Plant-Based Grilling: 12 Creative Vegan Barbecue Dishes

We’ve talked about vegetable-centric grilling, and often give veggie options with all our recipe recommendations, but this time, we let plant-based cooking be the star of the show. Whether you follow a vegan diet or not, you won’t be able to resist these dishes…

Grilled Veggie Extravaganza

Promote grilled veggies from side dish to main attraction… simply by making a heaping amount of them! Take lots of different seasonal veggies, cut them lengthwise, and cook them over a medium-hot barbecue until they take on a nice char. Toss them onto a serving tray and dress generously with the best quality olive oil you can find, a little balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, some fresh herbs and salt and pepper. You really don’t need much else. Heaven.

Grilled Portobello Steaks

Your vegan BBQ bash should include some grilled portobello steaks. Marinated with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, spices and – optionally – a bit of sweetness in the form of maple syrup, these simple mushrooms transform into a sweet-smokey delicacy with a meaty texture. Pat your portobellos dry before placing them on the grill, and cook for 8-10 minutes, basting with the marinade as needed. Add them to a bun with some salsa, onion and avocado for a full main dish.

Baba Ghanoush, Dirty Style

Aubergines (or eggplants) and barbecue are a match made in heaven. Place some aubergines straight into the coals until they are fully charred and squidgy to the touch. Remove to a bowl, peel them, and add some garlic that you roasted alongside them, then chop and smush everything (hence the ‘dirty style’), and add generous amounts of lemon, tahini and olive oil, plus a sprinkle of salt. Done. Überdelicious, according to DJ BBQ.

Yummy Vegan Burgers

Leave it to Richard Makin, aka The School Night Vegan, to come up with incredible animal-free renditions of classic meat recipes. This burger, made from soy mince and vital wheat gluten with all the classic toppings, actually over-delivers. If you prefer a veggie burger, try a black bean and quinoa burger or a black bean, jackfruit and walnut burger with a lot of texture. 

BBQ Bean Sausages

These bean-based sausages by vegan wizard Gaz Oakley are super simple to make and have none of the additives you might find in factory-processed vegan sausages. Once you’ve prepared the sausages, you boil or steam them and finish off with four to five minutes on a hot grill to give them that nice flame lick. Delicious with a fresh salsa verde.

Sticky BBQ Brisket

Brisket is made with a low and slow smoking technique and requires quite a bit of time and patience. The same goes for vegan brisket – made from seitan – although most of the prep work happens in the kitchen. This one is slathered in a homemade BBQ sauce and gets a few minutes of grilling time on a hot barbecue for that irresistible smokey-sticky sensation. There are quite a few vegan brisket recipes out there, and Bold Flavor Vegan has tried and compared the most popular ones, so you can see for yourself which method appeals to you most. 

Grilled Tofu Skewers

Animal proteins gain a lot of flavour from rubs, marinades and sauces, and if you keep this in mind, you can do magic with plant-based proteins as well. Tofu by itself is a great canvas to go in all sorts of flavourful directions. Nisha Vora or Rainbow Plant Life demonstrates how to properly grill firm tofu and gives five sauce ideas: a spicy peanut sauce, chipotle sauce, cilantro pesto, cashew cream and a peach and avocado salsa.

BBQ Cauliflower ‘Wings’

Candice ‘The Edgy Veg’ transforms cauliflower into crowd-pleasing ‘wings’ with a Korean-inspired twist. Cauliflower florets are dipped in batter, then baked in the oven, coated with BBQ sauce, and finished on a hot grill for that nice char. Make sure to double or triple the recipe, because these will go fast!

Barbecue Tempeh

Tempeh, a traditional Indonesian staple made from fermented soybeans, draws strong opinions from lovers and haters. If you’re a tempeh lover, try some at your next grill party. In this recipe, they’re cooked in a flavourful broth, brushed with homemade barbecue sauce and grilled for a nice crispy finish.

Vegan Grilled Peach Flatbreads

Making some flatbreads to go with all your saucy barbecue dishes is always a good idea, and once your grill is hot, they’ll take very little time to cook. Alternatively, take your flatbreads as the basis of a lunch dish, such as these summery grilled peach and asparagus flatbreads with a kale, chipotle and kombucha pesto.

Vegan BBQ Baked Beans

A barbecue isn’t complete without some good sides such as coleslaw (here’s a vegan recipe!), a pasta salad, or BBQ baked beans. Most BBQ baked beans have bacon or bits of other meat, but here’s a completely meat-free recipe, made in a slow cooker. 

Watermelon ‘Steak’

You might have tried a slice of grilled watermelon as a sweet ending to your barbecue feast, but you can also add grilled watermelon cubes to a salad with some arugula, balsamic vinegar and vegan cheese as a sweet-savoury side dish. If you’re into slightly weird (but fun) taste experiments, there are quite a few watermelon ‘steak’ recipes around.