1. Oil the Vegetables Lightly
Vegetables dry out when they hit the heat without a little oil. Before putting veggies on the grill, toss them with a light coating of oil. Plus, tossing them in oil helps your seasoning stick more uniformly. Just don’t use too much, as it adds calories, and you don’t want dripping oil on a grill!
2. Know Proper Cook Time and Prevent Burning
Some vegetables take a minute or two to cook while others take longer. Denser vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, will take the longest to cook. To prevent burning, sear vegetables over high heat, then move them to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking. You can also precook them and just give them a few minutes on the grill to get some color on the outside.
3. Use a Skewer or a Grill Basket for Small Pieces
Cherry tomatoes, zucchini rounds, and mushrooms are great on the grill, but they’re a little unwieldy. To keep smaller vegetables or pieces of fruit from rolling around or falling though the grate, pierce them on a skewer or use a grill basket. If you don’t have a grill basket, fold a 24-inch-long piece of heavy-duty foil in half and crimp up the edges to create a lip; this “basket” will prevent the food from falling through.
4. Cut Smaller Pieces for Quicker Cooking
How you cut your vegetables dictates how quickly they will cook. Cut them into smaller pieces if you want your vegetables to cook faster (and use a skewer to keep the on the grill). Cut round vegetables like onions or eggplant into thin “rounds”—you’ll get more surface area, which allows for a crispier outside, and because they’re thin, they’ll cook quickly. Cut long vegetables like squash or eggplants into long, thin pieces for faster cooking, or cut them in half for slow cooking over medium grill heat.
5. Try Cooking in Packets
If you don’t want to babysit your vegetables on the grill, try cooking them in packets. This method works great for dense vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, or other root vegetables. Place a 24-inch-long piece of foil on the counter and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange thinly-sliced vegetables on a single layer, slightly overlapping, on the foil. Leave a two-inch border on all sides. Fold foil over and pinch the edges together, making a packet, and place it on the grill. Cover the grill and cook until the vegetables are tender (about 12 to 15 minutes for potatoes). When you open a packet to check doneness, be careful of steam.
Source: Eating Well
