19 Grilled Vegetable Recipes That Might Steal The Show

Some people think of vegetables solely as side dishes, as accompaniments to the usually meaty main course. But those people aren't truly appreciating all that veggies have to offer. When they're treated with as much love and care as you usually assign to protein, they can absolutely become the star of your plate. One method we particularly love for super-flavorful vegetables? Grilling. Grilling can absolutely transform bland vegetables into a top-notch dish — and you can even make it the center of your plate.

We've collected some of the best grilled vegetable recipes in our library so you can try some of your favorite vegetables in all their grilled, charred glory. Once you start cooking veg this way, you may just realize that you want to work it into your diet more. From grilled corn on the cob to grilled asparagus and beyond, these recipes might just change the way you grill from here on out.

Not only are you going to be grilling the vegetables you'll include on top of this pizza, but the recipe also instructs you to grill the pizza crust itself. This results in a toasty, complex flavor that's going to blow you away.

We love that this pizza is absolutely piled high with veggies, making it a dish you'll feel good about eating from start to finish. It's also super colorful, which will definitely make you want to reach for seconds.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Grilled Pizza

There's nothing like a good pasta salad, especially when the temps are high and you're on the hunt for something light to eat. While you can always use raw vegetables for your pasta salad, you can take the dish to the next level by grilling your vegetables before adding them to the dish.

Using seasonal veg makes this pasta taste fresher and also helps you keep your grocery cost down. You'll never want to eat another plain pasta salad again.

Recipe: Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

Need another way to use up all of your summer vegetables you have in the kitchen? If you're not feeling like pasta salad, turn to this jasmine rice salad.

Eggplant, bell peppers, and arugula come together with fistfuls of fresh herbs to create a lush salad. Rice adds some bulk to the dish, making it more filling, while sweet potato and pomegranate are there for sweetness and crunch, respectively. Grilling the veggies gives the dish its incredible depth of flavor.

Recipe: Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad with Jasmine Rice

Kabobs are one of our favorite dishes to prepare on the grill. But you don't have to include meat in your kabobs — you can absolutely make vegetables the main attraction here.

Corn, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and other veg taste amazing after they've been cooked on the grill and they have a nice char on them. The best part of this recipe? You can use any substantial veggies you already have in the fridge. Summer seasonal vegetables really shine here, though.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Kabobs

For some reason, just about everything tastes better on a skewer, including grilled vegetables. We like this method of cooking veg because you don't need any sort of grilling basket to prevent the pieces from falling through the grates in the grill.

What really makes these skewers as delicious as they are, though, is the accompanying sauce. It's made with yogurt and fresh, minced herbs for a bold flavor and creamy consistency.

Recipe: Grilled Veggie Skewers with Herby Yogurt Sauce

You don't have to load up your sandwich with a bunch of meat just to make it taste good. In fact, a vegetable sandwich can be a top-notch meal if only you prepare the veggies in the most flavorful possible way.

By grilling the veg, they'll take on sweeter, more interesting flavors that'll make for an excellent sandwich filling. Ciabatta bread works well here, since it has a substantial, bouncy texture and is sturdy enough to handle a heavy load of vegetables without falling apart.

Recipe: Best Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

As much as we love a real, beef steak, when we're looking for something lighter on our plates, a good veggie steak might be even better. You may have seen cauliflower or portobello steaks before, but a cabbage steak can be a particularly delicious option, as well.

Cabbage has a funkiness to it that's only enhanced by cooking it on a grill. And once you add that furikake, you'll infuse the cabbage with even more of that umami flavor you love.

Recipe: Grilled Cabbage Steaks with Furikake

Asparagus might just be one of the best vegetables to cook on the grill. When the delicate tips crisp up, you get a totally different flavor profile then you do when the spears are raw.

And although you really only need some salt, pepper, and olive oil to make asparagus shine, it's even better when you add some lemon to the recipe. Lemon juice brightens this dish up nicely, and if you serve it with lemon slices, you'll enhance that lovely acidity even more.

Recipe: Lemony Grilled Asparagus

Zucchini isn't always the most delicious vegetable. If it's not cooked properly, it can end up tasting bland and watery, which is why some people don't like it.

But when it comes to zucchini, it's all about the preparation. Grilling it enhances its flavors and dehydrates it slightly so it tastes more concentrated and doesn't get as soggy. Then, to make the dish even more delicious, you should pair it with a salty sauce. This caper sauce pairs beautifully with the zucchini.

Recipe: Grilled Zucchini with Caper Sauce

Another way to make zucchini taste as good as possible? Pair it with as much garlic as possible.

This is a combo that works because zucchini on its own has such a light, neutral flavor. That means it takes on the flavor of the garlic quite well, with a flavor intensity that you might not expect from a veggie dish. And when your slices of zucchini take on those beautiful grill marks, it's going to make you want to dig into this side dish right away.

Recipe: Garlicky Grilled Zucchini

Once summer rolls around, summer squash becomes abundant and affordable, making it the perfect vegetable to pick up at the store when you're looking for a fresh and inexpensive side dish. But it's also a veg that needs some help to be as flavorful as possible.

Marinating it before throwing it on a grill is a great way to build flavor. Starting with an oil base and then adding in tons of herbs and spices can yield a surprisingly flavorful veggie side that you'll want to eat all summer long.

Recipe: Marinated Grilled Summer Squash

You might assume that bok choy is too tender and delicate to be grilled without burning, but that's actually not the case. Instead of separating each individual leaf, though, you'll want to cut your bok choy bundles in half.

This prevents burning but allows you to build a tasty char that gives this green veggie even more flavor. It might just be the best way to get more greens into your diet when you're craving a side dish that's more interesting than a salad.

Recipe: Grilled Bok Choy

Cabbage is an excellent vegetable for so many reasons. First of all, it tends to be pretty inexpensive compared to other types of vegetables, and it keeps for a long time in the fridge.

Plus, since it's a pretty hearty vegetable that can stand up to a decent amount of heat, it's perfect for grilling. This simple recipe makes grilling cabbage easier than ever and results in a quick and easy side that everyone around the table is going to love.

Recipe: Grilled Cabbage

If there's one vegetable you'll want to cook on the grill this summer, it's corn on the cob. It appears alongside grilled meat on so many BBQ spreads for a reason, after all.

It's quite easy to cook on the grill, and all you really have to do is season it simply with some butter and salt for it to taste incredible. Plus, corn tastes sweeter when it's been cooked, which makes it even tastier.

Recipe: Best Grilled Corn on the Cob

Who says that grilled asparagus has to be served simply? When you want to upgrade your asparagus game, this is the recipe for you.

Grilling the asparagus makes for a flavorful side dish all on its own, but the apricot and pine nut romesco makes your asparagus taste like it came straight from your favorite restaurant. Roasting the apricots is key here, as it creates more flavor complexity and softens the flesh so it has a more spoonable consistency.

Recipe: Grilled Asparagus with Apricot and Pine Nut Romesco

If you like spicy food, then there are few appetizers that are more appealing than jalapeño poppers. Yes, you're getting plenty of heat from the jalapeños, but the cheesy stuffing really helps to tamp down that spice so it's not too overwhelming.

And to add a savory, salty note to the dish, you'll wrap the peppers in bacon. Once you grill your jalapeño poppers, that bacon will get nice and toasty, with a crispy texture that really brings the snack together beautifully.

Recipe: Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Sure, Caesar salad might typically be made with romaine lettuce, but that doesn't mean you can't switch up the base of the dish. This recipe utilizes grilled cabbage to make up the bulk of the salad, which provides it with a bitterer, sweeter complexity that blows lettuce out of the water.

It's far from a traditional Caesar, but it arguably has more depth. And don't worry — you're still going to get plenty of funkiness from the anchovies.

Recipe: Grilled Caesar Cabbage

Technically, mushrooms aren't really vegetables, but they can and do function as veg in a culinary context, which is why we're featuring these grilled portobello mushrooms. When this type of mushroom is grilled, it takes on a savory, intensely umami flavor that's shockingly similar to beef.

Therefore, you can serve it as a side dish, but it also works well as a main course. And when you add that rich, herby jalapeño chimichurri, you'll experience a whole new level of deliciousness.

Recipe: Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Jalapeño Chimichurri

Any basic corn on the cob recipe is going to be amazing once you've grilled the corn, but that doesn't mean you can't add even more flavor to the equation. By using garlic butter, you're infusing that sweet corn with an extra layer of richness and punchiness.

The best part? It barely requires any more work than you'd have to do to make plain grilled corn on the cob.

Recipe: Easy Grilled Corn on the Cob and Garlic Butter

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.