Food and Recipes 38 Grilling Recipes for an All-Star Barbecue By Zoe Denenberg Zoe Denenberg As a professional baker, Zoe Denenberg has spent the past two years traveling across the country—from Alabama to Hawai'i—working in farm-focused pastry kitchens. She has written about food, travel, and culture for Southern Living since 2019. See more of Zoe's work at https://zoedenenberg.wixsite.com/portfolio and follow her on Instagram. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 30, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall 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. Plus, it's a pretty quick way to get food on the table. 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 some of our best 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 Spring Onion Grilled 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 plenty of recipes to choose from, there are endless combinations. Use these recipes as a guide, but feel free to get creative with your flavor combinations and create your own specialties. 01 of 38 Spicy Grilled Chicken Wings Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen Recipe: Spicy Grilled Chicken Wings You need just a handful of ingredients to add plenty of zing to grilled wings. 02 of 38 Spring Onion Grilled Pizza Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Spring Onion Grilled Pizza Ready for an unforgettable pizza night? Skip delivery and fire up the grill instead. We love the light and bright toppings in this recipe, but feel free to swap in any of your favorites. 03 of 38 Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Tangy Honey Barbecue Sauce Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Tangy Honey Barbecue Sauce This grilled chicken sandwich recipe is topped with a homemade honey barbecue sauce that is easy to make and will become your go-to recipe when grilling. 04 of 38 Easy Grilled Salmon Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford Recipe: Easy Grilled Salmon Buy the freshest fish you can find for a light and easy dinner that comes together in just 15 minutes. 05 of 38 Grilled Okra-and-Pepper Skewers with Dijon Dipping Sauce Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Grilled Okra-and-Pepper Skewers with Dijon Dipping Sauce Grilling okra whole reduces sliminess and imbues the pods with a gentle smokiness that is entirely irresistible. 06 of 38 Rigatoni With Grilled Veggies and Mozzarella Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Rigatoni With Grilled Veggies and Mozzarella Even pasta dishes can benefit from using the grill. Grilled eggplant and tomatoes give this vegetarian dish a layer of smoky flavor. 07 of 38 Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps Healthy in a hurry is possible with this 20-minute lettuce wrap recipe. 08 of 38 Grilled Grouper Photographer and Prop stylist: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Recipe: Grilled Grouper Enjoy restaurant-quality fish without leaving home with this simple yet delicious recipe. 09 of 38 Turkey Cheeseburgers With Grilled Vidalia Onion Rings Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Turkey Cheeseburgers With Grilled Vidalia Onion Rings This recipe is here to prove that turkey burgers can be just as flavorful as the original. 10 of 38 Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts One classic grilled chicken recipe, three sauces to make each time different. 11 of 38 Easy Grilled Aspargus Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Melissa Gray; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford Recipe: Easy Grilled Asparagus When preparing your main dish on the grill, this recipe allows you to cook your side dish without turning on the oven. Plus, it's ready in just 20 minutes. 12 of 38 Grilled Pork-and-Peach Salad With Honey-Mustard Dressing Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Grilled Pork-and-Peach Salad With Honey-Mustard Dressing From the pork to the peaches to the baguette, every part of this fresh salad is prepared on the grill. 13 of 38 Southern-Style Grilled Cobb Salad Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Southern-Style Grilled Cobb Salad We're taking the salad prep for this Cobb salad to the grill. You'll toss the chicken, bacon, okra, and corn all on the grill for plenty of flavor. 14 of 38 Grilled Cajun Shrimp Kabobs with Sausage Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer 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. 15 of 38 Grilled Sweet Pepper Salad With Ricotta And Summer Herbs Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Grilled Sweet Pepper Salad With Ricotta And Summer Herbs Steaming the peppers after grilling is an important step to help infuse them with the smoky flavor and help the skins peel off easily. 16 of 38 Lamb Burgers With Feta and Dijonnaise Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Lamb Burgers With Feta and Dijonnaise Swap beef for lamb on your next burger night for a fresh take on the classic grilled dish. 17 of 38 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. 18 of 38 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. 19 of 38 Grilled Green Tomatoes with Jalapeño-Honey Vinaigrette Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Grilled Green Tomatoes with Jalapeño-Honey Vinaigrette Frying isn't the only thing you can do with green tomatoes. This grilled tomato salad will be a go-to summer feature. 20 of 38 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. 21 of 38 Grilled Baby Eggplant Parmesan Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Grilled Baby Eggplant Parmesan Looking for a spin on BBQ night? Try grilled eggplant Parmesan for a meal that won't disappoint your crowd. 22 of 38 Grilled Okra-and-Tomato Salad Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Grilled Okra-and-Tomato Salad There are plenty of ways (and reasons) to eat barely dressed okra and tomatoes in the summer, but if you have the grill going, toss a few pods and wedges on it. The smoky flavor the few minutes on a grill imparts in these summertime jewels is irresistible. And with a very simple garlic-anchovie dressing, you elevate these humble foods to a feature-worthy presentation. 23 of 38 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. 24 of 38 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. 25 of 38 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. 26 of 38 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. 27 of 38 Shrimp-Okra-and-Sausage Kebabs 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. 28 of 38 Grilled Clambake Foil Packets with Herb Butter 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. 29 of 38 Cast-Iron Cowboy Steak Hector Sanchez 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. 30 of 38 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. 31 of 38 Brined Grilled Chicken with Dipping Sauces 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. 32 of 38 Grilled Chicken and Corn with Charred Scallion-Lime Butter Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Corn with Charred Scallion-Lime Butter The key to getting the perfect grill marks on the corn in this recipe is to soak the corn in water for 30 minutes before grilling. Right before placing on the grill, make sure to shake off any excess water. 33 of 38 Grilled Curried Chicken Thighs with Charred-Vegetable Rice Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Grilled Curried Chicken Thighs with Charred-Vegetable Rice Sprinkle curry seasoning on chicken thighs right before you grill them. Make sure the grill doesn't get too hot while they're cooking so that the skin doesn't burn before the inside is ready. 34 of 38 Greek Grilled Chicken Pita Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Greek Grilled Chicken Pita Let chicken breasts chill overnight in a marinade of olive oil, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper before throwing them on the grill. 35 of 38 Grilled Vegetables with Chickpeas, Feta, and Couscous Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Grilled Vegetables with Chickpeas, Feta, and Couscous Use a foil pocket to trap aromatic flavor in while grilling these veggies and grains. 36 of 38 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. 37 of 38 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. 38 of 38 Creole Burger Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Creole Burger Give your usual backyard burgers a company-worthy upgrade with bold creole flavors. Our Test Kitchen recommends using ground chuck for this recipe—the high fat content makes for one juicy and tasty bite. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit