These Marinated Oven Roasted Kebabs are a great item to make ahead and have ready to pop in the oven when you get home from work.
Do you love kebabs made with flavorful marinated mushrooms, peppers, onions and tofu?
Me too. These are made in the oven. I use sil-mats for easy cleanup, you can also use parchment paper. I love having these hearty, roasted kebabs prepped, it means good eats are in my future. Past me doing nice things for future me is pretty cool.
The tofu is frozen, then thawed, pressed and then marinated:
Why? Because freezing it first turns it into a magic sponge ready to soak up flavor. All the flavor.
I sometimes ask myself why I went so long without a tofu press. I now have a great compact, vise-style tofu press, it’s light and fast. We’ve saved on paper towels since acquiring this press.
While enjoying hot pot at The Bronze Empire, we had the tofu sampler as part of our hot pot ingredients. They brought us “frozen tofu”, meaning tofu that had previously been frozen. This seemed strange initially, but then it all made sense! It was frozen, then thawed and pressed. This was great in the hot pot because the tofu became a vehicle for soaking up hot pot flavor.
So, I froze some tofu, thawed it, pressed it and used it for marinated kebabs. It’s awesome. I highly recommend freezing the tofu. And it really doesn’t add much work to the recipe. You can freeze and thaw the tofu (leaving it in the fridge) until you are ready to open it and press it for the marinade.
About oil
Since you will be putting these beautiful kebabs/kebobs in the oven, a high smoke point oil is recommended. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is great for salad dressing, aioli and dipping bread in. However, it has a low smoke point. Extra Virgin Olive oil is not recommended for high heat situations like high oven temps, grilling and Sautéing. For high heat, I go with regular not-virgin (giggle, giggle) olive oil or avocado oil.
Skewers
If you are using bamboo skewers, it’s important to soak them first, I recommend soaking the skewers overnight. I use metal skewers and I love how easily the kebobs slide off of the skewers when they are roasted and ready to eat.
Let’s make Kebabs (or kebobs if you prefer):
Tofu
Freeze the tofu. Then thaw the tofu, then press and/or squeeze out the tofu. This gives the tofu a porous texture to suck up the most flavor. If it’s still frozen in the middle you can microwave it before you press it.
Marinate veggies and tofu
Make marinade in a gallon ziplock bag or container of choice, add veggies and tofu. Let marinate overnight in fridge, flipping occasionally.
For the mushrooms you can use creminis (baby bellas) OR cutting up 3 massive portobello mushrooms is also fantastic.
Cook
Preheat oven to 425°F
Skewer kebabs putting onions and peppers at the ends and leaving enough space in between veggies and tofu so that they are not quite touching. Close, but not touching.
Place skewers on a lined baking pan (lined with sil-mats or parchment paper). Arrange the skewers so that the ends of the skewers hang off of the pan.
Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping skewers once after 15 minutes. They are done when they look good and roast-y.
Serving Suggestion
In this recipe, 2 skewers are listed as a serving. I usually cook for 2 people, making 4 skewers at a time. Between the 2 of us, all 4 skewers are enjoyed. Then we have it again for dinner. This recipe makes a total of approximately 8 skewers.
I recommend making either this Herbed Avocado Aioli or this Romesco Sauce for serving with these yummy kebabs. After enjoying these oven kebabs, many times, we are still not sure which sauce we like best with them. Additionally, I enjoy serving them with quinoa over lemon juice dressed Lacinato (Dinosaur) kale.
Lately, I’ve been serving them over Instant Pot Ancient Grains.
Marinated Oven Roasted Kebabs
Equipment
- Approximately 8 skewers, if using wooden soak them overnight
- 1 gallon size ziplock bag or airtight container to marinate
- 1 baking pan lined with a sil-mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil I prefer non-extra virgin, for roasting it has a higher smoke point, you can also use avocado oil or any high smoke point oil.
- 6 cloves minced or sliced garlic Sometimes I use garlic from a jar, using sliced fresh is nice too.
- 1/4 cup lime juice about 2 limes worth
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1¼ teaspoon sea salt
Kebabs
- 1 block extra firm tofu (frozen, then thawed, then pressed*) cut into 16 cubes
- 2 red bell peppers cut into 16 – 20 squares
- 16 oz baby bella mushrooms leave whole, small to medium in size (approx. 16 – 20 mushroooms) if they are big cut them in half a.k.a Cremini/Crimini mushrooms, OR cutting up 3 massive portobello mushrooms is also fantastic.
- 1 onion, just the outer few layers cut into 6-8 wedges then separate the outer layers into 16- 20 pieces
Instructions
Tofu
- Freeze the tofu. Then thaw the tofu, then press and/or squeeze out the tofu. This gives the tofu a porous texture to suck up the most flavor. If it's still frozen in the middle you can microwave it before you press it.
Marinate veggies and tofu
- Make marinade in a gallon ziplock bag or container of choice, add veggies and tofu. Let marinate overnight in fridge, flipping occasionally.
Cook
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Skewer kebabs putting onions and peppers at the ends and leaving enough space in between veggies and tofu so that they are not quite touching. Close, but not touching.
- Place skewers on a lined baking pan (lined with sil-mats or parchment paper). Arrange the skewers so that the ends of the skewers hang off of the pan.
- Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping skewers once after 15 minutes. They are done when they look good and roast-y.
Notes
Nutrition
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Did you make these Marinated Oven Roasted Kebabs?
Please tell me about it in the comments below.
I made these last night and they turned out great! You are right that freezing the tofu allowed it to absorb the marinade much better. Overall 5 stars for sure. Thanks for posting a great recipe.
Thanks Ryan! I am really glad you enjoyed the Kebabs.
Loved this recipe and how Amy shares her “tricks of the trade” of products that enhance the prepping experience. Amy recommended a Tofu Press and it’s great! She offers a wealth of knowledge of best products and practices that go beyond a recipe.