Your Grilled Veggies Deserve Better. You Just Need the Right Tools.

New York Times

16-05-2025

The basket's large perforations allow veggies to get sufficient contact with grill grates, so they're charred to perfection.
Kitchen editor Marilyn Ong and writer Lesley Stockton, the author of our guide to the best grill tools and accessories, recently conducted a side-by-side test comparing a grill basket and a sheet pan. And the results were notably in favor of the basket.
They discovered that the broccoli in the grill basket browned beautifully, while the florets on the sheet pan remained vibrantly green. 'Food steams on a sheet pan, whereas it cooks much faster on a grill basket due to the perforations and better contact with the heat,' Lesley explained.
So even though it's a bit clunky, the Grillaholics Grill Basket is best for grilling chopped veggies that could easily fall through the grates, such as rounds of zucchini or squash. Our testing confirmed that broccoli cooked in a grill basket browns far better than broccoli cooked atop a sheet pan. Marilyn Ong/ NYT Wirecutter
The basket's perforations are big enough that steam can escape while the veggies cook on the hot metal — creating that nice browning we saw in our tests — but they're not so large that food will fall through the holes. This stainless steel grill basket can also withstand the rigors of high-heat grilling, and it's dishwasher-safe (ideal for easy post-grilling cleanup).
If burnt-on grease does build up on your stainless steel veggie basket, cleaning writer Caroline Mullen recommends treating it as you would any other stainless steel piece of cookware. 'Give it a sprinkle of Bar Keeper's Friend, and scrub it with a wet sponge in circular motions until all the grime is gone,' she said.
If you have trouble getting into small crevices and holes with a sponge, Caroline suggests using a little scrub brush, with a simple mixture of Bar Keeper's Friend and water. Then wipe the whole thing down with dish soap and water, and let it dry before you start grilling.
Cast iron's superior heat retention is ideal for searing and caramelizing veggies, including asparagus, onions, and more. Maki Yazawa/NYT Wirecutter
This affordable pan is lighter than a traditional cast iron skillet as well as a little shallower. It's an ideal shape for searing, roasting, sautéing, and even grilling veggies.
If you don't have a grill basket, a cast iron skillet can produce similar browning results, thanks to its superior ability to retain heat. It can also help contain loose veggies so they don't slip into your grill's grates. However, you may encounter steaming issues due to the restricted airflow (like you would if you used a sheet pan). You should also be wary of thermal shock when you're grilling with cast iron.
This easy-to-find, multipurpose material doubles as a disposable alternative for a grill basket.
Writer Abigail Bailey, a native Texan raised on barbecue who wrote our guide to the best barbecue sauces, said she grew up using heavy-duty aluminum foil instead of a grill basket.
'I swear by some good butter, preferably Kerrygold, and I slather it onto cauliflower florets, along with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, before wrapping it all up in foil to put in a smoker or grill,' she explained. The result is beautifully smoky, buttery cauliflower.
You won't achieve good charring with this method, since the foil keeps the vegetables from directly coming in contact with the hot grates and flame. But the veggies will be infused with flavor because this method traps both moisture and aromatic smoke.
Although a sheet pan might not be ideal for cooking on the grill, it's great for transferring prepped veggies (or grilling tools) to and from your outdoor cooking station.
We like the multipurpose Nordic Ware Naturals Baker's Half Sheet because it has plenty of room to hold chopped veggies, and its 1-inch rim is tall enough to keep veggies safely contained as you toss them in cooking oil and seasonings before heading to the grill.
If space is a concern, these sheet pans come in smaller quarter- and eighth-sheet sizes, which can fit better on top of a smaller side table or shelf. Transporting prepped asparagus spears from the kitchen to the outdoor grill using a sheet pan. Maki Yazawa/ NYT Wirecutter
Foods that are less prone to sogginess, such as sliced onions or diced sweet potatoes, can be grilled atop a sheet pan (instead of in a grill basket or a cast-iron skillet). But you'll need to toss them occasionally to ensure they cook evenly. A sheet pan can also double as a serving tray after all of the cooking is done.
Sturdy skewers help achieve even browning as you can rotate them 360 degrees to ensure heat reaches the food on all sides. This is especially important for vegetables to ensure even heat exposure and develop a smoky and slightly bitter charred flavor.
While we haven't tested this specific model, we recommend stainless steel skewers, like this OXO 6-Piece Grilling Skewer Set. Unlike bamboo skewers, they don't require pre-soaking and are reusable. The flat design of the OXO skewers likely helps keep tender veggies, like zucchini and mushrooms, from rolling away or slipping off, and the pointed edge appears sharp enough to pierce through tougher ingredients, like potatoes and onions.
Although staking veggies in a rainbow-like assortment on each skewer is visually enticing, Lesley recommends dedicating one skewer to each ingredient. For example, red onions, zucchini, and mushrooms each on their own ingredient-specific skewer. That way, she can easily pluck each skewer off the grill once the veggies are cooked to the appropriate doneness.
Extra-long grilling spatulas can be stiff and clunky, and that can make maneuvering veggies around a grill difficult. Instead, we recommend the Mercer Hell's Handle Large Fish Spatula. This tool has a long, highly flexible, stainless steel blade with a tapered edge, and its wide, heat-resistant polypropylene handle can withstand temperatures up to 450 °F.
And even though the blade is flexible, it's sturdy enough to dislodge delicate, charred eggplant slices from a grill's hot grates. The wide blade also comes in handy when you're handling veggie burgers, portobello mushroom caps, and other large, round ingredients on a grill. For these reasons, our team considers the Mercer spatula the best one for grilling, but it does have some limitations in everyday functionality.
During long-term testing, our kitchen team discovered that this spatula's wide handle can be slightly uncomfortable for navigating everyday tasks, like flipping delicate fish fillets or heavy pancakes. And that's why it isn't the top-pick spatula in our guide to the best spatulas. For all-purpose cooking needs, consider the Victorinox Swiss Army Slotted Fish Turner instead.
This silicone basting brush is heat-resistant up to 600 °F, so it's ideal for dabbing veggies with oil or barbecue sauce.
Coating veggies with a thin, even layer of cooking oil helps promote even browning and keeps food from sticking to the grates. We recommend using the OXO Good Grips Large Silicone Basting Brush for getting into the nooks and crannies of irregularly shaped chopped vegetables.
This brush's silicone bristles are heat-resistant up to 600 °F, and they won't shed, as most natural-fiber pastry brushes tend to do. It also has a two-bristle–type design (round outer bristles and a set of flat, perforated bristles in the core), which helps this brush transfer liquids better than other silicone ones we've tried. It's also dishwasher-safe, unlike boar bristle brushes that gunk up over time and can be tricky to clean.
Once your grilled veggies are off the heat, you can use the basting brush to coat them with finishing sauces, such as barbecue sauce, homemade chimichurri, and miso butter.
With these grilling tools in tow, your veggies won't be boring, after-thought side dishes. Instead, they'll be the main attraction of your next summertime cookout.
This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder. We've fired up dizzying amounts of food on 18 grills over the years, and Weber still reigns. It makes the sturdiest gas grills with the most consistent cooking.
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