With the back-to-school season just around the corner, summer has come and gone in a flash. This doesn’t mean your grilling has to end, though! As long as the weather’s good, you can grill anytime, especially with these cheap grilling ideas.
We’ve taken special care compiling this list of cheap grilling recipes to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck. These grilling recipes are hand-picked to include a mix of main dishes, sides, and BBQ desserts to fit any occasion.
Here are our top 25 cheap grilling ideas to try before summer ends!
1. Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Found on Dinner At The Zoo
When you think about summer, you think, “kabobs.” These grilled chicken kabobs have a delicious honey garlic marinade for the grilled chicken and veggies. For optimum flavor, marinate up to 8 hours to ensure the flavors soak in.
2. Grilled Pineapple Hawaiian Burgers
Found on Joanie Simon
Another grill favorite, these burgers are perfect for a get-together or family dinner. While the recipe calls for a black bean garlic sauce, you can easily replace this with teriyaki for a bold flavor combination with the grilled pineapple and sweet onion.
3. Perfect Grilled Eggplant Steaks
Found on Feasting at Home
For your cheap keto dinners, these eggplant “steaks” are the ideal cheap grilling solution. Just be sure to brine the eggplant in salt water and pat dry properly before grilling to maintain moisture.
4. Pepper-Crusted Maple-Glazed Salmon
Found on Frugal Mom Eh
As you’ll notice, our cheap grilling ideas tend to all have one crucial step to preparation—marinating. This salmon is no different, requiring at least 4 hours of marinating before resulting in a sweet maple and savory pepper main course.
5. 5-Ingredient Grilled Italian Sausage Kabobs
Found on The Seasoned Mom
Not only is this dish a low cost, but it’s quick and easy too. Just pile Italian sausage, bell peppers, and sweet onion on skewers to make a delicious and fast dinner for everyone to enjoy.
6. Grilled Pork Chops
Found on Valentina’s Corner
Low-cost grilling ideas can be packed full of flavor, like these delicious grilled pork chops. In preparing this recipe, make sure you get pork chops that are at least 1 inch thick to allow for proper grilling and flavor absorption.
7. Spongebob-Inspired Krabby Patties
Found on Seth Lui
These burgers are a sure-fire favorite for the kids and satisfy the craving of adults, too! King Neptune’s Poseidon Powder aioli turns this burger into a delectable Krabby Patty, as seen on Nickelodeon’s Spongebob Squarepants.
8. Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Found on A Couple Cooks
As far as grilling recipes go, these tacos are done in a matter of minutes. Shrimp cooks quickly, especially on the grill, so be sure to monitor it and take it off the heat when it’s just turned pink! Paired with a spicy mayonnaise, these tacos will bring an extra “kick” to the party.
9. Low Carb Keto Beef Kabobs
Found on Noshtastic
The Keto Diet is all the rage nowadays, so these kabobs will fit right into your diet plan. We recommend marinating the steak for at least four hours, so the flavor really comes through after grilling.
10. Grilled London Broil
Found on Hip2Keto
London Broils are a notoriously cheap (and tough!) piece of meat. When marinating, make sure to score the beef on both sides, so the marinade seeps into it. Be careful not to over-grill, keeping a close eye to make sure your meat is juicy and not tough.
11. Grilled Cajun Veggie Foil Packs
Found on Wholly Plants
These veggie foil packs are stuffed full of flavor between the sweet corn, baby red potatoes, onion, mushrooms, and kale. This vegetable medley can be the main dish for your vegetarians or vegans or an excellent side dish.
12. Grilled Vegetable Kabobs
Found on Love And Lemons
These easy-to-make vegetable kabobs can be a delicious side dish or main meal. Drizzling the squash, zucchini, mushrooms, red onion, bell pepper, and corn with tzatziki or Greek dressing creates the perfect flavor contrast between sauce and veggie.
13. Brown Sugar Grilled Pineapple
Found on Dinner Then Dessert
These versatile grilled pineapple rings can work as a side, dessert, or burger topping. Just marinate the pineapple in brown sugar for ten minutes, grill for two to three minutes, and you’ve got delicious sweet grilled pineapple!
14. Grilled Garlic Herb Potatoes
Found on Let’s Dish
Potatoes pair well with almost any meal, and these garlic herb potatoes are no exception. Seasoned with olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese, they’re the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meal.
15. Balsamic Grilled Vegetables
Found on Sweet Phi
The key to packing these veggies with flavor is (you guessed it!) marinating them overnight. Unlike other recipes on this list, these balsamic grilled veggies are best made using a stainless-steel grill basket—you get a nice grilled flavor without the char-marks!
16. Grilled Corn on the Cob
Found on Sweet C’s Designs
This corn on the cob guarantees to please with four simple ingredients: corn, butter, salt, and pepper! Make sure to plan for this recipe, as it takes 45 minutes for the corn to cook thoroughly.
17. Grilled Sweet Potatoes With Chipotle Honey Lime Butter
Found on Joyful Healthy Eats
If you’re tired of regular grilled potatoes, give sweet potatoes a try. These honey butter grilled sweet potatoes are sure to pair well with any grilled meal. Just be sure not to burn them!
18. Easy Grilled S’Mores
Found on Reynolds Kitchens
No summer cookout (or cheap grilling ideas list!) is complete without s’mores. All you’ll need for this quick recipe is graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate to make ooey-gooey s’mores directly on the grill!
19. Berry Crisp Foil Packets
Found on Hip2Save
These foil packets are the equivalent of a warm berry crisp from the oven, except wrapped in foil and cooked on a grill! Raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries come together under crisped oatmeal for a perfect summer dessert.
20. Bloomin’ Grilled Apples
Found on The Gunny Sack
This sweet treat requires following two different recipes—one for the apples, and one for their filling. Although a little technically advanced, these maple cream caramel-filled apples are sure to delight even the pickiest guests.
21. Strawberry Shortcake Skewers
Found on Will Cook For Smiles
If you’re tired of regular grilled chicken, give jerk chicken a try. This Jerk Chicken Marinade is sure to spice up any bland grilled chicken. Just make sure to cook them until their internal temperature reaches 165°.
24. Cheesy Grilled Asparagus
Found on Diethood
These cheesy and delicious asparagus are loaded with cheese and grilled inside foil packs! If you like asparagus then you will love them, even more, when they are smothered in cheese!
25. Grilled Pizza
Found on Tastes Better From Scratch
What’s better than a pizza hot out of the oven? A pizza hot off the grill! Make your own custom pizza with any topping you like or make a classic cheese pizza. This is the perfect cheap grilling idea for all pizza lovers.
Looking For A Budget Grill?
Try Our Cheap Grilling Ideas Before Summer Ends!
These 25 low-cost grilling ideas are the perfect way to continue soaking up that summer sun. We’ve covered main dishes, side dishes, and desserts in this comprehensive list. Now all you’ve got to do is fire up your grill and make an excellent (and affordable) meal! You can even add to the fun with some BBQ Party Games!
We also have a great article “25 Essential Grilling Tips That Will Make You A Grill Master”, it’s full of great tips for beginner and master grillers!
