No one wants to stand around with a meat thermometer while the sun’s beating down. These 31 outdoor cooking recipes are built for speed, fire, and feeding hungry people without a spreadsheet. There’s no garnish pile in sight, just meals that hit hard and don’t overthink it. Burnt bits included, and probably encouraged.
Bacon-Wrapped Burgers
Clean grilling is overrated, especially when bacon gets involved. Bacon-Wrapped Burgers are loud, sizzling, and the kind of thing you make when no one’s watching their sodium. It’s not fancy, it’s just everything you want between buns without needing a side dish. Expect total silence while everyone takes their first bite. Then the requests for more start rolling in.
Get the Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Burgers
Brisket Fried Rice
Forget waiting hours for a smoker to do its thing, this dish comes together fast and doesn’t hold back. Brisket Fried Rice is smoky, hot, and ready to fill every stomach around the table without a single complaint. It’s fast food if fast food actually hit like a real meal. Expect forks flying and people circling the skillet for round two. If you blink, it’s gone.
Get the Recipe: Brisket Fried Rice
The Backyard Table
Get it NOW and level up your outdoor dining! The Backyard Table - Recipes for Summer Cookouts features 34 of Chef Jenn's BEST recipes for outdoor eating and entertaining.
You'll get ad-free recipes like:
- Grilled Corn Guacamole
- Grilled French Onion Burgers
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Blueberry Grunt
- and so many more!
Every recipe is created, tested and loved by Chef Jenn and her family - there's no AI here!
Get it now, at a special introductory price of $7.99. That's over 50 pages of foodie love at your fingertips!
Buy Now!Grilled Sausage & Peppers
This one’s built for hungry people who don’t want to wait around for dinner to happen. Grilled Sausage & Peppers brings the heat, the color, and just enough smoke to make things interesting. It’s the kind of dish that doesn’t need an intro or a garnish. You slap it on a plate, hand out forks, and let everyone figure it out. Seconds will happen before anyone even finishes round one.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Sausage & Peppers
Grilled French Onion Pork Burgers
Fire, sizzle, and one solid reason to ditch takeout again. Grilled French Onion Pork Burgers don’t mess around with subtle flavors or delicate portions. They’re loud, messy, and land on the plate like they own it. Expect people to ask if you have more before they even finish the first one. Bring napkins or just accept the grease stains.
Get the Recipe: Grilled French Onion Pork Burgers
Cottage Cheese Toast with Bacon & Poached Egg
This one skips the small talk and goes straight for bold and hot. Cottage Cheese Toast with Bacon & Poached Egg takes breakfast, turns up the heat, and makes it something worth eating outside in flip-flops. You won’t need a fancy brunch spread when this hits the grill. It’s quick, hearty, and eats like a full meal even when someone swipes a bite. Don’t let the word “toast” fool you.
Get the Recipe: Cottage Cheese Toast with Bacon & Poached Egg
Grilled Hanger Steaks with Chimichurri
You don’t need white tablecloths or carving knives when this steak hits the grill. Grilled Hanger Steaks with Chimichurri shows up bold, hot, and ready to take over the entire plate. It’s fast, flavorful, and not remotely interested in subtlety. The smoke does the work and your crew will do the rest. Seconds are pretty much guaranteed.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Hanger Steaks with Chimichurri
Corned Beef Fritters
These hit the hot oil fast and don’t slow down for niceties. Corned Beef Fritters land crispy, golden, and full of bold flavor that doesn’t need a sauce to stand up. They’re perfect for popping straight off the pan while pretending to “let them cool.” You might lose count of how many you’ve had, but your shirt will probably keep track. Don’t worry it’s worth it.
Get the Recipe: Corned Beef Fritters
Mediterranean Grilled Shrimp
These aren’t your average backyard skewers. Mediterranean Grilled Shrimp bring the heat, the char, and a punch of flavor without slowing down the meal. They’re fast, easy to pass around, and disappear quicker than you’d expect. If you’re cooking for a crowd, double the batch and hope someone leaves a few behind. It’s finger food with a serious purpose.
Get the Recipe: Mediterranean Grilled Shrimp
Chicken Fried Rice
This dish isn’t about neat scoops or perfect plating. Chicken Fried Rice shows up loud, sizzling, and ready to be scooped straight from the skillet with whatever’s closest. It’s the kind of meal that shuts everyone up and leaves no leftovers behind. You’ll want to guard the pan if you plan on having seconds. Good luck with that, though.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Fried Rice
Grilled Steak Skewers with Mojo Rojo
These skewers don’t play around with portion control or dainty bites. Grilled Steak Skewers with Mojo Rojo hit the grill fast, soak up the smoke, and go straight from fire to fingers. You might start with a plate, but it won’t be long before the forks get ditched. They’re quick, messy, and exactly what outdoor eating should look like. Make more than you think you need.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Steak Skewers with Mojo Rojo
Chicken Al Pastor Quesadillas
These quesadillas skip the small talk and go straight for sizzling, crispy, and dripping with flavor. Chicken Al Pastor Quesadillas aren’t a polite finger food, they’re an all-hands-on-deck kind of meal. They cook fast, fold easy, and vanish off the platter before you finish pouring drinks. Nobody’s just having one, no matter what they claim. Keep a second round warming on the grill.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Al Pastor Quesadillas
Grilled Chicken Wings with Buffalo Sauce
This isn’t a meal for clean hands or white shirts. Grilled Chicken Wings with Buffalo Sauce hit hard, land messy, and don’t stick around long. You’ll need napkins, a decent appetite, and maybe a garden hose for cleanup. They’re spicy, crispy, and disappear fast enough to make you question how many you actually made. Just assume next time you’ll need double.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Chicken Wings with Buffalo Sauce
Montreal Smoked Meat Hash
Nothing fancy here, just a pan full of flavor and zero leftovers. Montreal Smoked Meat Hash comes in hot, feeds fast, and doesn’t leave time for small talk. It’s a skillet meal that makes breakfast worth getting up for and dinner feel like a reward. You’ll need a spatula, a big plate, and probably a second helping. Nobody eats this and stays hungry.
Get the Recipe: Montreal Smoked Meat Hash
Sweet & Spicy Grilled Harissa-Honey Chicken Skewers
These skewers are quick to hit the grill and even quicker to vanish from the platter. Sweet & Spicy Grilled Harissa-Honey Chicken Skewers bring the heat, the char, and just enough stickiness to make a mess worth cleaning. They’re best eaten standing up, with sauce on your fingers and no need for conversation. Just grab and go until there’s nothing left but empty sticks. And maybe a guilty smile.
Get the Recipe: Sweet & Spicy Grilled Harissa-Honey Chicken Skewers
Grilled Greek Chicken
Backyard meals don’t need a travel brochure to hit the mark. Grilled Greek Chicken keeps it bold and straight to the point, crispy edges, smoky finish, and no time wasted. It’s the kind of meal that feels like it should be complicated but cooks up faster than your playlist can finish. Don’t expect quiet at the table when this one hits the plate. Elbows out, forks up.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Greek Chicken
Texas Corn Succotash
This side doesn’t act like a side, and nobody’s complaining. Texas Corn Succotash brings color, heat, and enough big flavor to crash the main course without an apology. It lands hot, loud, and goes with pretty much everything you’re pulling off the grill. Expect it to disappear just as fast as anything with meat in it. You might want to make a second pan.
Get the Recipe: Texas Corn Succotash
Grilled Tomahawk Steak
This isn’t a cut you bring out to play it safe. Grilled Tomahawk Steak takes up the whole grill, the whole plate, and most of the conversation. It’s big, bold, and doesn’t care if your grill marks are perfect. This is a meal that’s meant to be carved up and attacked from every angle. Expect silence until the bone’s clean.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Tomahawk Steak
Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa
These pork chops don’t need a fancy intro or a backup band. Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa bring the fire and the flavor, with zero patience for slow cooking. They hit the grill fast and come off juicy, bold, and ready to land on your plate with no excuses. That char marks their territory and they mean business. You won’t need a side, but it won’t hurt.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa
Queso Blanco Rotel Dip
This is the dip people hover around and pretend they’re “just snacking.” Queso Blanco Rotel Dip comes in molten, sticks to chips, and doesn’t leave quietly. It’s the kind of thing you need to double up on because it’s gone before the second round of drinks hits the table. Someone will ask for the recipe, someone will guard the bowl. And everyone will pretend they didn’t go back for fourths.
Get the Recipe: Queso Blanco Rotel Dip
Grilled Strawberry Shortcake Skewers
Dessert on the grill sounds polite until these show up. Grilled Strawberry Shortcake Skewers are fast, hot, and slightly messy in the best way. They’re sweet, smoky, and just enough work to feel like a reward. Nobody eats just one, and nobody eats them with a fork. Expect sticky fingers and zero regrets.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Strawberry Shortcake Skewers
Sweet Potato Hash with Pulled Pork
This is the kind of skillet dish that skips breakfast and walks straight into dinner territory. Sweet Potato Hash with Pulled Pork is big, bold, and perfect for anyone with no time or patience for “light meals.” It goes straight from pan to plate to silence around the table. There’s no such thing as a polite portion here. Just scoop until it’s gone.
Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash with Pulled Pork
Bacon Fried Corn
This dish doesn’t whisper, it sizzles, pops, and takes over every inch of the skillet. Bacon Fried Corn shows up bold, smoky, and just greasy enough to feel like a win. It’s the kind of side that eats like a main and gets scooped up before the meat’s even done. Someone always “just tries a spoonful” and somehow ends up finishing the pan. Good luck keeping it on the table.
Get the Recipe: Bacon Fried Corn
Grilled T-Bone Steaks
Forget the timer and trust your instincts, this steak tells you when it’s ready. Grilled T-Bone Steaks bring heat, smoke, and enough presence to make side dishes feel irrelevant. It’s thick, fast-searing, and built for a proper outdoor feast without the drama. Slice it, grab a slab, and let everyone fend for themselves. There won’t be a single bite left behind.
Get the Recipe: Grilled T-Bone Steaks
Homestyle Hamburger Stew
This isn’t soup for sipping, it’s stew that hits like a full meal. Homestyle Hamburger Stew loads up the skillet, bubbles hard, and brings enough punch to satisfy serious hunger. No delicate bites or extra toppings here, just spoon, bowl, and a fast-moving line of people wanting more. It’s comforting without being boring. One pot, one big win.
Get the Recipe: Homestyle Hamburger Stew
Grilled Vegetables
These aren’t just here to fill space on the plate. Grilled Vegetables bring char, color, and enough heat to make them a real part of the meal. No sad soggy sides here, this is fire-roasted and full of personality. People will ask what’s in them, and the answer is: just a grill. Sometimes that’s all you need.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Vegetables
Grilled Radishes With Jalapeño Dipping Sauce
Radishes hit different when they’ve seen open flame. Grilled Radishes With Jalapeño Dipping Sauce come in hot, crisp, and not at all how anyone expects them to taste. The dip might steal the spotlight, but the radishes hold their own. Don’t be surprised if this ends up being the surprise favorite. Yes, even with everything else on the grill.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Radishes With Jalapeño Dipping Sauce
Summer Bow Tie Pasta Salad
This pasta salad doesn’t sit quietly next to the burgers. Summer Bow Tie Pasta Salad brings crunch, flavor, and enough attitude to compete with whatever’s coming off the grill. It’s cool, fast, and somehow always disappears before the meat’s even ready. People will go back for more like it’s the main dish. Nobody’s asking for lettuce.
Get the Recipe: Summer Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
This isn’t the dainty kind of bruschetta you serve on tiny plates. Grilled Bruschetta Chicken hits the fire, picks up the smoke, and lands loaded with flavor that doesn’t wait around. You might start with a knife and fork, but you’ll end up going in with whatever works. It’s quick, it’s hot, and it absolutely belongs in your regular rotation. No crumbs left behind.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
Easy Skillet Lasagna
Lasagna without the baking drama? Yes, please. Easy Skillet Lasagna drops into the pan, cranks up the heat, and pulls off the flavor without needing three hours or a casserole dish. It’s the shortcut that still hits like a full-blown Sunday dinner. You’ll forget it didn’t come from the oven.
Get the Recipe: Easy Skillet Lasagna
Grilled Steaks with Cowboy Butter
You know it’s serious when butter hits the grill. Grilled Steaks with Cowboy Butter take flavor to a place your seasoning rack only dreams of. It’s messy, loud, and absolutely unapologetic about the way it eats. You’ll need both hands, a plate that can handle the drip, and maybe a chair afterward. Nobody leaves hungry.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Steaks with Cowboy Butter
Honey Almond Granola
This isn’t your average breakfast-in-a-bag situation. Honey Almond Granola hits the skillet, crisps up fast, and comes off sweet, crunchy, and way more addictive than expected. It’s great on everything, but you’ll end up eating it straight from the pan anyway. Just accept that you’ll need to make another batch. Sharing is optional.
Get the Recipe: Honey Almond Granola