Summer Grilled Veggies (The Easiest Side Dish Ever)

With summer coming to a close, so is our grill. I don’t know how you do things in your family, but in our family, summer is grilling season. When September rolls around, we start transitioning out of summer and into fall which means the grill is used less often and eventually cleaned and closed up for the year. But, before summer comes to an official close, you better believe I’m going to be using the grill a bit more, especially when it comes to making delicious, flavorful grilled veggies as a quick and easy side dish to our evening meals.

Today, I’m gonna share one of my favorite recipes for grilled veggies with you. It’s super simple, cooks quickly, and pairs perfectly with red meat or chicken. It can also be baked (and broiled last minute) in the oven if grilling isn’t an option, but the grill gives this side amazing flavor!

Bring On The Side Dishes

You see, I’m always looking for more side dishes to add to my arsenal. Why am I always looking for more side dishes, you say? Well, I have a few different reasons. 

First, most side dishes are veggie dishes which make them healthy. Enough said there, right?

Next, half of the side dishes I make, my kids hate so I’m constantly on the look out for ones they approve of. Sure, mac and cheese show up as a side dish from time to time, and even though they’d love to eat that all the time (with the exception of one who’s decided he doesn’t like melted cheese… no joke), that’s not the regular kind of side dish I’m going for.

Lastly, I’m getting old which means my metabolism is trying to slow down and my booty keeps trying to get away from me. I mean, I keep drinking coffee to speed my metabolism back up to where it was when I was 20 (either that or give me the energy to work out), but that’s not working either. Just joking. Not about the getting old or the booty part, but the coffee part. Anyway, healthy, veggie-rich side dishes help fill me up without adding a crazy amount of calories to a meal, and that helps to keep my booty just where I like it. Again, enough said.

Okay. So when I’m making my weekly meal plan, I usually pick a different main dish for each day of the week and then add 1-2 side dishes to each one that seem to fit well. When I came across a couple different versions of grilled veggies, I fell in love with this simple side dish that is so versatile. Not only can the veggies be changed according to what’s in season, but different marinades and spices can be used to give these babies a wide range of flavors. All that to say… they’re versatile and they can be paired with a lot of different main dishes.

Let’s get to the recipe.

Delicious Grilled Veggies

Ingredients:

• olive oil (this is what I use)
• veggies (colored peppers, zucchini, red onion, artichokes – or whatever’s in season and on hand)
• butter (this is the brand I use)
• garlic

Directions:

1. Slice all veggies into bite-sized pieces. Keep in mind that veggies will shrink as they cook.
2. Place veggies in a bowl and drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil over them. Sprinkle on salt and pepper then mix well to coat veggies with oil and seasonings.
3. Place in a grill pan and grill over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or to your liking. Be sure to turn veggies every 5 minutes or so. Veggies should be fragrant and easy to pierce with a fork and should begin to brown around the edges. 
4. While veggies are cooking, melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Mince fresh garlic and add to melted butter. Cook garlic until it starts to lightly brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. When veggies are ready, remove from grill and transfer back into a bowl. Drizzle with garlic butter mixture and toss. Enjoy!

Printable recipe at the bottom of this post!

As you can tell… this recipe is easy and simple to make. It cooks quickly, and it tastes delicious. It will make a perfect side dish to most all summer meals, and I hope you give it a try before summer is gone and cool weather foods become the norm.

What side dishes do you enjoy during the summer? Share with me in the comment section below. I wanna hear all about it girlfriend!

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