Easy Grilled Vegetables

Grilling seasonal vegetables is one of the easiest things to do. These easy Grilled Vegetables are the perfect side dish for a nice summer cookout at home. They are colorful, beautiful, and so delicious!

This grilled vegetables recipe requires minimal prep, and you can even cut all the veggies in advance to save time later. The veggies are simply tossed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper before they go on the grill.

It’s a highly customizable recipe as well! You can use your favorite seasonal vegetables. For extra flavor, I love brushing the veggies with a quick herb sauce.

Every summer, I look forward to cooking with seasonal produce. Summer is when zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, and other colorful veggies are at their peak. They are so juicy and full of natural flavors that I absolutely love!

This easy grilled vegetables recipe is my go-to for a simple summer side dish because it can be cooked on the grill from start to finish. No need to finish it in the oven or anything…all on the grill to make it really easy and straightforward.

Whenever I have people over at my house, I arrange the grilled vegetables into a beautiful platter. It’s colorful, beautiful, and absolutely stunning. Everyone loves it!

Why I Love This Recipe

• You can cook the veggies on the grill at the same time as your main dish. I love grilling my marinated steak kabobs and grilled vegetables at the same time.
• Minimal prep required. All you have to do is slice the veggies, and season them with salt, pepper, and a few drizzles of oil.
• It’s highly customizable! Use your favorite seasonal veggies. The cooking process is pretty much the same.
• Grilled vegetables go well with herb sauces, such as my chimichurri sauce. The sauce can be made ahead too!

Best Vegetables for Grilling

Choosing the right vegetables for grilling is important. In general, you want veggies that will hold their shape well and have a good flat-ish surface for the grill marks to develop.

There are some exceptions, though. For example, tomatoes don’t have a flat surface, but they sort of hold their shape pretty well. Tomatoes add a color, texture, and so much flavor to a grilled vegetable platter. If you want to be extra careful, you can always use a grill basket or a separate skillet for grilling tomatoes.

Here are the vegetables I’d recommend:

• Zucchini and yellow squash, cut diagonally into ½ inch thick
• Onions, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• Asparagus, bottoms trimmed
• Bell peppers, any color, seeded and sliced
• Portobello mushrooms, bottoms trimmed
• Baby potatoes, boil them before grilling them
• Italian eggplant, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• Carrots, cut in half lengthwise
• Cherry tomatoes on the vine

Ingredients You’ll Need

For this grilled vegetable recipe, I use a few of the vegetables listed above, plus a few other ingredients for seasoning.

• Zucchini and yellow squash: Slice them diagonally and relatively thick. This will give more surface area for beautiful grill marks.
• Red onions: Slice them relatively thick. Don’t break up the rings.
• Bell peppers: I like to use a combination of red and yellow bell peppers. Remove the top and seeds, and then slice them.
• Asparagus: If you can, get the thicker asparagus stalks. Trim the bottom.
• Vine tomatoes: These are a bit bigger than cherry tomatoes and come attached to the vine.
• Olive oil: For drizzling and tossing the veggies. It will keep them from sticking to the grill and add some moisture.
• Seasoning: salt and pepper.
• Chimichurri: For brushing. It adds exceptional flavor! You can also use any other herb-based sauce or any other sauce you like.

You can mix and match any of the recommended veggies listed under the “Best Vegetables For Grilling” section above.

How to Make It

Just a few simple steps needed to make grilled vegetables at home! Here’s the top-level overview of how to make it:

1. Preheat the grill to high heat. The high heat will help develop beautiful grill marks and help them cook faster to prevent them from getting mushy or soggy.
2. Slice the veggies. This can also be done the day before.
3. Oil and season: In a large bowl (or 2 bowls), toss the veggies with a few generous drizzles of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Grill the veggies, undisturbed on each side. Flip them when they feel like they easily release from the grill and when you see those beautiful grill marks. It’s usually about 5 minutes per side, depending on the vegetable.
5. If using, brush with your favorite sauce, such as chimichurri or romesco sauce.

That’s it! It’s really easy. Specific ingredient quantities and directions can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Get Beautiful Grill Marks: Let them be! Just let the veggies cook, undisturbed, on each side until you get those beautiful grill marks. Important: Make sure that your grill is preheated on high heat. This will also prevent the veggies from sticking to the grill.

Recommended Equipment

Here are the tools I use for this grilled vegetables recipe:

• Outdoor grill
• A grill basket for outdoor grilling: This will help small veggies, such as cherry tomatoes, from falling into the grill grates.
• If grilling inside, you can use an electric indoor grill. You can also use a stovetop grill pan, preferably a cast iron stovetop grill pan.
• Tongs for handling the vegetables on the grill

Prep-Ahead Tips

Preparing the ingredients in advance can save you lots of time! I always get stuff ready the night before.

Slice all the vegetables and store them in airtight containers in the fridge 1 day in advance. Don’t toss them with oil or seasoning until right before grilling, otherwise they will turn soggy overnight.

If using sauces for the veggies, you can make those ahead too. You can even use store-bought sauces to keep things even simpler.

Substitutions and Variations

Substitutions: I love the veggies I chose for this recipe…but the same thing over and over can be boring, so I always switch it up! I mix and match different vegetables, depending on what I find at the farmer’s market. Scroll up to the “Best Vegetables for Grilling” section to find a list of other great vegetables for this recipe.

Variations: Try making veggie kabobs (you’ll have to cut the veggies differently) or tossing them with mixed greens to make a delicious salad!

Pairings and Serving Ideas

Here are my favorite main dishes and sauces to serve along this easy grilled vegetable platter:

• Marinated Steak Kabobs
• Greek Chicken Kabobs
• Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
• Spatchcock BBQ Chicken
• Chimichurri sauce or Romesco sauce for serving

These vegetables go really well with almost anything. They are so versatile!

Recipe FAQs

I love simple veggie side dishes. This one is one of our summer favorites because it’s so versatile and full of flavor. The chimichurri sauce really adds tons of amazing herby flavors!

I always mix and match a variety of seasonal produce that I find at my local grocery store or at the farmer’s market. Seasonal cooking is one of my favorite things to do, and this recipe is perfect for it.

Other amazing summer cookout side dishes I enjoy are:

• Pesto Potato Salad
• Dill Potato Salad
• Watermelon Feta Salad

I hope you’re enjoying your summer. Happy cooking!