50 Favorite Grilling Recipes for an All-Star Barbecue

By Zoe Denenberg

When the weather starts to warm up, our favorite spot to be is behind the grill. Cooking for a crowd can be stressful, but grilling allows for a more casual and interactive approach to the dinner party. You can socialize while you cook and recruit help from friends or family. Focused on developing big flavor rather than achieving perfection, grilling is an art all its own.

We’ve rounded up 50 of our favorite grilling recipes to help you master the barbecue this season. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, from summertime barbecues to fall tailgates, these quick and easy grilling recipes are guaranteed to impress your guests. You can build a whole meal from the grill. Start with a simple appetizer like Grilled Sausage-and-Shrimp Pizzas, move into a main course of Beer Can Chicken or Grilled Steak, pair with a side like classic Corn on the Cob, and finish with Grilled Peach Cobbler for dessert. With 50 recipes to choose from, there are endless combinations. One of our favorite parts about grilling is its freedom. Use these recipes as a guide, but feel free to get creative with your flavor combinations and create your own specialties.

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Classic Grilled Corn on the Cob

Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Classic Grilled Corn on the Cob

No barbecue is complete without grilled corn on the cob. Be sure to read our recipe twists for ways to elevate and spice your grilled corn.

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Ranch Turkey Burgers

Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Ranch Turkey Burgers

Homemade ranch seasoning is the secret to this flavor-bomb turkey burger. If you want to reduce your red meat intake, these light turkey burgers are a great way to change up your protein source.

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Hot Dogs with Pickle and Parsley Relish

Evin Photography

Recipe: Hot Dogs with Pickle and Parsley Relish

Homemade relish elevates this classic Hot Dog recipe and is sure to impress at your next barbecue.

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Spicy Grilled Corn Salad

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Toni Brogan

Recipe: Spicy Grilled Corn Salad​​​​​​​

Turn your grilled corn into an elegant, spoon-able side by cutting it off the cob and tossing it with diced red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.

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Charred Potato-Okra Salad

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Charred Potato-Okra Salad

Potato salad is one of our staple summer barbecue dishes, and it’s reinvented in this Charred Potato-Okra Salad recipe. Trade heavy mayonnaise for a light lemon vinaigrette to create the perfect grilled side.

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Loaded Hot Dog on Everything Hot Dog Buns

Southern Living

Recipe: Loaded Hot Dog on Everything Hot Dog Buns

Spice up your summer barbecue with an interactive hot dog bar, complete with upgraded Everything Hot Dog Buns and all the fixins.

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Grilled Garlic Bread

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Grilled Garlic Bread

Upgrade a store-bought baguette with this simple Grilled Garlic Bread recipe. Nobody will be able to resist this summertime take on an Italian classic.

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Sloppy Joe Carolina-Style Burgers

Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Sloppy Joe Carolina-Style Burgers

Upgrade your grilled burgers with a generous ladle of chili. They may be messy, but hey, that’s part of the fun.

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Grilled Sweet Potato Fries

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Grilled Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are one of our favorite versatile starches, and they can be served year-round with different seasonal twists. For the summer, we love tossing these Sweet Potato Fries on the grill.

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Smashed Bacon Cheeseburgers

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Smashed Bacon Cheeseburgers

Before you get fancy on the grill, it’s important to perfect the classics. Use this Bacon Cheeseburger Recipe as a base to start exploring fun flavor combinations on your burgers.

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Sausage-and-Shrimp Pizzas with Spinach-Basil Pesto

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Sausage-and-Shrimp Pizzas with Spinach-Basil Pesto 

In the summertime, we love using a fresh pesto base on our pizzas in place of heavy marinara sauce. Grilling this pizza dough creates a nice golden-brown color and gorgeous grill marks.

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Dry-Brined Beer-Can Chickens

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Dry-Brined Beer-Can Chickens

This recipe combines two of our favorite things: chicken and beer. Inserting a half-filled beer can into the chicken’s cavity before grilling helps keep the bird moist and adds a warm, subtle stout flavor.

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Foil-Pack Clams with White Wine and Herbs

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Foil-Pack Clams with White Wine and Herbs

If you haven’t tried grilled clams, it’s time to assemble the foil pack and get to work. This summertime favorite uses white wine, fresh parsley, and plenty of butter to put a spin on a seafood classic.

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BBQ-Glazed Cedar-Plank Slamon

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: BBQ-Glazed Cedar-Plank Salmon

Grilling salmon atop a cedar plank helps develop the fish’s flavor without creating an overwhelming smoky taste.

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Grilled Steak Salad with Potatoes and Pickled Red Onion

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Grilled Steak Salad with Potatoes and Pickled Red Onion

Don’t have enough steak to feed the whole party? This steak salad is the perfect solution. Top this salad with sliced, grilled steak and your guests will never even dream of having their own personal ribeyes.

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Grilled Chicken with Quick-Pickled Squash Salad

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Grilled Chicken with Quick-Pickled Squash Salad

Harvested extra zucchini from your garden? Use this simple recipe to quick-pickle the squash for an elegant complement to your grilled chicken.

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Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Charred Tomato Relish

Alison Miksch

Recipe: Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Charred Tomato Relish

This Grilled Flat Iron Steak recipe is surprisingly simple to execute and only requires salt and pepper to season. Top with a generous spoonful of charred tomato relish.

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Grilled Cajun Shrimp Kabobs with Sausage

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Grilled Cajun Shrimp Kabobs with Sausage

Kabobs are an easy way to pack lots of flavors onto one easy-grilling vehicle. We love loading our shrimp up with Cajun seasoning for a real Southern barbecue.

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Peppery Grilled Okra with Lemon-Basil Dipping Sauce

Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Peppery Grilled Okra with Lemon-Basil Dipping Sauce

Okra is one of our favorite Southern vegetables. It can be served fried, pickled, or roasted, but we love the flavor this veggie develops on the grill. Pair with an addictive and simple lemon-basil dipping sauce.

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Peach-Ricotta-Prosciutto Toasts

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Peach-Ricotta-Prosciutto Toasts

For smoky flavor, toast your crostini on the grill before piling them high with peach, ricotta, and prosciutto. Feel free to experiment with the toppings on this easy appetizer.

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Charred Tomato Relish

Southern Living

Recipe: Charred Tomato Relish

It’s time to ditch the ketchup. Spoon this charred tomato relish over chicken and steak for a smoky and sophisticated condiment.

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Grilled Chicken Tacos

Wynn Myers

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Tacos

With a simple acidic marinade, sliced grilled chicken is the star of these tacos. Add grilled pineapple to complement the fruity flavors in the marinade.

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Steak-and-Potato Kabobs

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Recipe: Steak-and-Potato Kabobs

With hearty steak and fingerling potatoes, these kabobs are an entire meal on a stick.

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Grilled Pizza with Summer Veggies and Smoked Chicken

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

Recipe: Grilled Pizza with Summer Veggies and Smoked Chicken

This unconventional grilled pizza can be cut into wedges and served as an appetizer or served as personal pizzas for a main course. Feel free to have fun changing up the toppings to suit each guest’s taste!

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Grilled Steak with Blistered Beans and Peppers

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely

Recipe: Grilled Steak with Blistered Beans and Peppers

You can’t go wrong with grilled steak, and this fun pairing with blistered beans and pepper is easy to execute and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

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Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Arugula Pesto

Greg DuPree

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Arugula Pesto

Fearing bland chicken? Arugula pesto brings an herby brightness to these grilled chicken kabobs.

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Bacon, Peach, and Basil Burgers

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Bacon, Peach, and Basil Burgers

Make the most of fresh, seasonal ingredients with this expertly-crafted burger. From tangy and slightly sweet caramelized onion-peach chutney to bold goat cheese and pickled jalapeño, this burger is stacked with layers of complex flavor.

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Grilled Scallop-and-Mango Salad

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Grilled Scallop-and-Mango Salad

In the summer, we love throwing fresh seafood on the grill for a lighter dinner option. This Grilled Scallop Salad will leave you feeling satisfied and recharged.

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Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops with Scallion-Lime Rice

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Recipe: Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops with Scallion-Lime Rice

These spice-rubbed pork chops come in generous individual portions, making them the perfect weeknight meal.

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Shrimp-Okra-and-Sausage Kebabs

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Recipe: Shrimp-Okra-and-Sausage Kebabs

From the crispy shrimp to the beautifully charred okra, these kebabs combine all our favorite Southern summer flavors in one. A squeeze of fresh lemon adds brightness to this well-balanced dish.

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Grilled Steak Salad with Green Tomato Vinaigrette

Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Anna Hampton

Recipe: Grilled Steak Salad with Green Tomato Vinaigrette

This steak salad is one of our summer go-to dishes for its combination of hearty red meat and fresh greens.

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Grilled Creole Chicken and Okra

Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Grilled Creole Chicken and Okra

This recipe guides you in creating a grilled Creole feast, complete with skewers of chicken, sausage, bell pepper, and okra. Naturally, it’s all coated in Cajun seasoning.

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Skirt Steak Soft Tacos with Avocado-Corn Salsa

Linda Pugliese

Recipe: Skirt Steak Soft Tacos with Avocado-Corn Salsa

Skirt steak’s long, thin cut makes it perfect for tacos. Be sure to throw the corn tortillas on the grill for a few minutes to give them a nice char.

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Grilled Eggplant-and-Corn Romesco Napoleons

Photo: Cedric Angeles; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Recipe: Grilled Eggplant-and-Corn Romesco Napoleons

Replicating the shape and deep char of burger patties, these hearty grilled eggplant and corn napoleons cater to all the vegetarians at the barbecue. Paired with a nutty romesco sauce, you’ll never miss meat in this show-stopping dish.

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Grilled Clambake Foil Packets with Herb Butter

Photo: Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Anna Hampton

Recipe: Grilled Clambake Foil Packets with Herb Butter 

With shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and clams, this abundant Grilled Clambake offers a little bit of everything. The dish isn’t complete without a generous douse of herb butter.

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Halloumi-and-Summer Vegetable Kabobs

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Recipe: Halloumi-and-Summer Vegetable Kebabs​​​​​​​

If you aren’t already grilling halloumi, get to the grocery store ASAP to pick up this summer essential. We love this grilled cheese stacked on vegetable skewers for a colorful side dish.

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Grilled Asparagus with Bacon and Mushrooms

Jen Causey

Recipe: Grilled Asparagus with Bacon and Mushrooms

This veggie side dish will complement any main course from your grill. Plus, everything is better with bacon.

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Grilled Peach Cobbler

Greg DuPree

Recipe: Grilled Peach Cobbler

Why fuss over a delicate dessert when the grill’s fired up? Grilling this Peach Cobbler brings a smoky flavor to the classic Southern dessert.

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Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak

Southern Living

Recipe: Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak

This thick, bone-in steak will be the centerpiece of your barbecue. Cooking in a cast iron skillet on the grill helps the steak gain even exposure to heat and a perfect crust.

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Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick

Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Top-Shelf Chicken Under a Brick

Cooking the chicken “under a brick,” a technique that involves pushing the chicken flat against the hot grill, will cut your cooking time in half.

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Ginger-Plum Slump

Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

Recipe: Ginger-Plum Slump

This rustic campfire dessert pairs bubbling fruit with airy, biscuit-like cobbler dumplings.

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Grilled Pork Meatball Kabobs

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Grilled Pork Meatball Kabobs

These meatballs cook quickly and are packed with international flavors like gochujang, a spicy-sweet Korean chile sauce.

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Lemon-Herb Chicken Kabobs

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Lemon-Herb Chicken Kabobs

Skewered with fresh lemon slices and asparagus, this chicken stays moist and develops a beautiful charred crust.

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BBQ Glazed Ham

Photo: Ralph Anderson

Recipe: BBQ Glazed Ham

With a thick, gradually-building BBQ rub coating, this stunning Glazed Ham is ready to make an entrance on your Thanksgiving table.

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Grilled Ratatouille Skewers

Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele

Recipe: Grilled Ratatouille Skewers

A fancy French dish made simple. These vegetable skewers are the perfect side dish to complement meat, fish, or anything in between.

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Grilled Cabbage with Tamarind BBQ Sauce and Tillamook Cheddar

Southern Living

Recipe: Grilled Cabbage with Tamarind BBQ Sauce and Tillamook Cheddar

Another veggie-starring main dish, this hearty Grilled Cabbage is loaded with the flavors of tangy tamarind and sharp white cheddar. Crumbled tortilla chips add texture for an elegantly composed meal.

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Spiced Beef Kabobs with Herbed Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe

Greg Dupree

Recipe: Spiced Beef Kabobs with Herbed Cucumber and Tomato Salad

These crispy Grilled Beef Kabobs may be hard to beat, but the real star is this spread is the sides. Pair with a fresh Herbed Cucumber and Tomato Salad and a creamy Yogurt-Tahini Sauce for happy dipping.

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Grilled Octopus

Southern Living

Recipe: Grilled Octopus

Don’t be intimated by the looks of this recipe. After boiling the octopus low and slow, throw it on the grill to add a nice, smoky touch.

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Grilled Potato Salad

Southern Living

Recipe: Grilled Potato Salad

This recipe calls for a generous toss in a mixture of sour cream, mayonnaise, and lemon juice, staying true to all the classic components of potato salad. Except this rendition uses grilled potatoes instead of boiled to bring a crispy texture and charred flavor to the dish.

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Brined Grilled Chicken with Dipping Sauces

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Brined Grilled Chicken with Dipping Sauces

Brining your chicken before grilling is a great way to develop flavor without fussing over a thick marinade. Pair with your pick of fiery sweet dipping sauce, buttermilk-parmesan ranch dressing, or creamy honey mustard. Or try all three.

 

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