Barbecuing is easily one of the best things about summer! It is great at bringing people together to enjoy wonderful summer food in a casual setting. Cooking outside when it is nice and warm lets you enjoy the mild weather and fresh air while trying out easy BBQ recipe ideas to prepare delicious meals for your friends and family.
Barbecuing – from preparing the ingredients and controlling the barbecue to waiting for the meat or vegetables to cook – is often a shared experience that gives a sense of community and camaraderie. The feat, of course, begins with finding new and exciting recipe ideas for a BBQ. But of course, we have got you covered. We have a range of summer BBQ recipes for you to try out, including mains, sides, and sauces. Keep reading to hear more about all of them!
Explore our tasty and best summer BBQ ideas
The best BBQ recipe is one that allows you to make great dishes brimming with flavour. The warmth and lightness of summer invite big, bold flavours to match. Our BBQ recipes perfectly meet this brief as they are all about turning great summer-fresh ingredients into delectable meals that you can cook on the barbecue.
Summer BBQ marinades, dips, and dressings
Different sauces are an essential part of a well-assorted selection of BBQ recipes. They are used to marinate meat and vegetables for barbecuing and as dips and dressings for salads and sides. They can be flavoured in a myriad of ways, depending on your preferences and how you decide to pair them with other dishes.
Below, you can learn a bit more about our most popular ones. But, if you are looking for a deep dive into BBQ recipes for sauce, have a look at this ultimate guide to BBQ sauces, which breaks down different types and gives tips on how best to use them.
BBQ marinade
With some good marinades, you can tenderise the meat to make it juicier, more tender, and more flavourful as you barbecue it. Our Greek yoghurt-based BBQ marinade does exactly this. The naturally acidic yoghurt acts as a tenderiser that allows the flavours of the marinade to infuse your meat of choice deeply. The taste it imbues is warming, slightly spicy, and fresh as it is made with great South Asian spice mixes, chilli peppers, and fresh coriander. While it works wonderfully as a marinade, you can also use it as dipping or dressing for different summer BBQ sides.
Jalapeno dip
The spicy and tangy taste of jalapenos is quite special. Though many might associate it with Tex-Mex and tacos, a homemade jalapeno dip pairs nicely with the flavours of other summer BBQ recipes known for their bold and vibrant flavours. This creamy dip is great as a spread in BBQ burgers and sandwiches, with grilled meats and vegetables, and, of course, with tortilla chips as a tasty snack. To ensure balanced flavours that are not simply spicy, it is made with fresh, citrusy coriander and zesty lime.
Tahini dressing
If you enjoy nutty and earthy flavours, you should try our BBQ recipe for tahini dressing. This rich and creamy dressing is flavoured with the roasted sesame paste called tahini. This paste is full of flavour and imbues this BBQ sauce with its signature nutty richness. The texture of the dressing makes it well-suited to toss with summer salads or use as a dip for grilled meats and vegetables as well as your summer BBQ sides. Due to its Middle Eastern influences, it pairs exceedingly well with BBQ recipes featuring lamb.
Tzatziki
A list of BBQ recipes for summer would be lacking if it did not mention tzatziki. This classic Greek dip is beloved for its refreshing nature and creamy consistency. The combination of smooth crème fraiche and shredded cucumber gives it an invigorating quality that makes it a great companion to savoury grilled meats with a nice BBQ char. It also tastes wonderful with fresh and grilled vegetables alike or a piece of crusty bread for a nice textural contrast.
Grilled meat on the BBQ
For many people, the most important BBQ recipes are the ones that involve cooking great cuts of meat or delicate seafood on the barbecue. The intense heat gives the meat a characteristic flavour that many associates with great summer nights in the backyard.
The process of barbecuing meats involves a combination of smoking, grilling, and slow cooking, which gives the meat a distinctive smoky flavour. Barbecuing over high heat can also cause the sugars in the meat and any marinades or rubs to caramelise. This caramelisation adds a deliciously sweet and slightly charred flavour that is almost synonymous with barbecued meats.
For more inspiration, you can get even more summer dinner ideas in our dinner guide so you can make the best, tastiest, and most versatile menu with everything from summer salads to summer desserts – perfect to accompany your BBQ menu or finish strong with a sweet treat.
Grilled pork roast
Though pork roast is often made in the oven, barbecuing it only makes it better. Grilled pork roast perfectly showcases the delightful combination of tender meat and crunchy pork crackling. Firing up the barbecue allows you to make this delightful dish outside in the fresh air, infusing the meat and crackling with the smoky aroma of the barbecue. To brighten this grilled pork roast and make it summer fresh, we recommend serving it with a salad with great summer produce, grilled corn on the cob, potato salad, or grilled vegetables.
Grilled spareribs
Grilled spareribs are a real BBQ treat! Though you may need to get out the wet wipes, the potential mess is well worth it. The sumptuous meat is so tender that it almost falls off the bones, and the sweet-savoury marinade with chilli ketchup, soy sauce, honey, and warming spices ensures a great caramelisation that enhances the natural sweetness of the meat. The result is a wonderful main course that makes it one of the most popular BBQ recipes – a must for any BBQ party!
Grilled salmon
Grilled salmon is a wonderful, light, and refreshing choice for an outdoor BBQ meal. The tender and flaky meat gains a wonderful char that you simply cannot get on a pan inside. When you marinade the rich fish with oregano, garlic powder, chilli flakes, and salt, the result is a flavour-enhanced grilled fish with a great texture. We suggest serving it with your favourite grilled vegetables and a fresh and tasty salsa verde full of fresh herbs and lemon juice.
Lamb skewers
Meat skewers are a classic when it comes to easy BBQ recipes, and we would argue that lamb skewers are especially tasty. Lamb has a distinctly earthy, gamey flavour that sets it apart from other mild-tasting types of meat. The boldness of its taste allows you to pair it with other big flavours to create an incredibly tasty BBQ treat. In our recipe, we use fresh mint and coriander, garlic, lemon zest, and red chilli to create a Middle Eastern-inspired shish kebab with a prominent herbaceous flavour.
BBQ side dishes for summer
Delicious, easy BBQ food only gets better with great side dishes. Fortunately, many BBQ recipes allow you to cook these sides on the barbecue at the same time as your mains. This easy style of cooking allows you to focus on what is most important: great taste.
However, sometimes the mains can assume a lot of space. If you do not have enough room to make use of these BBQ recipes for sides, you can use your cosy campfire. Find out more about the best foods for campfire night here.
Grilled corn on the cob
In a collection of classic BBQ recipes, chances are that you will always find one for grilled corn on the cob. Sweet corn is one of the greatest seasonal vegetables to include in your list of ideas for a summer barbecue. They are full of natural sweetness that pairs nicely with the savoury goodness of grilled meats. To spice things up, we decided to slather our corn cobs with a flavour-packed chilli butter with fresh coriander, lime zest, and, of course, red chilli peppers. The combination makes for a mouth-wateringly good side that ranks among the best BBQ recipes.
Grilled peach salad
Summer is the time for barbecuing and enjoying fresh sun-ripened fruits. With our recipe for grilled peach salad, you can combine both in one delicious side dish. Barbecuing the juicy peaches serves to enhance their natural sweetness by caramelising the surface. When combined with salty salad cheese, sharp red onion, and rich black olives, you get a multi-faceted salad with just a few well-chosen ingredients. To assure an abundance of textures too, the salad also has crispy lettuce, crunchy walnuts, and creamy avocado.
Pimientos de Padrón
Pimientos de Padrón are small, mostly mild snack peppers. Grilled pimientos de Padrón are popular tapas treats that make for a great side or snack at a well-stocked barbecue. The small peppers are barbecued at high heat to give the skin a caramelised char. Though they are not normally spicy, you will occasionally find one with a bit of a kick to it. Otherwise, their flavour can be described as piquant, slightly sweet, and a little nutty. They take just a few minutes to prepare and are simply tossed with salt to enhance their flavour. Since you can easily make a bunch at a time it is one of our best BBQ recipes for large groups.
Make the best summer party with our easy BBQ recipes
With a repertoire of great BBQ recipes, hosting a garden dinner with fantastic food is a breeze. The wide range of different options in our selection allows you to create a delectable menu sure to delight and impress your guests. You can focus on classic combinations, try cooking with new and exciting ingredients, or surprise a loved one by using all their favourite BBQ recipes. Putting together the perfect menu for a barbecue is a fun and rewarding process. Learn more about it in our guide to creating the best BBQ menu, which takes you through everything from mains and sides to easy BBQ dessert recipes and suggestions.
