Sausage Kabobs are simple to make, nutritious, and loaded with flavor! We combine smoked sausage with bell peppers, red onion, baby bella mushrooms, and a delicious seasoning blend.
The more we can throw on the grill in the summer, the better! Try our practically famous grilled chicken marinade, this show-stopping burger recipe, or these fan-favorite Hobo foil packets next!
Sausage Kabobs
My boys think dinner on a stick is maybe the greatest thing I’ve ever served for dinner. While it seems they end up playing with the food more than eating the food (sword fighting seems more obvious than eating apparently), these sausage kabobs have been the hands down favorite for playing AND eating!
After making a few kabob meals over the last couple of weeks, the boys have been begging to eat everything on a skewer so be prepared for a few more recipes to come your way ๐
Quick Tip
Love dinner on a stick? Add these recipes to your grilling repertoire: Chicken Kabobs, Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, Shish Tawook, or Steak Kebabs with a Basil Sauce!
Sausage Kabobs Ingredients
- Sausage. We recommend using smoked sausage for this recipe. We love using hardwood smoked turkey sausage (to keep this recipe on the healthier side), but any smoked sausage will work. Smoked sausage grills up quickly and you don’t have to worry about it coming to a certain temperature — it’s actually completely safe to eat right out of the package. We grill it to add flavor (browning and charring = flavor), but aren’t worried about testing for a certain temperature which makes this recipe that much easier!
- Veggies. We like a combination of sweet bell peppers, a green pepper, baby bella mushrooms, and red onion best in these kabobs.
- Olive Oil. Not only insurance against the veggies burning, it also adds wonderful flavor and good-for-you fats making the veggies and sausage so tasty!
- Seasonings. A quick seasoning blend of dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper — yum!
Sausage Kabobs Tips
- Cut veggies and sausage into same-sized pieces. To ensure everything is cooking evenly it is important veggies and sausage are all cut to the sizing indicated in the recipe card.
- Seasoning. We include a salting recommendation for these sausage kabobs, but keep in mind, not all salts are the same. I use fine sea salt in this recipe; if using table salt, you’ll want to use less.
- Generously oil your grill grates. We do this by rolling up a few paper towels, drenching them in oil (canola or vegetable), and with tongs, rub the drenched paper towels along the grill grates. This will contribute to a beautiful sear and char (which also means more flavor). Additionally, it ensures the kabobs don’t stick to the grates (it’s always a pain when you lose some of the veggies or meat on the grill!).
- Wait for the grill to be fully heated before adding the loaded skewers. Again, it’s all about getting some good char so we can have plenty of flavor. If the kabobs are added too early, they’ll miss that charring and cook unevenly.
- Soak wooden skewers. Wooden skewers can burn easily over a hot grill. Soaking them in warm water for 10 to 30 minutes before threading will keep the skewers from burning. More details about soaking skewers? Read this. Metal skewers are a great alternative option.
Quick Tip
If the sausage kabobs are sticking at all, use a large metal spatula instead of tongs to flip.
Sausage Kabobs Variation Ideas
- Change up veggies. Use your favorite veggies making sure to cut them into similar sizes so they will grill at the same rate as everything else. Some ideas for veggies that will cook at similar rates: thin coins of corn on the cob, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced zucchini, thinly sliced yellow squash, cubed eggplants.
- Switch out the sausage. If you don’t want to use smoked turkey sausage, try a different variety of smoked sausage — beef, pork, chicken, or a combination of several different kinds of meats. If you want this recipe to be Whole-30 compliant, here is a listing of sausages that fit the requirements.
- Swap seasonings. We’re obsessed with this seasoning blend, but feel free to play around with the seasonings added. Some ideas: add some red pepper flakes for a touch of heat, some onion powder for a deeper savory flavor, and some dried basil and/or dried thyme for more Italian-flavored sausage kabobs.
Serving Suggestions
We love Sausage Kabobs hot off the grill, but they go really well with a nice creamy sauce, too! Just note that the sauces are not on the Whole-30 list.
- My kids are obsessed with pairing these with good (Heinz®) ketchup. (I’ll admit, I love it too!)
- A tangy Dijonnaise is also a nice complement to the sausage. To make a quick Dijonnaise, whisk together 1/3 cup good Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons mayo, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
- A honey mustard sauce is also a fun pairing with the sausage and veggies. Our favorite quick honey mustard sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons mayo, 1-1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard, 3/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1-1/2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon honey BBQ sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.
Beyond the sauce, these Sausage Kabobs pair nicely with a quick garden salad; we love this crunchy Cucumber Salad, this Italian salad, or this Olive Garden salad best on the side!
More Recipes for the Grill:
- Tin Foil Jambalaya with rice that cooks in the foil!
- Grilled Pineapple with ice cream and a crumble topping
- Grilled Steak Salad with a sweet lemon-honey vinaigrette
- Steak Marinade all-purpose steak marinade
- Grilled Fajita Chicken with bell peppers and onions
Sausage Kabobs
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
- 1 (13-ounce) package smoked sausage cut in 1-1/2 inch pieces, I use turkey sausage
- 3 bell peppers I use red, green, and orange, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 of 1 large red onion cut into 1-inch pieces
- 10 large baby bella mushrooms whole or halved mushrooms work better than thin slices
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Vegetable oil for grilling
- Chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley optional
- Sauces for serving optional, see note 1
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat (about 450โ500ยฐF). If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20โ30 minutes.
- Cut sausage into 1 to 1-1/2 inch thick coins. Cut peppers and red onion into 1-inch pieces. Cut the large mushrooms in half (leave small mushrooms whole).
- In a large bowl, add all cut veggies and sausage. Add olive oil, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper (or to taste). Gently stir to combine everything.
- Add veggies and sausage on the soaked skewers.
- Soak a paper towel in vegetable oil, roll it up, and using tongs, rub it along cleaned and completely heated grill grates. Place the skewers on the grill and close. Cook for 3โ4 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook another 3โ4 minutes or until veggies and sausage are lightly charred.
- Remove, and if desired, serve with some fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy as is or with a sauce (see note 1).
Video
Recipe Notes
- To make a quick tangy Dijonnaise, whisk together 1/3 cup Dijon-style mustard, 3 tablespoons mayo, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
- My favorite quick honey mustard sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons mayo, 1-1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard, 3/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1-1/2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon honey BBQ sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
can you make these in the oven?
I haven’t tested these in the oven but you can check out this recipe with all the similar ingredients that cooks in the oven all on one pan: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-pan-healthy-italian-sausage-veggies/.
I’m excited to make these – would you please let me know how many skewers you made? Since I’m soaking them, I’d love to know ahead of time. ๐
It just depends on how full you fill them ๐ I don’t think I’ve ever used more than 10
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I appreciate it!
You bet!
Did not like this at all!
Shoot, so sorry to hear that. I’m sorry!
These are wonderful–family loved them! Great seasoning mix. Made them a couple times this past summer. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear! Thanks! ๐
These were wonderful–great seasoning mixture! Family said make them again.
So glad to hear that! Thanks for the comment ๐
Oh man these were so good, the seasoning was perfect
So happy to hear that!
So good and easy to do! I will be making these again for sure. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear this Emily! Thanks for your comment! ๐
These were a big hit at our house last night! So good!! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment Sharon ๐
These were a big hit at our house last night! So good! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
great summer recipe, much appreciated, and great mix of spices, thank you