It’s not too late to add these easy weeknight steak kabobs to your summer meal rotation. They’re extremely quick and easy to put together and the bright summer vegetables colors are absolutely mesmerizing making the perfect dinner after a long day “at” the office, whether your back in your office or still working from home.

This easy marinade gives the steak a nice summery flavor and adds a little punch to your vegetables that brings out their natural sweet and tangy flavors making each bite irresistible. It’s literally the perfect quick weeknight meal for the grill. Serve on the side of asparagus, rice, couscous, or this delicious fresh, chilled cucumber and tomato salad.

Skewering Your Steak Kabobs.

You can use anything, I try to make it colorful with bright purples, yellows, reds and greens. It’s the perfect way to use up any extra veggies in your fridge too. Who doesn’t love grilled vegetables – a perfectly warm soft, yet still crunchy bite – something about the grill just tastes better, don’t you agree?

Summer Squash – Bright yellow (or green), leave the outside peel on for extra yellow bam of color. It has a sweet(ish) mild soft flavor – perfect to round out the onions and the steak marinade.

Bell Peppers – Are my favorite way to add color to a lot of dishes. Did you know that each color brings different vitamins & health benefits? I usually grab a red or orange pepper for this dish just to mix up the colors. Red and orange peppers are usually the bolder sweeter option, green peppers have more of an earthy flavor.

Purple Onion – I love purple onions for the summer, they just seem a little more peppy in their onion flavor giving the kabobs an extra layer of zesty flavor. They are really the ying to the yang of the other sweeter vegetables.

While Onion – Grilled white onions are just about the best thing about grilling. The grill marks on a white onion create the best caramelized flavor mixed with the zing of the raw onion, all in the same bite – all of those layers of flavor is absolutely delicious.

Summer Zucchini – Very popular at the moment, because they just started growing – fast and furious in those backyard gardens. Our neighbor has given us so many it’s hard to keep up. Like the summer squash, they are mild, almost bland in flavor with a hint of sweetness.

Parsley – for a fresh pop of garnish, sprinkle on fresh chopped parsley.

Homemade Marinade

This marinade is jam-packed with acidity and the freshly squeezed lime juice puts it on a whole different level! Acidity is important for marinades, it tenderizes the meat, keeping it soft and juicy as it grills to your perfect temperature. The marinade also makes for deeper flavorful grill marks. As the grill browns the steak, it will caramelize the soy sauce and dijon mustard creating a punch of sweet and savory deliciousness.

Whisk the marinade together, set aside about 1/4 cup so you can brush it over the skewers before and while the skewers are on the grill. For sanitary purposes, you will want to trash the marinade that the steak was soaking in – do not reuse.

Use the remainder of the marinade with a large food storage zip-lock bag or container to cover the steak cubes for an hour or longer (all day if you’re getting this ready before leaving for work).

Chicken Alternative

Not in the mood for steak? If you want to do the same exact thing with chicken you can! You can use the same marinade in the recipe below, or you can switch it up using the marinade in this recipe, which is my family’s favorite grilled chicken.

Grilling

Prepping for the grill with wood skewers – it’s important to soak your skewers in water for at least an hour to prevent them from catching on fire. Just a step you can do along side marinating – do it early in the morning before work, or if you’re home, at least an hour before dinner.

After you skewer your meat and vegetables, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with vegetable oil. Heat up your grill to medium high heat and let it come up to temperature before placing on your kabobs. Put your kabobs on the grill, do not overcrowd, and allow space between each kabob so that they all cook evenly. The medium high temperature will allow them to sear creating, delicious grill marks and a deep brown crust, about a 1-2 minutes.

Brush on some of the reserved marinade. Then lower the grill heat to medium heat, put on the lid and cook, about 2-3 minutes on each side to get a medium cook on your steak. If you’re using a thermometer aim for about 145F. Bonus points for marinade, it will help your meat stay tender even if you overcook the internal temperature.