16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (2024)

The best grilling recipes are often easier than you think. Combine the right ingredients for the sauce, seasoning, or marinade and you've got a winning dish to serve during grilling season for years to come. Simple side dishes and vegetable mains can be the star of the show with the perfect sear. We've rounded up plenty of quick and easy recipe options for your grilling pleasure. Read on for some of our favorites.

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Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Lemongrass-Lime Aïoli

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (1)

Sweet, mild grilled mahi-mahi harmonizes with an aïoli featuring lemongrass and lime. The creamy aïoli comes together in seconds using an immersion blender, resulting in a silky texture that's less likely to break. It adds richness and zest to a classic summer meal that's ready in 25 minutes.

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Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (2)

The sauce for this shrimp is a simple version of Italy's salmoriglio, typically made with lemon and herbs in a mortar. The sauce is also delicious spooned over grilled swordfish or any other meaty fish.

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Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Thyme

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (3)

A bold mixture of red pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, and olive oil serves as a spicy marinade for bone-in chicken breasts. If you want your chicken spicier still, increase the red pepper or leave the breasts in the marinade for an hour or two.

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Grilled Pepper and Onion Panzanella with Peperoncini Vinaigrette

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (4)

Cookbook author Molly Stevens' panzanella uses grilled sweet peppers and onions in place of tomatoes as the centerpiece of this dinner salad. The charred vegetables are tossed with cubes of grilled bread, drizzled with a peperoncini vinaigrette, and topped with creamy feta and crisp slices of peperoncini, which add pops of flavor and contrasting texture ⁠— all in 40 minutes.

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Grilled Red Curry Chicken

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Roasting a whole chicken takes about an hour, but cut out the backbone and flatten the bird and it will grill perfectly in just 30 minutes. We like to rub the chicken all over with a very simple, Thai-inspired mix of red curry paste, coconut milk, and brown sugar.

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Sausage Mixed Grill

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Three types of sausage plus peppers and radicchio make for a fun assortment of flavors to pile on your plate. Be sure to prick fresh sausages all over before grilling to release the excess fat.

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Spicy Apricot Wings

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The apricot-based sauce that's brushed on these chicken wings before grilling provides plenty of zingy flavor, and the extra sauce is good for dipping. A refreshing wheat beer or fruity Pinot Gris would be a superb complement to the wings.

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Celery, Grilled Grape, and Mushroom Salad

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (8)

"Celery is a vegetable people either love or hate, and we try to get people to love all their vegetables," says chef Amanda Cohen. She balances out the celery's bitterness and crunch with meaty oyster mushrooms and grapes that have been grilled until almost bursting.

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Grilled King Salmon with Meyer Lemon Relish

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (9)

Floral and lightly acidic salsa brings out the buttery, rich flavors of grilled salmon. Salmon is meaty enough to stay intact on a grill and gets meltingly tender as it cooks. Save the leftover salsa to serve with grilled lamb, chicken, or pork.

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Grilled Pork Chops with Honey Garlic Glaze

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A simple glaze made from sticky-sweet honey, savory soy sauce, and fresh garlic drenches each perfectly grilled pork chop in this recipe. For the most evenly cooked pork, with delicious char and grill marks, flip the pork frequently over high heat for the first several minutes of cooking, then finish the meat on lower heat.

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Skillet Brownies on the Grill

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Dessert deserves a place on the grill, too. These brownies take on a deliciously smoky flavor on the grill from "baking" in a skillet set over hot coals. Just remember to butter the skillet generously.

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Grilled Corn on the Cob with Calamansi Mayo

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (12)

Chef Sheldon Simeon's recipe for a Hawaiian twist on Mexican elote features grilled corn slathered in a creamy, cheesy calamansi mayonnaise, which gets its acidic twang from a sour citrus fruit native to the South Pacific (you can substitute Key limes in a pinch). Ichimi togarashi (Japanese chile flakes) add heat; aonori (dried seaweed) flakes add umami oomph and island style.

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Grilled Shrimp and Lettuces with Charred Green Goddess Dressing

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (13)

In a salad that's anything but boring, this grilled shrimp gets an extra boost from the green goddess dressing. Charring the dressing ingredients before making it lends a smoky depth to the whole dish.

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Grilled Oysters with Chorizo Butter

16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (14)

No shucking necessary: Once the oysters open on the grill, simply top them with chef David Kinch’s smoky, tangy butter.

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Crispy Grilled Lamb Pitas with Radish-Watercress Salad

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The robust, fatty lamb here needs a fresh, zippy counterpoint, so it's served with a salad featuring three types of radishes: watermelon radishes for their gorgeous magenta hue, green daikon for softer color but more pungent bite, and cherry radishes for their crisp, juicy texture. This trio gets tangled in a pile of also-peppery watercress and dressed with the simplest combo of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

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BLT Hot Dogs with Caraway Remoulade

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Of course, classic hot dogs are never a bad idea on the grill, but if you're looking for an easy upgrade, this is it. These "BLT" hot dogs are topped with crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes, and crunchy lettuce dressed with creamy caraway-pickle mayonnaise.

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16 Great Grilling Recipes to Try (2024)

FAQs

What are 5 foods good for grilling? ›

The best veggies for the grill are sturdy and develop sweet flavors:
  • Sweet peppers (6-8 minutes each side)
  • Onions (5-7 minutes each side)
  • Zucchini and other summer squash (5 minutes each side)
  • Corn (25 minutes)
  • Portabella mushrooms (7-10 minutes per side)
  • Romaine lettuce hearts (3 minutes per side)
Jun 26, 2022

What are the best things to cook on the grill? ›

Char vegetables for salads, dips, sides, and more

Consider grilling some fennel, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini for a summery grilled vegetable antipasto platter, served with a sauce or two. Grill a few ears of corn, and you're ready to make corn salads, salsas, cornbread muffins, and tacos in minutes.

What is the most popular item to grill? ›

Steak was the favorite grilled food of roughly one third of Americans in 2020. When asked which grilled food they enjoy the most, 34 percent of the respondents to a widespread survey opted for the beef steak, with hamburgers and chicken completing the top three.

What is the easiest meat to grill? ›

Chicken is the go-to option and holy grail of any grill experience. If you are looking for the best and easiest meat to grill—chicken thighs are just the meat cuts you need. Talk to experienced grillers and they will tell you that this part of the chicken, especially with the skin left on, is superior to any other cut.

What is the most popular food at a BBQ? ›

Popular meats to cook on a BBQ grill include:
  • Burgers.
  • Sausages.
  • Chicken drumsticks or wings.
  • Pork chops.
  • Ribs.
  • Steaks.
Jan 28, 2022

What to grill for 15 people? ›

Our Favorite Grilling Ideas for Large Groups
  • Pork Belly Sliders. Sliders are just about guaranteed to be a home run at a party, and these pork belly creations take the idea to a whole new level. ...
  • Chicken Bacon Ranch Kabobs. ...
  • Blackened Catfish Tacos. ...
  • Grilla'd Chicken Wings. ...
  • Hot 'n' Fast Brisket. ...
  • Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers.

What is a good meal to serve 20 people? ›

19 Ideas For Easy Meals For Large Groups
  • Taco Bar.
  • Meatballs.
  • Butter Chicken.
  • Lasagna.
  • Chili.
  • Homemade Pizza.
  • Baked Pasta.
  • Skewers.
Apr 4, 2023

How many pounds of BBQ will feed 15 people? ›

In general, each pound of BBQ feeds 3 to 4 people, especially if you're serving sides. You can expect most adult guests to eat ¼ to ⅓ pounds of meat each during your event.

What to grill besides burgers and hot dogs? ›

Featured Recipes
  1. Quick Look. Grilled Sausage and Herb-Stuffed Pork Loin.
  2. Grilled Fish Tacos.
  3. Grilled Oysters with Lemon Dill Sauce.
  4. Grilled Salmon With Key Lime Butter.
  5. Grilled Boneless Sirloin and Vidalia Onion Skewers.
  6. Grilled Tuna With Olive Tapenade.
  7. Grilled Marinated Flank Sandwiches.
  8. Grilled Chicken with Rhubarb Salsa.

What are 5 foods that are good for grilling? ›

  • Corn is one of the easiest things to grill. ...
  • New York strip steak is a good grilling meat for beginners. ...
  • Grilled beef short ribs are easy to prepare. ...
  • Heartier fishes that are firm and flavorful are perfect for charring. ...
  • Tofu soaks up a lot of flavor, making it perfect for grilling.
May 25, 2023

What do Americans grill the most? ›

The classic American barbecue typically involves the grilling of steaks, burgers, and hot dogs. Recent survey data shows that beef steaks are the most popular choice of meat, with 34 percent of American consumers citing the steak as their favorite grilled meat.

What is the secret to grilling? ›

Direct heat (when the fire is directly below the food) is best for relatively small, tender pieces of food that cook in 20 minutes or less. Indirect heat (when the fire is on either side of the food) is best for larger, tougher cuts of meat that require more than 20 minutes of cooking.

What are the major food types of grilling? ›

Steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs are the most popular foods to grill, and in general all beef products should be cooked over direct heat and with the grill on the high setting. The heat can be turned down slightly for hot dogs and thin cut steaks.

What are 3 ways of grilling food? ›

Virtually all cooking on gas and/or charcoal grills can be divided into three cooking methods: direct, indirect or combo. As the names imply, the difference between the methods is determined by where the food is placed in relation to the fire. The DIRECT method cooks foods with the direct heat of the flame.

What is grilling good for? ›

The high heat and direct contact with your grill can make foods crispy on the outside while keeping them moist inside – all while adding a smoky flavor to your meal. Research has found that grilling may reduce your risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, certain cancers, and type 2 diabetes.

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