If you crave maximum flavor, it’s time to grill veggies! The best vegetarian BBQ recipes are simple and straightforward so you can have fun in the pool, reading a book, or hanging out with friends while the grill works its magic!
Nothing against hamburgers, but grilling vegetables in a mouthwatering vegetarian recipe like Elizabeth Jordan-Flight’s Grilled Pepper Sandwich is a totally new level of flavor with the same amount of preparation and simplicity.
Sweet Bell Peppers are one of the very best vegetables to grill. They have that perfect balance of sweet and savory everyone loves in a smoky, charred BBQ recipe. They pair perfectly with grilled meats, like in Pepper Steak Sandwiches and BBQ Chicken & Vegetable Skewers, but where they really shine is vegetarian BBQ.
When you grill veggies, you not only get the rich flavor of fresh ingredients, but you also benefit from all the nutrients they contain.
Vitamin C is often associated with citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, but peppers contain more Vitamin C than either of those – plus a lot of other important vitamins and minerals like iron and Vitamin E. In fact, Sweet Bell Peppers have more nutrients per calorie than almost any other food! People across North America are discovering the health benefits of peppers and including them in more and more healthy recipes.
Grilling peppers grown in a greenhouse ensures you have a consistent supply of flavor all grilling season – and for those of you who grill in all seasons, you can still buy greenhouse peppers in winter!
Pure Flavor® Sweet Bell Peppers grow in long, tall rows, protected from the elements outside the greenhouse. Every drop of water a pepper plant receives is measured with precision and monitored from a computer. The ambient temperature and humidity of the greenhouse, in addition to the amount of light, is controlled by a trained team of growers to make sure every pepper has consistent quality.
So, naturally, when Elizabeth Jordan-Flight fired up her grill to make a delicious new vegetarian BBQ recipe, she reached in the fridge for one of her favorite grill veggies: Sweet Bell Peppers.
Elizabeth starts making her Grilled Pepper Sandwiches by preheating the grill to medium high heat and brushing the Sweet Bell Peppers in olive oil. She also brushes the outside of the buns with olive oil and the inside with pesto. Place your favorite cheese on the bottom of each bun – Elizabeth uses buffalo mozzarella, a versatile Italian cheese that pairs well with grilled veggies.
Now it’s time to make those delicious barbecue peppers! When grilling vegetables in a vegetarian recipe, you want to make sure you get a bit of a char on the outside, which helps some of the sugars caramelize and develop a richer flavor.
Place the peppers on the grill with the open side facing the flames and close the lid for about five minutes. Then, flip the peppers. Look at those beautiful grill marks! Close the lid again for another five minutes until perfectly charred and then remove them. Season them with salt and black pepper.
Once the grilled peppers are ready, grill the buns using indirect heat where there’s no flame underneath until the cheese melts.
Finally, assemble the Grilled Pepper Sandwiches by stacking grilled peppers on the bottom bun with cheese, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and fresh basil.
There you have it: the perfect grilled veggie sandwich. If you want to explore all the flavors possible when you grill veggies, here are some of the best vegetarian BBQ recipes:
- Grilled Pineapple and Cucumber Salad
- Grilled Potatoes and Vegetables
- Grilled Mini Peppers with Goat Cheese
- Grilled Tomato and Feta Pizza
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