26 Vegetarian Grilling Recipes for Your Next Cookout (2024)

FAQs

What veggies are good for grilling? ›

By this, he means seasoning aggressively and early. In the same way you'd add copious amounts of salt and pepper to a steak 30 minutes before grilling, you should do the same with your veggies. The salt will bead on the veggies, then ultimately permeate the surface, flavoring the entire vegetable.

Blanching helps to slow the loss of nutrients. Longer-cooking vegetables can be blanched before grilling, especially when used on kabobs with quicker-cooking produce and meat.

Grill surface should be clean and lightly coated with oil to avoid sticking (prior to heating). Brush or drizzle vegetable oil on vegetables for added flavor and to help keep vegetables from sticking. You can also place the cut veggie pieces in a zip-loc bag and toss with the oil and your favorite spices.

Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill the vegetables until tender and lightly charred all over, about 8 to 10 minutes for the bell peppers; 7 minutes for the yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, and mushrooms; 4 minutes for the asparagus and green onions.

A combination of these methods is often a good bet for vegetables that take longer to cook through, like wedges of cabbage or whole carrots. Use the direct heat of the grill to get a good sear on the vegetable, and then move it to indirect heat so it can cook through more gently without scorching.

Preheat a grill pan on the stove over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. Toss the vegetables in olive oil and the spice mix. To know if the grill pan is hot enough, flick a little water on it. The water should sizzle and steam on contact.

How do you grill vegetables without foil? ›

Use a small grill basket for vegetables. And, if you're looking to reduce foil usage and impart a smoky or salty flavor, try using a wood grilling plank or a salt plate.

If the vegetables are not properly blanched, the enzymes will continue their activity even after cooling. This can lead to off taste and texture of the vegetables.

However, one reason that vegetables always taste better at a restaurant is that chefs there don't hold back on using oil to boost flavor. They often use oodles of butter, oil, or bacon fat to coat veggies fried on the stove and give them an umami appeal.

Sweet, a little charred, tender & oh-so-delicious. I'll let you in on a little secret: pretty much any vegetable can be grilled. No, seriously! Grilling vegetables brings out their natural sugars while giving them incredible, unique flavors from the grill itself.