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Weeknight Cooking

5 Quick and Easy Grilling Recipes You Can Make In 30 Minutes or Less

How do you get the most flavor when it comes to weeknight cooking? Take it outside.
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Published May 10, 2018.

5 Quick and Easy Grilling Recipes You Can Make In 30 Minutes or Less

Grilling is one of our favorite approaches to tackle weeknight dinner stress. That’s because the grill works best with quick-cooking foods that are small in size (such as shrimp and skewered meats) or foods that are individually portioned (such as steaks and chops). It also adds a lot of flavor to food that you just can’t get from a short stint on the stovetop. With a little bit of planning, you can prepare an entire meal on the grill in 30 minutes or less (not including a few minutes of prep time). Here are some of our best weeknight grilling recipes that we’ve gathered from our archive of hundreds of 30-minute recipes.

30-MINUTE GRILLED SUPPERS

Grilled Chicken Caprese

Choosing the right chicken breast comes down to texture. Our recommended brand of boneless, skinless chicken breasts provides you with juicy and tender meat once it’s off the grill. Don’t forget to top the grilled chicken with our basil vinaigrette, which adds a refreshing touch to this quick-cooking meal.
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30-MINUTE GRILLED SUPPERS

Grilled Skirt Steak and Sweet Potatoes

Skirt steak has a trio of things going for it: It’s inexpensive, quick-cooking, and flavorful. (You can read more about it and other steak options in our article about the best inexpensive steaks). When shopping for skirt steak, choose fattier cuts, which will help add a lot of flavor to your dish.
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30-MINUTE GRILLED SUPPERS

Grilled Cod and Summer Squash Packets

Grilling is the best way to cook many types of summer vegetables, so it comes as no surprise that we chose summer squash to complement the grilled cod in this dish. The main ingredients in this recipe (cod, squash, and tomatoes) cook at the same rate, making this an ideal dish for any home cook trying to get dinner on the table quickly.
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30-MINUTE GRILLED SUPPERS

Grilled Pork Chops with Plums

Grilling has the ability to caramelize the sugars in fruits, giving them a complex, smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with plums. If you can’t find any good plums at the supermarket, peaches make a great substitute for this dish.
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30-MINUTE GRILLED SUPPERS

Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Bok Choy

For maximum sauciness, we apply the teriyaki sauce twice: first towards the end of grilling and then again when the meat is taken off the grill. This gives us a double layer of sweetness and ensures the sauce doesn’t burn on the grill. (The best way to apply sauce to grilled items is with our favorite basting brush, the OXO Good Grips Silicone Pastry Brush.)
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Made this multiple times over the summer. So easy and delicious. I serve with crusty grilled bread so we can enjoy all the yummy juice.
Katie, a Cook’s Country web member’s review of Grilled Cod and Summer Squash Packets

SHOP TALK

Our cookbooks, put together by the experts in our test kitchen, make topics like grilling and weeknight cooking approachable for the home cook. If you're looking for a place to become a better cook, our online bookstore is the place to start--but here are two of our favorites for weeknight grilling.

SMART COOKS SHOP HERE

Master of the Grill

If you are new to grilling, Master of the Grill is perfect for you. If you consider yourself a genuine pit master, Master of the Grill is perfect for you, too. With over 400 recipes, we've divided this book into three sections (The Basics, The Easy Upgrades, and Serious Projects) to help you find recipes that suit your level of grilling. 
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SMART COOKS SHOP HERE

Dinner Illustrated

Our book, Dinner Illustrated , shows that it is possible to get dinner ready in 1 hour less for easy weeknight cooking. Discover creative dishes such as Grilled Beef Skewers with Arugula Salad and Heirloom Tomatoes, Grilled Harissa Lamb Burgers with Cucumber and Olive Salad, and more.
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