Barbecue Grilled Vegetables

So here we have the simplest form of vegan barbecue cooking: barbecue grilled vegetables. It would’ve been absolutely criminal to write an entire vegan BBQ website without having a page dedicated to celebrating vegetables, their flavour and how barbecue cooking can bring out their best side. I’ve tried to include recipes with simple seasonings, so that the natural flavour of each vegetable can shine through.

The fantastic thing about vegetables is that there are SO MANY of them. It is my firm belief that (if you’re creative about it) you can cook absolutely any vegetable on a barbecue. I’ve just started off with a few of my favourites.

So here are the recipes of my first barbecue grilled vegetables, alongside some hints and tips to help you along the way.

Barbecue Grilled Vegetable Recipes

Barbecue Miso Mushrooms

Smoked Miso Aubergine (Eggplant)

Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables

Sweet Potato Koftas

The temperature and cooking style

I’ve found that cooking vegetables work best on the barbecue when cooked at a barbecue roasting temperature, largely over indirect heat – I prefer a temperature of 140-200°C (284-392°F). Cooking over indirect heat means that the veggies are more likely to cook all of the way through, rather than just charring on the outside and being raw on the inside, which is reminiscent of many a vegetable kebab over the years! Smoking is also a great option for barbecue cooking vegetables, often working well using some of the more popular wood chips such as cherry, hickory and maple, but also going harmoniously with others such as beech, bay and oak.

If you are using indirect heat, using heat deflector stones is massively important when cooking on a ceramic barbecue. These create an oven environment, allowing for the even cooking of the vegetables that you’re looking for.

Whether you roast or smoke, the most important thing is not to let the temperature of your barbecue get up too high, otherwise you’ll end up with some hard, unpleasantly tasting veggies!

The seasoning

It’s so easy to go over the top with seasoning, but when you’re trying to showcase the unique flavours of each vegetable there really is no need! I’m an absolute sucker for chilli, so I have been guilty on many occasions of adding far too much smoked paprika, cayenne or just fresh chilli to a recipe, hence obliterating all other flavours present; for more delicate vegetable flavours especially, it’s important to not just think about what goes with your veggies, but how much of it you put on. I’ve done my best to apply this to all my recipes, but if your taste buds disagree with mine then alter the seasonings to your taste, so that you can get the best out of your barbecue grilled vegetables.

I hope you enjoy my recipes!

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