Easy Grilled Vegetable Marinade

The best grilled vegetables

This easy grilled vegetable marinade makes veggies so tasty and delicious. With only 5 super flavorful ingredients, it will make any vegetable pop! This recipe is what I call a “quick marinade” because it has alot of acid and salt. Therefore it does not need to sit long to permeate the food and give it a big flavor boost. Tangy mustard, bright lemon and pungent garlic blended together make this easy, quick and tasty grilled vegetable marinade recipe your best tool to make delicious vegetables. Confession, this marinade is also great on chicken, fish or anything else that you want to grill. .

Why are grilled veggies the best veggies

Do you like vegetables? Be honest, do you ENJOY eating them or is it a chore? Eating veggies can be a struggle. My easy grilled vegetable marinade recipe will fix that. Since childhood we are programmed by media, and even our trusted adults. They tell us kids like sugary treats and fried foods and hate veggies. This is because many adults also find vegetables unappetizing. They boil vegetables and drown them in salt and butter to make them palatable. Vegetables are not prepared with the same love, reverence and creativity that is given to meats. This is why people don't like vegetables. They don't know how to prepare them so that they are tasty! Instead they cook veggies until mushy and flavorless which further propagates the "yucky" myth.

I LOVE vegetables. Somehow, against the odds, I always have. They fascinate me with their varying colors, textures and flavor profiles. I eat them raw, roasted, grilled. They delight me in salads, in stir fries or pastas or even a giant plate of perfectly seasoned greens. In my mind there is no better vehicle for a sauce than a perfectly cooked potato, asparagus spear or Brussel sprout that is retaining it's integrity. And there is no better flavor boost for vegetables then this, the best Grilled Vegetable Marinade Recipe.

I tip my hat to Chef Janice Chapler of Berkeley’s Westside Cafe for teaching me a variation of this Marinade recipe circa 2004. She was a major influence of my cooking and I am forever grateful. She taught me how to cook grains, vegetables, dressings and marinades, but most of all to trust the process when cooking.

Ingredients for the best grilled vegetable marinade

This marinade is made from pantry ingredients that most people have on hand.

• dijon mustard
• lemons
• garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

How to make this easy marinade

This marinade comes together very quickly. You can make the process even quicker by using a food processor or blender.

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth
• Use this for any grilled seasonal vegetables you like. My faves are asparagus, zuchinni, mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, corn on the cob, cauliflower. Just toss the cut veggies in the large bowl until well coated and let them sit while you fire up the grill.

Tips for making the best grilled vegetables

• This recipe yields around ½ cup of marinade which really goes a long way. Since it is so very flavorful, you do not need a lot. It is enough for several pounds of  mixed vegetables.
• You may make several times the recipe and keep in a jar for quick marinating through the week. This marinade will be good for 2 weeks when stored in a sealed jar and refrigerated.
• Cut the vegetables large enough so they do not slip through the grates.
• Do not flip vegetables until they have grill marks, 3-5 minutes per side depending on your grill. If you flip too often the vegetables will not get seared properly and will end up mushy. Cook vegetables until they are about 75% cooked and then take them off the grill. They will continue cooking after removed from the heat just like a steak would.
• Grilled vegetables should be eaten within 3 days

Recipes that use grilled vegetables

• Mediterranean Farro Salad
• Mediterranean Grazing Mezze