Charcoal Chimneygrilled Asparagus With Green Goddess Dressing
Want to make sure your grilled asparagus lives up to its full potential? Make your chimney starter do double duty: Place a small wire rack over the starter to use as a mini grill for your vegetables, before you dump the coals out over the grate and start working on the meat. The concentrated heat from a cylinder full of burning coals is just what your crisp green vegetables need to stay crisp as they cook, instead of turning limp. Here, we use the technique to produce bright and snappy charred asparagus spears, which go great with a side of Green Goddess Dressing for dipping.
Get The Latest Recipes Right In Your Inbox:
The easiest, simplest, and BEST way to roast vegetables perfectly tender and packed with so much flavor!
I had a bunch of lingering veggies in the fridge from various things I made earlier in the week, so I decided to make my very own roasted veggies. A basic clean-out-the-fridge type meal.
I kept it super simple using fresh garlic, dried thyme, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar my ultimate weakness. Best of all, I only used veggies that I like. I tend to pick out certain veggies if they are not to my liking like brussels sprouts. Sorry, not a fan at all.
But if the vegetables listed here are not your favorites, this recipe can easily accommodate tons of other veggies. Just make sure you get that extra balsamic vinegar and garlic you can never have too much of either!
Every Cookout Needs Some Vegetables And Grilled Vegetables Are Particularly Delicious
Burgers, steaks, and chicken are all well and good, but don’t let vegetables become an afterthought on Labor Day weekend! Not only will a few carefully chosen vegetable dishes round out and lighten up any heavy meats you choose to cook, but having the grill already fired up and ready to go will make tasty side dishes a snap, since so many veggies are arguably at their best when cooked over a live fire.
To help you ensure your side dishes are just as exciting as the main event, we’ve rounded up 21 of our favorite grilled-vegetable recipes, including crisp charred broccolini with XO sauce, sweet grilled summer squash with chimichurri, and the hands-down best way to serve grilled corn, ever.
Read Also: Churches Smokehouse Chicken
Grilled Leeks With Romesco Sauce
Trying to cook leeks entirely on the grill is a waste of time and coals instead, try softening them in boiling water before grilling them just until charred. Mildly oniony grilled leeks are wonderful paired with romesco, an incredibly versatile Catalonian sauce made with peppers, nuts, and tomatoes.
Grilled Vegetable Serving Suggestions
The best thing about grilled vegetables is they make a delicious side dish or a main course. Have leftovers? Cut them up and throw them in a salad! Here are some topping ideas for grilled vegetables as well as ways to use up the leftovers.
- Want to brighten up you vegetables with a sauce after them come off the grill? Drizzle them with this Balsamic Reduction, add a dollop of creamy avocado tzatziki or finish with a bright homemade pesto sauce!
- Add them to Pasta like this Grilled Vegetable Orzo Salad or this Pesto Pasta with Grilled Vegetables.
- Toast up some crunchy bread and make a Homemade Panzanella Salad!
- Add them to a crisp summer salad with a protein like grilled shrimp, steak or chicken for the ultimate summer dinner.
** This post does contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Joyful Healthy Eats.**
Recommended Reading: Cleaning Char Broil Grill
Tips And Tricks For Grilling Vegetables
A few things to keep in mind when it comes to batch grilling veggies:
- Swap the veggies feel free to swap out veggies you dont love and throw in veggies that you do love! Just be sure to pick sturdier, larger veggies to place directly on the grill grates. Youll also want to keep a close eye on any veggies that you add to this recipe in case they cook quicker than the others.
- Use a cast iron skillet dont count small veggies out! Instead, place your smaller veggies in a ghee coated cast iron skillet on the grill.
- Grill fruit yall. Grilled fruit is so, so good. In addition to peaches, mangoes, plums, and pineapple strips are all delicious on the grill. The natural sugar in the fruit will start to caramelize on the outside just slightly, and the result is insanely delicious. This is an especially favorite trick of mine when I have underripe fruits in the house. A handful of too-firm peaches are actually great candidates for the grill! The heat will soften the texture and deepen the flavors.
Tips For Grilling Vegetables
Read Also: Traeger Vs Propane
What Goes Well With Grilled Vegetables
Just about anything goes well with this recipe. For example, if you are making this on the barbecue grill, toss some burgers or hot dogs alongside or maybe a steak or two. However, they also work well with seafood, pasta, or even some kind of quinoa dish. For something sweet, fruits like pineapple, chopped apples, or peaches are also delicious.
Keep in mind that these go well with any main dish, and also can make a great appetizer when served with a dipping sauce on the side.
Whats The Best Way To Serve Grilled Vegetables
Grilled vegetables need little more than a sprinkle of salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon right after they come off the grill. If youre so inclined, this recipe also includes an herby dressing, but you can easily swap it for your favorite pesto or chimichurri instead.
Leftover grilled vegetables can be chopped and tossed into pasta salads, added to a bowl of hummus or cooked grains for a quick dinner, or served as toppings for an at-home pizza night. Whatever your summer brings, heres hoping it includes a lot more grilled vegetables.
Read Also: How To Clean Cast Iron Grill Grates Weber
Grilled Vegetables Marinade Ideas
Because of most vegetables hardy texture, unless youre using it on softer mushrooms, zucchini, or summer squash, most vegetable marinades dont infuse much flavor into grilled vegetables. Due to that fact and that I like the natural, caramelized sugars in grilled vegetables to shine through, I dont feel theres a need to marinate vegetables before grilling. Sugary marinades also have a tendency to burn and cause flare-ups.
Instead of a marinade, simply flavor your vegetables with:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Ginger
How To Make Grilled Vegetables:
Recommended Reading: How To Grill Frozen Salmon In Foil
Tips For Grilled Veggies
- Cut each variety of vegetable into evenly sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
- Some vegetables take longer to grill than others denser vegetables such as carrots and potatoes need more time on the grill.
- You can grill your vegetables directly on the grates, use a grilling basket, or skewer your veggies to make kabobs
- I like to finish my vegetables with a sprinkling of parsley. If you dont have parsley on hand, other great options include green onions, thyme, basil or dill.
- This recipe calls for dried Italian seasoning, which is located in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. This seasoning is a blend of dried basil, oregano, parsley and garlic powder. If you cant find Italian seasoning, you can make your own by combining the dried herbs and garlic powder in equal amounts.
What Veggies To Grill
These are some of our top favorites but there are so many more!
- eggplant- slice in rounds or wedges. Grilling is one of the best ways to cook eggplant!
- summer squash- cut in thick slices. These cook quickly!
- mushrooms- grill whole with gill side down first. They will hold more of their juices this way.
- peppers- find the flatter side and slice so more of the pepper contacts the grill. These can take a lot of heat!
- onions- slice in rounds, can be a little tricky to keep together on the second side. A metal spatula can be helpful.
- radishes- grill whole. Dont miss out on these succulent gems.
- bok choy- slice in half longways, the core will hold them together. Sweet, juicy and amazing!
- cabbage- slice in wedges or steaks, keeping the core attached with help hold it together.
- asparagus- grill whole.
- cauliflower- slice in steaks with core attached to hold it together. Start by cutting the head in half and then slice 2-4 steaks from there.
Slice the veggies a 1/2 inch to 3/8 of an inch thick.
A grill basket is also a great tool for some of the veggies that tend to fall apart, like cauliflower, onions etc.
Leaving mushrooms whole keeps their juices contain inside.
Liberally brush oil on veggies. You could also put them in a bowl and rub the oil in with your hands.
Get grill good and hot. Salt veggies on the grill.
As basil is at its height of glory we are serving Grilled Vegetables here with Fresh Basil Pesto.
Don’t Miss: How Long To Cook Bubba Burgers In Oven
Ingredients For Grilled Vegetables
Heres the deal: you do NOT have to grill as many veggies as this recipe calls for! Grilling a big batch of veggies really helps to have leftover veggies ready to be enjoyed throughout the week, but if youre afraid that you wont be able to eat them all, cut the amounts in half or completely omit any veggies that just dont sound really yummy to you. Heres what we grilled:
The Best Vegetables For Grilling
10. Onions
Need some more recipe inspiration for these grilled veggies? Check out our !
*Helpful Tip: For best results, try wrapping your veggies in tin foil, using a grill plate/basket, or placing vegetables on a skewer. This will prevent you from losing your veggies to the inside of the grill.
It is time to gather your family members, head outside with your veggies, and get that grill heated up! Make sure to share your favorite summertime vegetable grilling recipe with all the other grill kings & queens out there! Comment below or on .
Be sure to also check out our favorite grilled fruit recipes!
Don’t Miss: How To Get Grease Off Concrete
Easy Grilled Vegetables Recipe
You can never go wrong with a juicy cut of meat served with a side of grilled vegetables at a barbecue. And why pick just one veggie when you can have a variety of all the best summer vegetables? With zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, yellow squash, corn, and red onion, you have a decadent selection of veggies that not only look good, are good for you, but taste good too!! The juicy, savory marinade truly brings out the best in each of these vegetables. Once they are grilled to a perfect char, you are left with a tender, smoky result with just a hint of sweetness.
The best part about this recipe, though, is that it is SUPER simple to put together but tastes INCREDIBLE! With just a touch of olive oil, fresh garlic, and herbs, you are left with a delicious side that not even the fanciest of steakhouses can rival. Dont take my word for it! I know this will be a winning side dish that will keep your guests coming back for more.
Are Grilled Vegetables Good For You
Its hard to think of a way that vegetables can really be bad for you. Unless, of course, youre covering them in mountains of oil or throwing them in a deep fryer. Grilled vegetables are a great way to get more of those cancer-fighting, heart-disease lowering, free-radical eliminating, fiber-full foods into your diet.
Grilling is also one of the best ways to cook your vegetables, as boiling them can cause many of the nutrients to seep into the water, and frying them, well, just adds a lot of unnecessary fat.
When you grill your vegetables you can put them in a simple marinade beforehand, use a grill basket, skewer them, or put them in a foil pouch to be cooked all together. All of these ways help retain the natural compounds found in vegetables, which means more of that goodness gets to you.
You May Like: Clean Grease Off Concrete
Is It Better To Use A Gas Or A Charcoal Grill For Vegetables
Is a charcoal grill healthier than grilling over propane or vice-versa? Studies show that when grilling meat, more of the cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons drip onto the charcoals, thus creating more smoke that gets infused back into your meat when cooking with a charcoal grill. In propane grills, the PAH content is less simply because there are no coals to catch the drippings — however there are still some of the chemicals present when cooking with propane.
How does this affect cooking vegetables? Well, I guess that depends on whether or not youre cooking meat with your vegetables or your vegetables alone. These PAHs can drip onto the bottom of your grill and come back up in the smoke in either grill form. If you are grilling meat with your vegetables, then its best to choose lean cuts of meat or to trim the fat off your meat first before grilling.
As for grilling vegetables on their own, it doesnt really matter which kind of grill you use because grilling vegetables doesnt unleash the PAHs you find in meat. However, if you are used to grilling only meats, you might want to take some time to clean the bottom of your grill before adding vegetables — just to be on the safe side.
One other factor to consider when grilling with charcoal versus gas is that smoky flavor you get from grilling with charcoal. If thats a flavor you love, then charcoal it is!
How To Grill Vegetables In A Grill Basket
Sharon Palmer
Published on
Updated on
If you love grilled vegetables as much as I do, then youll really like the ease and convenience of using a grill basket to get this job done. Thats why Im sharing my Step-By-Step guide on How to Grill Vegetables in a Grill Basket, plus my favorite recipe for grilled vegetables. Living in California, I grill vegetables year round I just change up the variety of veggies depending on the season. Some of my favorite veggies to grill include eggplants, summer squash, onions, peppers, asparagus, potatoes, mushrooms, cauliflower, winter squash, sweet potatoes, winter squash, potatoes, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, but you can choose beyond these options. The act of grilling brings on the caramelization process, which is why they are so delicious and versatile in numerous recipes. You can use grilled vegetables as a simple side-dish, as well as a topping for pasta, salads, grain bowls, pizza, and sandwiches.
Get the complete recipe for making these Herb Grilled Vegetables here.
Don’t Miss: Chicken Breast Grill Internal Temperature
Are Grilled Vegetables Healthy
Antioxidant-rich veggies are good for you, but what about when theyre grilled? The question sometimes arises: Can grilling be bad for you?
After digging around the internets, the answer is clear: Grilled vegetables are the best, healthiest way to grill.
According to WebMD, grilled vegetables are safe to grill because risk-potential PAHs and HCAs dont form on grilled fruits and vegetables. Vegetables dont have fat to render and drip onto the grilling element to cause the flare-ups to flap back these compounds back onto the food.
So put your mind at ease, and get grilling your veg.
The Best Grilled Vegetables
Theres nothing quite like eating grilled vegetables during the summer and fall months. That grilled taste and flavor can transform any vegetable into the perfect meal and appetizer.
Plus, the bright colors add such a fun pop of color as well.
I enjoy making a big batch of these on the weekend and then if I have any leftovers they are perfect for meal prep for lunches.
Light, easy and healthy means its a go-to recipe around here for making side dishes on the grill! I love pairing them with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Chicken on the Grill or Grilled Ranch Pork Chops!
Another great thing is that this recipe is super flexible so I use whatever vegetables I have in the fridge that need to be used!
Read Also: How To Clean Coleman Roadtrip Grill
