4 Tips on How to Perfectly Grill Vegetables

I think we can all agree that it’s been a few years since the Stone Age and meat with a side of meat topped with more meat no longer makes a balanced meal. When it comes to grilling, grilled vegetables are fast, tasty and easy to prepare and cook so that you can turn that juicy cut of prime rib into a wholesome and flavorful meal. Below you’ll find four simple tips to making the perfect grilled vegetables.

1. Use Oil: Just like when you are cooking in a pan, your vegetables need a little oil to keep them from drying out or cooking unevenly. This is easily prevented by tossing them in a light coating of oil before they hit the grill. You don’t need a lot because it just adds unneeded calories (Your grillfriend’s got to watch her figure) and oil drips will make your grill flare. Just make sure they are evenly coated in a nice light layer to help them from sticking to the grill and from drying out.

2. Do Not Burn: Most vegetables don’t take very long to cook. Sliced peppers and onions usually only require two minutes, tops. Many grilled vegetables can burn their outside while remaining raw in the center if they are cooked over too high a heat for too long and give the illusion that they are fully cooked. To prevent these quick-grillers from burning try grilling them on low, indirect heat for only a short period of time, or, searing them on high heat and then moving them to a cooler part of the grill.

3. Use Grill Accessories to Make Your Life Easier: We’re talking about skewers and grill baskets. These handy grill accessories were invented to make grilling easier, and vegetables can definitely benefit from being threaded on a wooden or metal skewer or cooked in a grill basket. BBQ accessories like grill sheets help keep the grilled vegetables together and prevents them from falling through the grill rack. Skewers and grill baskets are also handy because it allows you to separate your veggies from your meat which require different temperatures and cooking times – definitely another perk to using these grill accessories.

4. Consider Size: When it comes to grilling vegetables, size matters. How big or small you prep your veggies determines how they should be grilled. While larger vegetables like potatoes or eggplant and zucchini rounds can be placed flat on the grill, small slices of onion, cherry tomatoes or chunks or yellow squash would absolutely benefit from tip #3 by being threaded onto a skewer or placed in a grill basket. Always consider how you’re planning on grilling your veggies so that you can perfectly prep them in advance.