How to Grill Vegetables (4 different ways!)

Let’s talk grilling veggies! There’s truly nothing quite like the flavor of grilled vegetables.

Sweet, a little charred, tender & oh-so-delicious.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: pretty much any vegetable can be grilled. No, seriously! Grilling vegetables brings out their natural sugars while giving them incredible, unique flavors from the grill itself. Today I’m sharing exactly how to grill vegetables, plus all of the best tips for cutting, seasoning, and serving them.

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Types of vegetables that are best for grilling

Good news: you can pretty much throw any vegetable on the grill and it will turn out absolutely delicious. Grilling vegetables releases their natural sugars while simultaneously giving them that delicious char from your grill. Here are the veggies we’re going to walk through:

• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Zucchini & yellow squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Corn
• Mushrooms
• Potatoes

How to cut each vegetable for grilling

The key to cutting vegetables for grilling is to not slice or cut them too thin. That way you’ll prevent them from falling through the grill grates or cooking way too quickly. Here are some tips for popular veggies:

• Bell peppers: you can either cut bell peppers in half, remove the seeds and cook each side or cut them into long, 1/2” strips. Just be sure to place them in a foil pack or lay them in the opposite direction of the grill grates (more on foil packs below!)
• Onions: grilling onions gives them such a delicious sweetness! I recommend peeling your white, red or yellow onions and then either cutting them into ½” thick rounds or quartering them into whole chunks. You can also throw them into foil packs with other veggies for yummy flavor.
• Zucchini & yellow squash: squash is an easy vegetable to overcook because it has a lot of water content, so be sure to cut into ½” rounds or feel free to cut them the long way with a mandolin while keeping them ½” thick.
• Potatoes: if you use small, fingerling potatoes you can leave them as-is, otherwise cut your potatoes into ½ inch cubes.
• Brussels sprouts: these are probably the easiest to prep! Simply cut the ends off, remove the outer leaves and slice your brussels sprouts in half. I recommend using a foil pack or skewer for brussels sprouts.
• Mushrooms: I love grilling bit portobello mushrooms because you can easily stuff them! For portobello mushrooms, you can grill them as-is, but for small mushrooms I’d recommend slicing them in half and grilling them in a foil pack or leaving them whole and placing them on a skewer so that they don’t fall through the grill grates
• Corn: probably the most classic veggie to grill. Shuck your corn cobs, dress them up however you like (aka hi again, street corn seasoning) and throw them directly on the grill.

Season your veggies

For each of the above veggies feel free to keep it simple with:

I recommend adding your chopped up veggies to a bowl, adding the oil & seasonings, and tossing everything to coat the veggies! Alternatively, you can arrange them on a platter, drizzle and season.

Looking for more fun flavors?

How long to cook each vegetable on the grill

Learning the cooking time for your vegetables is key for making sure they’re perfectly charred and delicious without being overcooked or burnt. Here’s a basic guide, but feel free to move your veggies around to hotter or cooler spots on your grill to help speed up or slow down the cooking:

• Bell pepper: if you slice them in half you can grill each half for about 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Cook ½” strips for 6-8 minutes per side.
• Onions: grill round slices of onion for about 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. If you quarter them they’ll take closer to 15-20 minutes per chunk.
• Zucchini & yellow squash: both ½” rounds and ½” strips will take about 5-8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
• Potatoes: in a foil pack, fingerling or cubed potatoes will take about 20-25 minutes to cook.
• Brussels sprouts: in a foil pack these will take about 20 minutes. On a skewer they will take about 10 minutes, flipping the skewer halfway through.
• Mushrooms: large portobello mushrooms will take 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Baby bella mushrooms will take about 10-12 minutes in a foil pack, and about 8-10 minutes on a skewer.
• Corn: corn will take about 15-20 minutes total on the grill, just be sure to rotate your cobs whenever you’re flipping your other veggies (about every 5-8 minutes) and once you’ve removed the other veggies so that it gets nicely charred all over.

Four methods for grilling perfect vegetables

Method 1: directly on the grill

For large veggies like corn, bell pepper, thicker sliced zucchini, eggplant and onion, and portobello mushrooms, I recommend slicing, seasoning and putting them directly on the grill so that they get those lovely grill marks.

1. Preheat your grill to medium or medium-high heat, which is about 375 to 400 degrees F on a gas grill. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.
2. Marinate your veggies or season them with a little olive oil, salt & pepper.
3. Place your oiled & seasoned vegetables on the grill in a single layer, starting with the ones that take the longest to cook in the back where your grill is likely the hottest, and finishing with the quick cooking vegetables in the front. This also makes them easier to remove.
4. Close the lid and let the veggies cook for about 5 minutes — no peeking!
5. After 5 minutes open the lid and flip your veggies, starting with the closer ones that take the shortest amount of time to cook as these will come off the grill first. Then replace the lid and let them cook a few minutes more or until done to your liking.

Method 2: vegetable kabobs, anyone?

A great way to grill a bunch of veggies together is to skewer them and create kabobs! Feel free to combine vegetables that have similar cooking times onto skewers and cook them as directed above, rotating halfway through cooking.

Method 3: foil pack vegetables

If you have smaller veggies like sliced brussels sprouts, potatoes and mushrooms, you can also easily grill them in a foil pack!

1. Preheat your grill to medium or medium-high heat, which is about 375 to 400 degrees F on a gas grill. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.
2. Marinate your veggies or season them with a little olive oil, salt & pepper, then place them on a thick piece of aluminum foil and add another piece on top. Seal the edges by folding a piece of foil together.
3. Use a fork or knife to poke a hole at the top of the foil to allow some steam to escape.
4. Place the foil pack over direct heat on the grill and grill for about 20-25 minutes or until tender or done to your liking.

Method 4: using a grill basket

Using a grill basket is similar to a foil pack, but tends to be even easier.

1. Preheat your grill to medium or medium-high heat, which is about 375 to 400 degrees F on a gas grill. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled. Let your grill basket heat up for about 10 minutes on your grill while it’s preheating – this will help prevent the veggies from sticking.
2. Marinate your veggies or season them with olive oil, salt & pepper. Be sure to use veggies that are similar in size so that they cook easily.
3. Add your vegetables directly to your grill basket and close the lid.
4. Cook your vegetables in the grill basket for about 20 minutes, flipping or stirring them every 5-8 minutes or so.

What to serve with grilled vegetables

So you’ve got a gorgeous plate of perfectly grilled veggies, now what? Serve with literally anything and everything! Here are some recommendations:

Drizzle & dip them with:

Or any more of our amazing dips, sauces & dressings.

Serve with a side of our fav proteins:

Enjoy with the best grilling main dishes

Get all of our amazing grilling recipes here!

More easy grilling tutorials

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I hope you love these amazing methods for grilling vegetables! If you try any of them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!

The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook

125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day

Four Ways to Grill Vegetables

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

ServesServes 8 servings

Learn how to grill vegetables with four easy methods! In this guide to grilling vegetables, you’ll learn how to cook them directly on the grill, in foil packs, using a grill basket, and how to make grilled vegetable kabobs. Serve them with your favorite main dishes all summer long.

Ingredients

• 1 bell pepper, halved or cut into 1/2″ thick strips
• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2″ thick rounds or quarters
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1/2″ thick rounds or strips
• 1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2″ thick rounds or strips
• ½ pound fingerling potatoes (or regular potatos cut into 1 inch cubes)
• ½ pound brussels sprouts, with ends and outer leaves removed and cut in half
• ½ pound baby bella mushrooms, left whole (or 2 portobello mushrooms, left whole)
• 2 ears corn, shucked and cleaned
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground salt and pepper
• Optional:
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• Street corn seasoning

Instructions

• Method 1: directly on the grill. Use this method for larger vegetables like corn, bell pepper, thick sliced zucchini & yellow squash, onion and portobello mushrooms.Preheat your grill to medium-high heat, about 375-400 degrees F. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.Marinate your veggies or season them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder if you’d like.Place your vegetables on the grill in a single layer. Start with corn, portobello mushrooms and onion in the back, followed by bell pepper, zucchini and yellow squash towards the front for even cooking. Close the lid and let the vegetables cook for about 3-5 minutes.After 3-5 minutes open the lid and flip your vegetables, starting with the closer ones that take the shortest amount of time. Cook corn for 15-20 minutes total, portobello mushrooms for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway through, onion for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway through, bell pepper strips for 6-8 minutes flipping halfway through, and zucchini & yellow squash for 5-8 minutes flipping halfway through.Remove each vegetable as soon as it’s cooked to your liking and has nice grill marks, starting with the vegetables closest to the front of the grill.
• Method 2: vegetable kabobs. Use this method for grilling any vegetables you like that have similar grill times like bell pepper, onion, baby bella mushrooms and zucchini.Preheat your grill to medium-high heat, about 375-400 degrees F. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.Thread your sliced and seasoned vegetables onto skewers, place them directly on the grill and close the lid.Grill your vegetable kabobs until they’re tender and slightly charred, flipping them every 3-5 minutes. Vegetables kabobs will take about 10 minutes total to cook.
• Method 3: foil pack. Use this method with smaller vegetables like brussels sprouts, potaotes and baby bella mushrooms.Preheat your grill to medium-high heat, about 375-400 degrees F. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled.Place your sliced and seasoned vegetables on a thick piece of aluminum foil and add another piece of foil on top. Seal the edges by folding the pieces of foil together.Use a fork or knife to poke a hole at the top of the foil pack to allow some steam to escape.Place the foil pack over direct heat on the grill and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until tender tender and done to your liking.
• Method 4: using a grill basket. Similarly, use this method with smaller vegetables like brussels sprouts, potatoes and baby bella mushrooms, or vegetables that you cut into smaller pieces.Preheat your grill to medium or medium-high heat, which is about 375 to 400 degrees F on a gas grill. Scrape off any leftover bits from the last time you grilled. Place your grill basket directly on the grill to let it heat up for about 10 minutes while the grill is preheating. This will help prevent the veggies from sticking.Add your sliced and seasoned vegetables to the grill basket and close the lid.Cook your vegetables in the grill basket for about 20 minutes, flipping or stirring them every 5-8 minutes until they’re cooked to your liking.

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by Eat Love Eats

This post was originally published on June 28th, 2021, and republished on May 24th, 2025.

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