Can You Marinate Vegetables? Using Marinades For Veggies

While our marinades taste great on any meat, don’t forget to show your vegetables and sides some TLC. Allegro Marinades are packed with flavor, so they’re the perfect addition to spice up any dish. The key to delicious vegetables that’ll have your friends and family coming back for more is to allow the vegetables enough time to soak up enough flavor so that it’s infused into every single bite.

How long should you marinate vegetables and other plant-based foods? It depends on a few different factors. The softer the food, the less time is needed to absorb the marinade (think zucchini compared to carrots). Also, thinly-sliced foods with a larger surface area are going to need less time to marinate.

You can generally get away with marinating veggie foods overnight. Just be wary about doing this with soft vegetables as they can get really soggy and fall apart when you cook them.

Veggie Proteins (Beyond Meat, Tofu, Tempeh, Seitan)

Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. If marinating overnight, cut tofu into larger slices so it doesn’t fall apart when you cook it.

Hard Vegetables (Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, etc.)

Marinate these veggies for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Semi-Hard Vegetables (Green Beans, Asparagus, Peppers, etc.)

Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours.

Soft Vegetables (Broccoli, Tomatoes, Greens, etc.)

About 10 minutes is good. Don’t marinate these for longer than 30 minutes because they will release water and get soggy. When marinating with other vegetables, add soft veggies last after the harder veggies have already soaked for a while.

Fruits (Berries, Plums, Apples, etc.)

Marinating fruit is technically called “macerating.” This is generally done to make a sauce or cocktail. Since the idea is to get a saucy substance, you will want to macerate fruit for a longer time, preferably overnight. Note that some denser fruits can be marinated for about 10 minutes and cooked (like apples and watermelon on the grill!).

Here are a few Allegro Tips for marinating non-meat foods:

Green Beans

Dash some of our ALLEGRO Original Marinade or Brisket and Fajita Sauce in with your green beans as they cook. A great way to add unique, mouth-watering flavor!

Southern Soup Beans

Otherwise known as Great Northern, these beans are a staple of the South. Soak dried beans overnight and cook slowly (add ham pieces if that’s your thing) until they reach perfect tenderness. Most Southern cooks spice with black pepper and red pepper flakes. Keep enough water in the pot as they continue to absorb, and let them have some ALLEGRO Hot & Spicy or Nashville Hot Marinade as they simmer to make sure they get the heat you like!

Stir Frying Veggies

Give them an ALLEGRO Boost! Start with ALLEGRO Teriyaki Marinade in your wok. You won’t be sorry—great oriental taste, and so easy!

Steaming with Flavor

From greens to asparagus and beyond, empower the steam by dosing the water generously with the ALLEGRO Marinade of your choice. You won’t believe the flavor difference you can achieve in very little time!