Kitchen Tip: How to Grill Vegetables

Recipe, video and photography provided by Heinen’s partner, Chef Billy Parisi.

While many people reserve the grill for cooking their favorite summer proteins, like burgers, hotdogs, steaks and seafood, fresh vegetables are also extremely delicious with a little char!

Where to Find Fresh Vegetables for Grilling

The great thing about summer is that it is the season for locally grown produce! If you’re looking to enjoy the bounty of farm-to-table fresh picks that come from the Midwest during this season, there’s no better place to shop than Heinen’s. In fact, by the peak of summer, over 70% of Heinen’s fresh produce selection is grown locally! The only other place you can find that level of freshness is at a farmer’s market.

The Produce Buyers and Inspectors at Heinen’s are experts in their field and work alongside an extensive network of local farmers to ensure that the produce grown for Heinen’s meets their strict quality standards. From the time the produce is picked on the farms to the time it makes it into your grocery basket, Heinen’s associates inspect, monitor and diligently care for the produce to ensure that the items you take home are nothing less than exceptional in quality.

What Vegetables are Best for Grilling?

Now that you know where to purchase vegetables for grilling, it’s time to discover what types of vegetables are best to cook over the open flame. The good news is that all vegetables are fair game! From green beans and asparagus to potatoes and corn, nothing is off limits. However, having too many options can be overwhelming, so a good rule of thumb is to consider the vegetables you enjoy on kabobs when choosing vegetables to grill. Here’s a list to get started.

• Bell peppers
• Eggplant
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Sweet onions
• Corn on the cob
• Asparagus
• Button mushrooms

Three Key Tips for Grilling Vegetables

Grilling vegetables is extremely easy, but there are three key rules to keep in mind to ensure even cooking and delicious flavor.

1. Slice the vegetables thick so they don’t slip through the grill grates. (A grill basket can be used to prevent the vegetables from slipping through the grates, but this technique often results in uneven cooking.)
2. Coat the vegetables in oil and season generously with salt and pepper prior to grilling.
3. Grill the vegetables that take the longest to cook first, then add the faster-cooking veggies at the end so everything finishes at the same time.