Grilled Vegetables in Foil

Don't we all just love-love-love grilled vegetables?! These are grilled in foil packets, a medley of fresh vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, celery, peppers and carrots tossed in an Asian-style soy-ginger sauce. Just wonderful, this! The red cabbage is my very favorite! No grill? You can cook them in the oven, too!

Fresh & Seasonal & Flexible. Summer Classic. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Kid Friendly. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Great for Meal Prep.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

This recipe is so quick and easy
that I'm adding it to a special collection of easy summer recipes
published every summer since 2009.
Watch for new "summer easy" recipes all summer long!
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A Grill Recipe for Non-Grillers

A grill master this cook is not. Who else is happy with a giveaway grill free from the dealership when my dad upgraded vehicles awhile back?

But I’ve nailed vegetables cooked on the grill in foil. Many warm evenings, I toss chopped what’s-on-hand vegetables into a foil packet with the slower-cook sorts on the bottom, top with garlic, dot with butter, sprinkle with salt and shake with pepper. Thirty 30 minutes later, it’s supper time, no bun required.

Still, my admiration goes out to grillers who debate the merits of hardwood charcoal and briquettes, stoke their chimneys and produce great burgers, breasts and butts with such ease.

Maybe someday. Until then, here’s a favorite recipe for vegetables cooked on the grill in foil, one even a professional amateur can master.

Vegetables Cooked in Foil Are Cooked "En Papillote"

And what does "en papillote" mean, pray tell?

THE SHORT ANSWER The en papillote technique cooks food extra quick by creating a hot little oven from foil, parchment, even banana leaves or corn husks.

A LONGER ANSWER En papillote [pah-pee-YOHT, PAH-peh-loht] refers to food baked inside a wrapping of parchment, foil or another material. Lots of people like to cook food in foil because it's so easy. Plus, the clean-up is simple and the cooking time is short because the heat is concentrated. So I've started to collect recipes for food cooked in foil. If you have a favorite recipe that fits this style, I'd love to test it out!

Learning to Grill

Cookbook author Steve Raichlen was in town last week to promote his new book, The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition [affiliate link]. Is this the summer, finally, to learn how to grill? Wish me luck!

Marking Canada Day with Canadian Recipes

To mark Canada Day on July 1, Canadian food bloggers are collecting Canadian recipes for Mmmm...Canada: and this is my contribution!

I am much proud of my Canadian heritage and appreciate that Canada bestows dual citizenship. Still, my "Canadian" recipes are few and far between because for me, Canada isn't a foreign place, it's just family, it's just the other country across the river. Huh? That's because my dad's house sits just across the river from Ontario: swimmable in the summer, walkable in the winter.

• Canadian readers (there are a lot of you!) may be amused at the recent good-natured finger-wagging from a Canadian who took issue with the authenticity of my mother's recipe for Butter Tart Bars.
• Others will be moved by the OCHER-Yaya, a gathering of Canadian women, friends since the 1950s, and their daughters at my house in St. Louis just last month.
• More Canadian Recipes

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GRILLED VEGETABLES in FOIL

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time on grill: 20 – 25 minutes
Makes 5 cups, easily doubled for a crowd

SOY GINGER VINAIGRETTE
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (see TIPS)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

VEGGIES (about 8 cups total)
• 2 ribs celery, 1” pieces on diagonal (don't skip)
• 2 carrots, 1” pieces on diagonal
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, washed (see TIPS) and trimmed, caps broken into pieces
• 1/2 red onion, peeled, cut in 5 pieces (don't skip)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 5 strips
• 1/2 head broccoli, stems peeled and cut into rounds, tops cut into florets
• 1/4 head red cabbage (my favorite!), cut in small wedges

Heat the grill. Whisk the Vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl.

Wash and drain vegetables before slicing (see TIPS). Add the vegetables to the Vinaigrette as sliced, tossing to coat. (Stop here if prepping in advance.)

Tear two foil sheets about 11x18. Divide the vegetables between the sheets; fold to create packets and seal tightly. Place on grill rack for 20 – 25 minutes til vegetables are cooked but still tender crisp and colorful. Carefully open the packets (hot steam will release!) and serve immediately.

RESOURCE How to wrap the vegetables in foil.

ALANNA's TIPS I’ve experimented with less oil but 2 tablespoons is perfect for both flavor and texture. It’s a myth that fresh mushrooms should always be brushed, not washed. If mushrooms are to be cooked, wash them first without harming the cooked texture or color. The drier the vegetables, the better the vinaigrette adheres so be sure to pat vegetable dry if they've just been washed. Reynolds sells large heavy foil bags convenient for grilling these vegetables in a single leak-free foil container. No grill? No problem. Cook the vegetables in a casserole dish covered with foil at 350F/180C for an hour. These veggies are delicious cold too. Make extra for easy salad bowls or breakfast bases for a couple of days.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 124 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 16g Carb; 5g Fiber; 369mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; 7g Sugars; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 3 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 2 & myWW green 2 & blue 2 & purple 2

Many thanks for this recipe to my cousin Diane, who's a great cook in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her kids love her recipe too! I am so lucky that my family so generously shares so many favorite family recipes. Thank you, all!

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How to Wrap Vegetables in Foil Packets

It's easy to cook vegetables in foil. Here are a few tips!

• [left/top] For a single batch of this recipe, I make two packets: two smaller packets are just easier to manage than one large packet. Heavy foil works best but if you don't have that, use a double layer of foil just on the bottom of the packet, where the grill's heat will concentrate. This can prevent burning of the bottom parts. Just mound the vegetables in the center of the foil.
• [center] Fold one side over the top of the vegetables, then fold over the opposite side. You're not sealing the packet yet, just starting to create the cooking container.
• [right/bottom] Now fold over the two remaining sides and fold the ends over each other once or twice or three times to seal the packet. The vegetables should be neatly contained but not tightly compacted in the foil. You want there to be some air inside, you don't want the foil to split.

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Hot Off the Grill

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~ more grill recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

~ more grilled vegetable recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

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More Recipes for Summer Vegetables

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

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Recent Favorites from A Veggie Venture

~ Broccoli & Boy Choy with Coconut & Curry ~
~ Ajvar ~
~ Ten Great Vegetable Recipes from Other Food Blogs ~
~ Greek Zucchini Pie ~
~ Raw Beet, Carrot & Kohlrabi Salad ~

If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, you'll love A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables with more from-scratch recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, home to the famous Alphabet of Vegetables and vegetables in every course, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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