Top Tips for Grilling Vegetables

Vegetables on the grill can add some amazing flavors to your next BBQ dish. We have 4 key tips to remember next time you grill veggies.

Once you are ready to grill some veggies, scroll down to check out our Mexican-Style Corn on the Cob, it is a fan favorite from our newest cookbook, Weber's Greatest Hits. Preview more recipes from the cookbook here. 

Grill what’s growing at the time
Vegetables in season locally have big advantages over whatever has been shipped from across the world. They are riper, so they taste better. That means you can grill them simply with great results.

Expose as much surface area as possible
Cut each vegetable to give you the biggest area to put in direct contact with the cooking grates. The more direct contact, the better the flavors will be. For example, choose peppers with flat sides that you can easily slice off the core. The flatter the sides, the more surface area will caramelize on the hot cooking grates.

Use the good oil
Vegetables need oil to prevent sticking and burning. Neutral oils like canola oil will do the job fine, but an extra-virgin olive oil provides the added benefit of improving the flavor of virtually every vegetable. Brush on just enough to coat each side thoroughly but not so much that the vegetables would drip oil and cause flare-ups. Season the vegetables generously with salt and pepper (some of it will fall off). For more flavors, marinate the vegetables at room temperature for 20 minutes to an hour in olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and spices.

When is it done?
Firm vegetables such as onions and fennel, are often grilled somewhere between crisp and tender. If you want them softer, grill them a few minutes longer, although watch them carefully for burning. The grill intensifies the sweetness of vegetables quickly and that can lead to burning. Cut the vegetables as evenly as you can. A 1/2-inch thickness is right for most.