting out and would love to see your results.  Enjoy!!

Pineapple Marinade Ingredients

• 1½ cups fresh pineapple*, chopped
• ½ cup applesauce
• ¾ cup reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
• ¼-½ cup maple syrup** (optional)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic or rice wine vinegar (if using canned pineapple)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce***
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot starch (or 2 tsp cornstarch)
• ½-1 tsp chili-garlic sauce (use more for spicy, less for mild)
• Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• 16 ounce super-firm tofu (or extra-firm tofu, pressed****)

Peanutty Pineapple Sauce Ingredients

• reserved pineapple marinade
• ½ cup peanuts

Kabob Ingredients

• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms
• 1 purple onion, cut in 1-2 inch pieces (1 cup)
• 1 medium zucchini, cut in 1-2 inch pieces (1 cup)
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut in 1-2 inch pieces
• Wood*** or metal skewers
• Pineapple marinade remaining from marinated tofu 

Marinated Tofu Instructions

1. Add the Pineapple Marinade Ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

1. Pour the contents in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.  Set aside.

1. Cut the super-firm tofu into 1-1½ inch blocks and place in a pan with an air-tight lid or ziploc bag. I cut the block of tofu into thirds on its edge and into six pieces on the front. This provides 18 perfect size tofu blocks for 18 kabobs.

1. Pour ¾ cup of the marinade over the tofu; toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

1. Pour the remaining marinade back into the blender along with the peanuts; blend until smooth.
2. Store the Peanutty Pineapple Sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use, and up to 5 days.

Kabob Instructions

1. Preheat the grill to high or oven to 400° F.
2. Thread the marinated tofu blocks, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and pineapple onto the skewers.  (Keep the marinade!!)
3. Place the kabobs directly on the grill and baste with leftover marinade. Grill for about 30, rotating after about 15 minutes.  You know the kabobs are ready when nice grill marks show underneath and the vegetables begin to char.  If using the oven, place the kabobs on a wired baking rack on a baking sheet.  This allows air flow and uniformed cooking.  It also prevents a mess in your oven.
4. Serve kabobs with the Peanutty Pineapple Sauce and rice.

Notes

* Lord Sandy makes a vegan Worcestershire Sauce, available at my local grocer. 

** 16 ounce super-firm tofu (or extra-firm tofu or firm tofu, pressed)

*** If using wood skewers, consider soaking in water while marinating your tofu.  This will prevent them from scorching too quickly or catching on fire.

These kabobs are great with cooked rice, couscous, sorghum, tabbouleh, cracked bulgur, and more.