Simple Grilled Vegetables are the quintessential summer side dish: quick & easy, colorful, and charred to delicious perfection on the grill. Serve them alongside your favorite grilled meats for all your summertime meals!
Do you get giddy, like I do, when your eyes lock in on a big, colorful platter of perfectly Grilled Vegetables? If you’ve ever wondered how to grill vegetables that everyone’ll love, this fail-proof recipe celebrates summer’s fresh garden bounty, always with rave reviews. It’s the perfect appetizer or side dish. And if your family, like my family, likes dips and sauces, pair your veggies with a yummy little bowl of Peanut Sauce, homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, or Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette for dipping!
Why Grilled Vegetables Deserve a Spot on Your Table
Grilling is a surefire way for our whole family, and any guests who join us at our table, to ENJOY eating their veggies. Perfectly caramelized and wrapped in smoky-charred goodness, they are incredibily hard to resist. Here’s why I just know you’ll love them!
- The easiest side dish. Whether you’re making Beer Can Chicken, Grilled Shrimp, or Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, any grilled meal deserves a side of quick & easy grilled veggies. Once you realize just how simple this is, I guarantee you’ll be making them all the time!
- Simply delicious. With only oil, salt & pepper added to the veggies, this recipe offers a spectacular summer side that’s PACKED with flavor. I often get asked what I use for seasoning, as the vegetables always turn out so flavorful – everyone is surprised at just how simple it really is!
- Endless options. Serve them as a side, make them into a Grilled Vegetable Salad, drizzle them with Teriyaki Sauce, or use your favorite seasonings to personalize them to your liking. Consider this recipe a fact-checked blueprint, your solid foundation, to build upon your own flavor combinations.
What You’ll Need
There’s certainly no shortage of options when you’re looking for summer vegetables to grill! Scroll down to the printable recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Sweet corn – Remove the husk and silk before you grill the corn, just like my Mexican Corn Salad recipe. I like to get charring on the kernels, for extra flavor.
- Summer squash – I use yellow summer squash and zucchini. If your farmers market has heirloom squash varieties, they’re excellent for grilling too.
- Bell peppers – My family prefers the flavor of red bell peppers, but any color/variety will work here. Even the fun purple kind!
- Red onion – Cut these into thick rings to keep them from going limp and sinking through the grill grates.
- Asparagus – Snap the tough ends off. For grilling, I prefer medium to thick asparagus stalks. The whisper-thin ones cook super fast, if that’s what you prefer.
- Oil, salt & pepper – Simple seasoning only here. Plus, the oil helps prevent sticking on the grill.
How to Grill Vegetables
Even if you’re not a seasoned griller, you’ll find the process of grilling vegetables is very easy. Here’s what you need to do:
- Prepare. Preheat your grill to 400° F, then scrub the grates clean and oil them.
- Season the vegetables. Add the vegetables to a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to mix and evenly coat them. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and mix again, then sprinkle additional salt & pepper over the tops.
- Grill. Place the vegetables directly onto the hot grill grates in a single layer. I like to put the corn on the hottest part and cook it as little as possible, while still getting some good char to the kernels. Close the lid and grill for 2 minutes.
- Flip. Open the grill and flip the vegetables over. Continue cooking until they reach your desired level of char and tenderness.
- Serve. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a platter (or just use a rimmed sheet pan, like we often do!) and serve.
Tips for Making Grilled Vegetables
These pointers will help you achieve grilled vegetable perfection!
- Cut into evenly-sized pieces. Each vegetable will cook a bit differently. But I recommend cutting each type of vegetable into similar sized pieces, so that each kind of veggie cooks evenly and can be removed from the grill at the same time. Sometimes it’s not always possible, but do the best you can. Grilling isn’t an exact one-size-fits-all kind of cooking – it’s meant to be fun and relaxed. Just go with the flow!
- Use your hands for coating the vegetables. I find that using a big spoon or spatula just doesn’t do the same job as getting in there with your hands and tossing the veggies with the oil, salt & pepper. If you just can’t stand the thought of that, I’d recommend using a tongs to toss everything together.
- Make sure the grill is clean. This prevents off-flavors from past grilled meals from changing the flavor of your simple grilled vegetables.
- Give the vegetables space. Don’t overcrowd the vegetables on the grill, or they’ll want to steam rather than char. Let the heat and air move freely throughout the grill and vegetables. If you need to, grill the vegetables in batches.
Garnish and Sauce Ideas
You’ll enjoy eating these veggies as-is, straight off the platter, but a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is a lovely way to brighten them up. We also like to drizzle them with a bright Lemon Vinaigrette (in photo above), Balsamic Vinaigrette, or a fresh basil pesto. And dip them in Buttermilk Ranch Dressing or even Shrimp Dipping Sauce – this sauce is for more than just shrimp & seafood!
What to Serve With Grilled Vegetables
Grilled meat is the obvious, delicious choice! As I mentioned above, it makes putting together dinner a cinch. Try my Grilled Chicken Sandwich for a casual meal or Grilled Scallops for something a little fancier. Everyone loves Margarita Grilled Shrimp and Hawaiian Chicken Chili Kabobs too!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftover grilled vegetables to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- To reheat: You can eat these vegetables chilled, let them come to room temperature, or warm them up in a nonstick skillet set over medium heat – or use the microwave.
Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 4 ears sweet corn, husk and silk removed
- 2 medium yellow summer squash, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise
- 2 medium green zucchini, ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise
- 2 large red bell peppers, stems, seeds and any large ribs removed, and cut into 3 to 4 pieces each
- 1 large red onion, ends and skin removed, sliced into 3 to 4 large intact-rings
- 1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 400° F. Scrub grates clean and oil them well. (See Notes)
- Place corn, yellow squash, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and asparagus on a large rimmed pan – the pan will be very full. Drizzle olive oil over all vegetables. With your hands, gently fold the vegetables until they are all evenly coated with oil, careful to keep the sliced rings of red onion intact. Sprinkle vegetables fairly generously with salt & pepper, and lightly fold again using your hands. Sprinkle one more time lightly with salt & pepper.
- Add vegetables to the hot grill, over direct heat, in a single layer. Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to grill in batches. Set the corn on the hottest part of the grill to get some quick char.
- Close grill lid and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Open the grill and use a tongs and thin metal spatula to flip and rotate vegetables as needed. Cooking times will vary with each vegetable, so it's just a matter of checking on them regularly and turning as needed. The asparagus usually cooks the fastest, but cook time will depend on how thick it is. Aim for the corn to have some char, but to not be completely cooked (we like some fresh, crunchy texture!). We like the onion to get nicely softened, so that always takes the longest. Once the vegetables have distinct grill marks and are cooked/softened to your liking, remove them from the grill, to a serving platter.
- These grilled vegetables really need nothing more – they're perfectly delicious as-is. If desired, squeeze some fresh lemon over the top right before serving. Or drizzle my herby Lemon Vinaigrette – or your favorite pesto or chimichurri – over the veggies. Or offer a creamy dipping sauce such as Buttermilk Ranch Dressing or my versatile Shrimp Dipping Sauce (it's not just for shrimp!).
Have you tried this recipe with white miso?