Which vegetables can be grilled?
Which vegetables can be grilled?
Which vegetables are particularly suitable for the grill?
Vitamin-rich, vegetarian and affordable – fresh vegetables on the grill have long been a like-for-like alternative to meat! Grilled vegetables also add a dash of colour as a healthy and tasty accompaniment.
Almost any vegetable is suitable for grilling. Things like corn on the cob, mushrooms and potatoes are well-known, but there are also delicious recipe ideas for aubergines, tomatoes and fennel. You can combine several varieties on skewers – e.g. on our GRILL+® skewers – if you’re looking to add even more variety to your dishes. If you prioritise seasonal and regional vegetables, you are protecting the environment and your wallet at the same time.
What do you need to look out for when grilling vegetables?
Vegetables can be marinated and slow-cooked, but also fried in hot oil.
- Cut the grilled vegetables into even strips or pieces. This also enables you to grill different varieties for roughly the same amount of time.
- Vegetables with a high water-content – such as courgettes or tomatoes – can easily be overcooked. It’s better to grill them hot and not too long.
- You can prepare many types of vegetable directly on the grill grate itself. If too much liquid ends up escaping, we recommend using a grill pan or a griddle. Griddles or Planchas are solid and closed, with a low surrounding edge used to collect liquids. As vegetables consist largely of water, courgettes, tomatoes and the like can be ideally prepared on them.
So you don’t always have to use the less environmentally friendly aluminium foil for vegetables. If you want to prepare your vegetables as gently as possible, we recommend indirect grilling on the warming rack – this preserves most of the vitamins. Some Char-Broil gas grills, e.g. the Advantage PRO and Performance PRO 3- and 4-burner grills, have a stainless steel grill pan integrated into the warming rack as standard. This exclusive Chef’s Delite system is simply perfect for all grilled vegetable fans.
Grilling green or white asparagus
Asparagus with hollandaise sauce and Serrano ham – it’s simply delicious, but everyone knows that already. Grilled and crispy, a whole host of different flavours are allowed to unfold. Green asparagus is particularly suitable for grilling as the thin spears cook quickly. Take a brush and marinate the asparagus with olive oil. Then add a few herbs and put it on the grill. If you are grilling directly on the grill, you should place the spears on wooden skewers or lay them crosswise so that they do not fall through the grill. Or simply place them on the griddle, then you won’t have any issues.
Aubergine
Aubergines are popular in Mediterranean cuisine, and also develop a spicy flavour on the grill. You can halve them for grilling or cut them into slices about 1 cm thick. Important: Salt the aubergine and leave to stand for about 15 minutes. This removes the moisture, making it soft and easy to chew later. Then pat dry and drizzle with olive oil or lemon juice and sprinkle with herbs of your choice. You can grill halved aubergines for five minutes on each side, slices are ready a little quicker.
Our top 5 – These vegetables are suitable for grilling!
Courgette
Wash and dry the courgettes before grilling. Then cut them into slices roughly five to ten millimetres thick and brush them with a marinade. Courgettes do not have an intense flavour of their own, so you can season them strongly or combine them with hearty feta cheese. For the courgette marinade, you will need
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil (olive oil or rapeseed oil)
- Kitchen herbs – such as thyme, rosemary or garlic
- Salt and pepper: Only add the salt after grilling to prevent the raw courgette slices from drying out.
Place the courgettes on the grill rack and grill for about five minutes, turning once in between.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most popular summer vegetables, and are also great for grilling. Larger varieties – such as beef tomatoes – are particularly suitable for this. Depending on their size, simply halve or quarter the tomatoes and marinate with a few ingredients. All you need is a little olive oil, chopped garlic, pepper and a few herbs – then put them in the grill tray or on the griddle. Grill for 10-15 minutes and then sprinkle with a little salt.
Mushrooms (e.g. button mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms)
Mushrooms can be grilled in many different ways:
- on the griddle
- directly on the grate
- on skewers
- filled with cheese, minced meat or couscous
Stuffed mushrooms with cream cheese or butter and a few herbs are particularly popular. Other types of mushrooms – such as king oyster mushrooms or porcini mushrooms – can be sliced and grilled.
It is best to grill vegetables with similar cooking times together. Char-Bro Stefan says: The more moisture the vegetables have, the more heat they can tolerate! Potatoes are best cooked over a longer period of time and at low temperatures (approx. 50-200 °C depending on the cut). When preparing juicy tomatoes, on the other hand, you can turn up the grill to full power (200-350 °C).
Je mehr Feuchtigkeit im Gemüse, desto mehr Hitze!
Gemüsespieße auf dem Sear-Brenner bei bis zu 900 °C scharf angrillen...
...oder schonend auf dem Warmhalterost garen.
Of course, there are many other vegetables that are great for cooking on the grill. Grilled sweetcorn, cauliflower, potatoes, peppers and avocado are also delicious. In most cases, the preparation requires little more than a marinade of vegetable oil, kitchen herbs, salt and pepper. Have you acquired a taste for vegetables and want to conjure up sophisticated dishes with their help? Then explore our vegetarian recipes, including papaya, beetroot, lime and chicory.
At what temperature should you grill vegetables?
Vegetable skewers can also be grilled at high temperatures on the sear burner with wind protection – but for a much shorter time than meat, for example. If you grill vegetables indirectly on the warming rack, most of the vitamins are preserved.
