Grilling vegetables is simply one of the very best ways to enjoy your favorite summer produce with the best flavor out there. You just can’t quite mimic the smoky flavor and crispness on the outside you can achieve with the grill. It is the perfect way to grab your favorite veggies at the farmer’s market, or even better--from your garden, and enjoy every last bite. Grilling something like a beautiful summer squash as a side dish could make that burger quiver a bit on top of its pedestal for summer meals. And get ready to say hello to your new favorite meatless Monday meal for summertime—grilled and smoky cauliflower steaks!


Now, as great as grilled veggies are, there are a few mistakes that are really easy to make that can make the veggies end up bland or undercooked. Here are a few of the most common mistakes when grilling veggies and how to fix them.

1. You are not seasoning enough. You should be liberally seasoning your veggies as much as you would your raw chicken or burgers. You can use your favorite all-purpose seasoning or even just simple salt and pepper works beautifully. To really kick the flavor up a notch you can also marinade the veggies beforehand.

2. You are using sugary sauces when you grill. When you use sugary sauces you buy from the store like barbeque or sweet and sour sauce, it is most often too sugary and makes the veggies burn really easy on the grill. Opt instead for oil or vinegar-based marinades to give the veggies tons of flavor without getting burnt.


3. You are not pre-cooking your hard veggies. All too often you might have veggies that are crispy and cooked on the outside, only to find out that they are hard and undercooked inside. Bell peppers, onions and zucchini cook beautifully all the way through only on the grill, but for harder vegetables like pumpkin or potatoes, you will want to make sure to cook them a bit before they hit the grill to ensure the best results. You can heat them in the microwave, steam or boil them until they are about half way cooked through and then they are ready to grill.

4. You are not oiling correctly. If you put oil directly on the veggies, it can cause flare-ups in the grill. If you grill the oil grates, however, those veggies won’t stick and won’t burn either. The best way to do it is to dip some paper towels in canola or vegetable oil and use tongs to run the paper towels across the grill grates when it is hot. 

5. You overcook them. Grilling cooks veggies a lot faster than when they are cooked in the oven, so it is easy to cook them too long without realizing it. A general rule of thumb is to cook them about half the time you would in the oven.  And don’t fall into this next speed trap….


6. You grill them over high the whole time. Another all-to-easy way to overcook the veggies is to cook them over high for too long. You will end up with burned, flavorless veggies if you do this. Ideally you would start on high to get it a bit charred and turn it down to medium to finish cooking through. You can also utilize the hot and cooler parts of the grill to achieve this. Cook it right in the hot spot at first then switch it to a cooler spot like a corner on a higher grill to finish it off. 

Do you have any tips on how to achieve the tastiest veggies from the grill? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.