25 Cheap Grilling Ideas Under $10 Your Family Will Love

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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 Kabobsgrilled 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

cajun hobo 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

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

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

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

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

perfect 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

grilled sweet potatoes

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

grilled smores

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

foil packet berry crisp

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

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

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

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

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!

Picture of Bobby Pritchard

Bobby Pritchard

Founder of Smokey Grill BBQ, father of 2 picky kids, lover of all traditional BBQ and accompanying side dishes. With my family history of heart attacks, I'm reducing my red meat (without eliminating it) and old-school barbecue to add more veggies and fruits to my diet. So, why not smoke and grill ALL the fresh ingredients for some healthy variety?!

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