Skewered: 25 surprising foods that make for delicious kebabs

Nature’s candy can surprisingly be grilled, creating a sweet and smoky combination you won’t be able to resist. You’ll need to bake or steam the beets for a bit first, but once they’re ready to grill, you’re only a minutes away from digging in. This recipe from Josie’s Organics pairs both red and golden beets with sirloin, and it’s so delicious that carnivores won’t even mind sharing their skewers with some veggies.

 Bacon is good in all forms and mediums, even as a kebab. Simply skewer a strip, grill, and enjoy. While plain ‘ol bacon is dandy, try this sweet and spicy version from Bon Appétit, which combines scallions, serrano chiles, ginger, lime juice, and brown sugar.

You’re probably aware that pineapples can be grilled (if not, prepare to have your burger-loving-mind blown), but another great tropical fruit to throw on skewers are bananas. In fact, as this recipe from Epicurious shows, the two can easily (and deliciously) be paired together for a tropical treat. Don’t worry about the sliced banana pieces falling apart either; if you keep the peels on, they’re more likely to play nice over the coals.

A lot of people (this writer included) claim to hate Brussels sprouts, but there’s often one exception: grilled Brussels sprouts. Toss those babies in olive oil, garlic, mustard, paprika, and salt, and barbecue them until they’re blackened for their full flavor potential. Need more guidance? Alton Brown and the good folks at Food Network have you covered with this recipe. If it helps (and it always does), you can add some of the aforementioned bacon too.

The go-to prep for scallops usually involves searing or baking, but throwing them on a grill can be just as tasty. And why hassle with constantly flipping each scallop when you can simply skewer several for easy turning? We’d recommend first wrapping the scallops in bacon (you probably saw that coming), like in this simple recipe from McCormick. 

Avocado is a scrumptious superfood that also happens to make a super kebab! Since avocados are so healthy, we think you’ll love this recipe from Cooking Light that puts the green fruit on skewers alongside sizzling steak, plump cherry tomatoes, and crisp red onion.

Nearly every pork product can be prepared on a grill - and this includes the often overlooked belly! There are plenty of simple recipes available for cooking pork belly, but we couldn’t resist this Thai version from She Simmers that also offers some helpful tips on the proper way to skewer the meat. 

There’s a whole bunch of grillable fruit options out there, and to prove this point we’ve listed apples and pears together on this list. (Plus, they’re obviously similar.) Apple and pear kebabs might not seem especially appetizing by themselves, so allow us to provide a bit of inspiration. Kikkoman has a wonderful recipe for barbecued chicken and apple kebabs here.

Almost any cheese makes for a quick and easy kebab snack. (Okay, maybe not cream cheese or cheese whiz, but you get the idea.) This includes gouda, mozzarella, halloumi, paneer, provolone, or anything that won’t immediately melt. Just skewer, heat, and eat. 

The only ingredients you need to make succulent sweet potato skewers are sweet potatoes (obviously), olive oil, and salt and pepper. The actual cooking is just as simple, as long as you use a uniform size when cutting the potatoes so they heat evenly. Here’s the recipe, courtesy of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. As they wisely suggest, you might want to add some chili powder and cumin for a southwest spin.

As the cake entry proves, bread-based foods can absolutely go on the grill. To further hammer that point home (and showcase the variety of options), you’ll definitely want to try these French toast kebabs, courtesy of Food Network. After sampling these tasty treats you’ll want to fire up the grill every morning.

Why is this the first time someone told me you can combine cake and grilling?! I feel like my entire life has been wasted up until this point. The good news, however, is that catching up will be a cinch since this dessert takes only a few minutes to make. Just cut your cake (we recommend angel food or pound cake) into one-inch squares, skewer them up, and chuck them on the grill over medium heat. Get the details in this recipe from Betty Crocker, which recommends pairing your cake with fruit and sprinkling the whole thing with cinnamon and sugar.

Strawberries are a surprisingly tasty item to grill, and you’ll find they can nicely complement some of the other skewered food items on this list. (Yes, we’re talking about cake again...in addition to other fruits, chicken, etc.) But if you’re just in it for the sweet strawberries, you’ll love this Food Network recipe for grilled strawberry kebabs with a lemon-mint sauce. Just be sure to double up on the skewers for easy turning.

Grapefruits are grown year-round, which means as long as it’s warm enough outside to grill (or you’re brave enough), you can make grilled grapefruit any time you want. Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top to get some caramelization, or go the fancy route with this shrimp and grapefruit recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

Grilling cauliflower is both simple and savory. Simply skewer the veggies, brush them in olive oil, sprinkle on your seasonings, and grill. This recipe from Food.com uses oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt, but feel free to substitute your own favorite spices.

Like grapefruit, grapes also make a great grilled snack. For this particular fruit, you almost have to use skewers, as it’s the best way to flip them and avoid losing any runaway grapes. If fruit alone doesn’t thrill you (we understand), try this recipe for Mediterranean grilled chicken from Joy of Kosher. It pairs green grapes and chicken with a whole lot of spices and flavors, including garlic, red chile flakes, oregano, rosemary, and lemon zest.

Although most carnivores will tell you that eating kale and grilling are mutually exclusive activities and grouping them together is a form of blasphemy, the two can actually coexist. Case in point: This recipe for grilled kale and veggies from People Magazine. Or course, you can’t truly please the carnivores unless there’s some meat involved, so feel free to slide some steak (or bacon; it always comes back to bacon) on the skewers as well.

Peaches and nectarines both come from the same family, and both can be grilled for a sweet snack. Combine several fruits into grilled fruit salad kebabs, or try this recipe for grilled peach and pound cake skewers, courtesy of Jessica N. Wood. Because cake.

Believe it or not, cherries actually get sweeter on the grill. And while you can eat them as is (minus the pits, of course), we’d recommend this recipe from KCET. No, it’s not a meal or a snack; it’s a cocktail that combines grilled cherries with gin, limes, honey, bitters, thyme, and a homemade cherry-thyme simple syrup!

The thought may have crossed your mind before, but in case you weren’t aware, almost all peppers can be grilled. And, as a result, they all taste much better. This kebab recipe from Martha Stewart includes green, red, yellow, and orange peppers, and this one from The Endless Meal puts an appropriate Greek twist on ordinary kebabs.

This will totally change the way you eat watermelon. While the raw fruit is sweet and soaked in juice, the grilled version is savory and a bit salty, especially with a recipe like this one from the Watermelon Board, which uses soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, and fresh ginger. The scallops are optional (but highly encouraged). As a bonus, cantaloupe also works well on the grill!

When it comes to tofu, there are two kinds of people: people who love it, and people who think someone is trying to pass off styrofoam as food. Regardless of which category you fall into, the grill will make tofu better - we swear! For an especially flavorful meal, try this All Recipes recipe for grilled tofu skewers with red bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and sriracha chili garlic sauce.

Polenta (essential boiled and solidified cornmeal) is usually baked or fried, but it can just as easily be grilled. In fact, it’s even easier to grill on a skewer. And if you don’t want plain old polenta kebabs, check out this recipe from Food.com for grilled polenta skewers with butter-basted mushrooms.

Ground beef is obviously good grilled, so the same thing should be true of meatloaf and meatballs. And thankfully, it is! Simply prepare the meat as usual, ball it up, and wrap it around the skewers. For some assistance, check out this Cooking Channel recipe.

Here’s a way to get the delicious flavor combinations of a wedge salad on the grill without having to pick tiny pieces of lettuce out of your barbecue afterward. Simply take a skewer, thread it with romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes, brush them with oil, dust with salt and pepper, and throw it all on the grill. Then drizzle some blue cheese dressing and enjoy! This recipe from Food Network has the detailed instructions, including how to make your own dressing.