With all due respect to hot dogs, burgers, and steak, vegetables deserve a spot on the grill, too. Grilled vegetables explode with flavor and make every cookout more memorable – not to mention nutritious. If you’re new to cooking mixed veggies on the grill, we’ve put together some of our best tips and tricks to get the timing just right. Read on to discover the best vegetables to grill, how long it takes, and a detailed recipe to make it all easy!
What Are the Best Vegetables to Grill?
Choosing vegetables to grill is all about timing. From in-season veggies to whatever you have in the fridge, the key is to understand how long each vegetable takes to grill in order to get your cooking time just right.
- Hard, dense vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes will take 10-15 minutes if parboiled and up to an hour if cooking whole
- Peppers take 8 to 12 minutes to grill
- Asparagus takes roughly 5 to 10 minutes to grill
- Tomatoes take just 4 to 6 minutes to grill
That’s why the best vegetables to grill are all softer; it’s easier to cook them at the same time and still enjoy delicious results.
Our Favorite Grilled Mixed Veggie Recipe
The best summer dishes share one characteristic: convenience. To make delicious mixed veggies, all you need is:
- A gas or charcoal grill
- Olive oil and salt
- A selection of fresh veggies
Consider pairing your mixed veggies with other sides or with protein like meat, tofu, tempeh, or salmon.
Mixed Veggie Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 1 head garlic, cut in half
- 2-3 plum tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 large eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 2 zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick either in discs or length-wise
- 1 large red pepper, cut into quarters or sixths
- 1 large red onion, peeled, cut into sixths (leave the root end intact to hold the pieces together)
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
How to Grill Vegetables
- Heat a grill to medium high. Clean the grill well. Place all your veggies in a large pan and drizzle everything with olive oil. Toss the veggies to coat them evenly and sprinkle everything with salt.
- Place the garlic, red pepper, and red onion on the grill and cook about 5 minutes. Check them frequently and move as needed, as most grills have hot and cold spots. When they start to get grill marks, start adding the other veggies. The asparagus and zucchini will grill very fast, in 5 minutes or less. When you close the grill, don’t wander off for long as you want to make sure they have nice grill marks but don’t start to burn. Turn the veggies as they develop nice grill marks. As they are done, return grilled veggies to the pan.
- Serve with meat, rice, in salads, or enjoy exactly as they are!
More Tips for Grilling Vegetables
Grilling is both a science and an art, and it takes a little practice to dial in any recipe to suit your tastes perfectly. Here are a few hard-learned tips for grilling vegetables to make your cookout a hit!
- Size matters. Try to cut all vegetables as uniformly as possible. Having different sized slices leads to overcooking small pieces and undercooking larger ones.
- Group veggies. Organize your grill based on the expected cook time for each veggie. Keep faster-cooking veggies like tomatoes separate from slower ones like potatoes.
- Parboil. Without parboiling, carrots, potatoes, and beets will usually burn well before the insides are thoroughly cooked. Parboil or steam thicker root veggies, let them dry and cool, then toss them on the grill to save time.
- Stagger your grilling time. Start slower-cooking veggies first and toss on quick-cooking items later so that everything finishes around the same time.
Enjoy the Flavors of Summer
There’s nothing like preparing your favorite meals on the grill! Oryana Community Co-op offers quality local produce that is perfect for grilling. Support local agriculture and elevate your meals with exceptional ingredients; it’s all here! Subscribe to our newsletter for more delicious recipes and become an owner today.
