Grilled Vegetables

With just a few ingredients and my easy grilling method, these grilled vegetables are the perfect side dish for any summer BBQ! The post Grilled Vegetables appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Food & Nutritions Jul 16, 2024 0 18 Add to Reading List

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There is no summertime meal that cannot be improved with a heaping side of perfectly Grilled Vegetables! These grilled veggies take very little prep time, and they’re the best option on fridge clean out day (which makes my busy life 100x easier and saves me money!). I’ve perfected grilling all kinds of vegetables including peppers, onion, zucchini, squash, and mushrooms for the ultimate Summer feast. Each healthy bite is infused with a smokey, summery flavor, and this recipe seriously couldn’t be any easier.

Grilling vegetables to perfection takes practice, but with this very simple and quick method, I promise you’ll never serve another soggy vegetable again. The secret? Less is more! Get that grill nice and hot to achieve those stunning grill marks. Bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and yellow squash soften quickly, so they only need a few minutes on each side. The onions take a little longer to get those caramelized edges we all love – so they go on first!

Any leftovers can be added to all kinds of salads, pasta salads, sandwiches, and more. I could go on all day about the virtues of grilled vegetables, but I’ll spare you and let my easy recipe do the talking!

Here’s what you’ll need to make the best grilled vegetables EVER:

Vegetables: In my opinion, bell peppers, red onion, vine-ripened tomatoes, whole mushrooms, zucchini, and yellow squash are some of the best veggies to grill. They hold up well and cook quickly!
Olive Oil: The base of my marinade and stops the vegetables from sticking to the grill.
Steak Seasoning: This quick-fix shortcut adds plenty of flavor without any extra effort on your part.
Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds an unbeatable depth of flavor.
Sugar: Just a pinch. It helps the veggies caramelize and get those beautiful grill marks.

Should I Boil Vegetables Before Grilling?

Please DON’T boil any of the veggies in this recipe before grilling! You’ll have a huge mess on your hands. Trust me, the high heat of the grill will cook them quickly and evenly without any need for pre-cooking. I’d only suggest parboiling denser vegetables like potatoes or carrots because they need more time to cook through. But for the vegetables in this recipe, grilling them directly is the way to go.

My rule for cooking vegetables using any technique is always: less is more! If you think they’re done, pull them off. There’s nothing wrong with a little crunch. It’s always preferred to an over-cooked, soggy veggie. Seriously, don’t stress over a side dish when you have a fun cookout happening in the background!

Serving Suggestions for grilled vegetables

I couldn’t help but make a big bowl of our chimichurri sauce to serve with this recipe for grilled vegetables. It’s tangy and goes perfectly with the smoky flavors from the veggies. Add in some grilled chicken and stovetop baked beans, and you’ve got yourself an easy summer dinner!

Overhead view of a plate of grilled vegetables with some tongs grabbing the zucchini.

Storage Instructions

This grilled vegetables recipe is great for making ahead of time. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I like to add them cold to salads or sandwiches, but you can also reheat them in a pan or on the grill for a few minutes until heated through.

Favorite Cost effective grill

When I was looking for a grill for us to use in the Budget Bytes kitchen, I wanted one that was easy to find, simple to set up, easy to clean, and didn’t make me miss my charcoal grill. I went with the Ninja Sizzle Smokeless Grill after contemplating a few different ones that would be widely available at Walmart, Target, and Amazon. We have been super happy with it in the Budget Bytes kitchen.

The cheapest grill option I found was a simple and small camping charcoal grill. That’s also a great option if you want to grill outside, get that smokier grill flavor, and don’t mind keeping charcoal on hand.

Grilled Vegetables

With just a few ingredients and my easy grilling method, these grilled vegetables are the perfect side dish for any summer BBQ!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Amercian

Total Cost $7.64 recipe / $0.95 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Total Time 18

Servings servings (side dish)

Calories 67kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Indoor Grill

Ingredients

8 mini bell peppers (or 2 large bell peppers cut into ¼s) $1.44
1 zucchini $0.93
1 red onion $1.23
6-8 cherry tomatoes, whole on vine* $1.66
8 mushrooms** $1.04
1 yellow squash $0.89
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil $0.27
1 clove garlic, minced $0.05
1 tsp steak seasoning $0.12
½ tsp sugar $0.01

Instructions

Slice zucchini lengthwise, about ¼ thick, using a mandoline on the thickest setting or a knife. Cut red onion into thick rings, destem mushrooms, and cut yellow squash into thick discs, about ¼ thick. Rinse bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.
Whisk together olive oil, minced garlic, ½ tsp steak seasoning, and sugar in a bowl.
Brush olive oil mixture over the veggies.
Add onions to the grill while preheating to 400 degrees. Add all other veggies to the grill and grill for 4 minutes, until you get distinct grill marks.
Flip and grill for an additional 3-4 minutes or until veggies are done to your liking. I like my grilled vegetables to still have some bite to them, so I am careful to not overcook them! Onions can cook a bit longer and become nice and sweet when they cook down a bit (and help flavor the grill for the other veggies as well!)
Sprinkle on the remaining ½ tsp steak seasoning and (optional) serve with BudgetBytes chimichurri!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You can use any tomato instead of the cherry tomatoes on the vine, but I recommend leaving them whole. The outside will get some nice color, and the inside will be warm and flavorful. They may burst a little but will remain mostly intact if you are gentle with them.
**You can substitute any mushroom for the baby bella mushrooms. Mushrooms are forgiving when it comes to grilling, and they all taste amazing, pretty much no matter what!

This recipe serves 8 people as a side, about 1.5 cups of veggies per person.

Nutrition

Side view of a plate of grilled vegetables.

how to make Grilled Vegetables – step by step photos

Overhead view of chopped vegetables on a wooden chopping board.

Rinse all your veggies under cold water, excluding the onion. Pat them dry before chopping.

Using a knife or a mandoline slicer on the thickest setting, cut 1 zucchini lengthwise, about ¼ inch thick, and remove both ends. Remove the dry skin from 1 red onion and cut it into thick rings. Next, remove the stem from 8 whole mushrooms and cut 1 yellow squash into ¼ inch thick discs. The 8 mini bell peppers should be left whole, and the 6-8 vine tomatoes should still be attached to the vine.

Marinade ingredients for grilled vegetables in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 ½ Tbsp of olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, ½ tsp of steak seasoning, and ½ tsp sugar.

Sliced vegetables brushed with a marinade.

Brush the olive oil marinade over your veggies, covering all sides.

Overhead view of sliced red onions on a grill.

Add the sliced onion rings to your grill as it preheats to 400°F.

Overhead view of sliced vegetables on a grill.

Once the grill is fully heated, flip the onions and place the remaining veggies on the grill. Grill the vegetables for about 4 minutes until you get distinct grill marks.

Grilled vegetables on a grill being flipped with tongs.

Flip the vegetables and grill them for an additional 3-4 minutes or until they’re cooked to your liking. I like my grilled veggies to still have some bite, so I’m careful not to overcook them! I like the onions to cook for the longest as they become nice and sweet when they cook down (and they help flavor the grill for the other veggies!).