Categories: Food & Drink

21 Savory Yet Light Appetizers To Grill This Spring

As the bitter cold of winter drifts off and the warm spring sun finally returns it’s time to fire up the grill for some savory appetizers! Invite over your friends and loved ones for a great cookout and show off your skills as a grill master. There’s a variety of appetizers here from healthy vegetables to dessert bacon. Try them all out at your next cookout, picnic, potluck or grilled dinner!

1. Grilled Steak Kebabs

These steak kebabs not only look amazing but taste it as well! This recipe uses an easy-to-make marinade which can take up to an hour to fully marinate but will be worth it in the end when you have these delicious appetizers for you and your guests. You can even interchange chicken for the steak! 

2. Grilled Parmesan Garlic Asparagus

This is a super simple recipe to end up with some delicious grilled asparagus. After preparing the asparagus, toss them in some olive oil with salt and pepper and grill them to the desired perfection — should only take about 5-10 minutes! Combine with the garlic and parmesan cheese for a delicious appetizer.

3. Loaded Baked Potatoes

A classic cookout recipe is the loaded baked potato! Fill that russet potato with nice, seasoned pork, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and lots of cheddar cheese for an amazing addition to your grill session.

4. Smoked Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings

This appetizer can take a little longer to cook but your guests (and your stomach) will thank you. The combination of these two delicious foods, bacon & onion rings, is a slam dunk for your cookout. Combine it with the spicy sriracha mayo from the recipe for some extra heat! 

5. Grilled Watermelon With Spicy Honey and Citrus Salt

Although not everyone expects to find watermelon on the grill it’s really a delicious way to prepare the sweet fruit. This grilled watermelon recipe gives you a savory treat in only a few minutes. 

6. Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Give a little extra prep time for this appetizer and you won’t regret it. Creating a delicious peanut sauce such as this takes time and many ingredients but you’ll end up with an incredible dip for these chicken skewers and even more tasty appetizers found at your cookout!

7. Herbed Grilled Corn

Another staple for a great cookout is grilling up some herbed ears of corn. This recipe is cheap and delicious — what else can you want? Make as much as you need for your guests and of course, there’s nothing wrong with throwing some extras in the fridge for leftovers over the next few days.

8. Margarita Chicken Skewers

Don’t be embarrassed if just the word ‘margarita’ caught your eye for this recipe because you’re not alone. Although a little unconventional, this recipe uses frozen margarita mix in part to marinate the chicken before skewering them over the grill for a delicious appetizer! Of course, the same as with your margarita drinks, don’t forget the lime.

9. Breakfast Skewers

These breakfast skewers use sausages, pineapple and mushrooms (and of course lots of syrup!) to make a delicious snack for you and your guests. Make this great appetizer for that morning tailgate before the big game! 

10. Blue Cheese & Bacon Stuffed Bell Peppers

Another tasty appetizer that’s easy to make and full of flavor! According to this recipe, fill up your favorite-colored bell peppers with your cream cheese, blue cheese, bacon, and green onion filler and throw it on the grill for a few minutes. It looks great and tastes even better!  

11. Grilled Cheese Loaf

Who doesn’t love cheesy bread?! Use this recipe to make a delicious cream cheese mixture to throw on some bread and then on the grill for an amazing, and easy, appetizer. Cheesy and flavorful bread in just a few minutes!

12. Grilled Artichokes

Here’s a nice, healthy recipe to turn artichokes into a savory appetizer for dinner, cookouts and more! The preparation of artichokes can take some time but you’ll end up with some great, flavor-filled vegetables! Serve them up with mayo or aioli if you want to add some extra flavor.

13. Grilled Sweet Potato Fries

This recipe gives you a sweet spin on the grilling classic of sweet potato fries! Toss those wedges of sweet potato with brown sugar, chipotle chile pepper and some salt for an amazing and tasty coat. Grill them for a few minutes and enjoy this tasty appetizer!

14. Jalapeno Pepper Poppers

Here’s a great recipe for some spicy appetizers to add to your cookout! These jalapeno poppers can also take a little longer to prepare but you’ll end up with delicious, bacon-wrapped snacks for you and your guests! However, if you want to just eat them all yourself it would be understandable.

See Also

15. Grilled Scallops Wrapped in Prosciutto

Martha Stewart and her recipes never disappoint, and she certainly didn’t this time with these grilled scallops. A simple recipe that will give you a delicious, and arguably very attractive, appetizer for your cookout. 

16. Grilled Eggplant Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

For those of you reluctant to make an eggplant appetizer for you and your guests: rest assured, this recipe takes eggplant to a new level! The grilling of the eggplant slices brings out a nice smoky flavor and combined with the hand-made mustard vinaigrette you’ll find your guests asking for the next batch before you know it. It’s also a healthy appetizer to show your guests (and yourself) that not everything you grill up is bacon-wrapped.

17. Pork Tenderloin Lollipops (with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce)

These pork lollipops only take about 10 minutes, for prep and cook, and are sure to impress your guests at your cookout. You’ll end up with plenty of pork lollipops for all your guests and a delicious soy-ginger dipping sauce that will probably be gone before all the lollipops. 

18. Spicy Shrimp Skewers

Here’s a tasty appetizer for all those seafood lovers out there. This recipe gives you a flavorful citrus oil and spice rub to apply to your shrimp skewers. Lime, lemon and ½ and orange combined with olive oil and salt & pepper give you an amazing coating for these skewers. Careful not to overcook your shrimp, and afterward throw them on a bed of arugula and add some more lime juice, jalapeno, and cilantro for an impressive-looking (and tasting!) appetizer.

19. Roasted Cherry Tomato Pizza Poppers

This appetizer will take a bit of prep time but results in some delicious little pizza poppers for you and your guests! The pizza dough will take up the most amount of time but the rest should be fairly quick and easy. This simple recipe makes mini pizzas using tiny dough circles topped with cheese and flavored cooked tomatoes. Make a lot of them because they’ll go fast!

20. All-American Barbecue Chicken Wings

These won’t be your typical grilled chicken wings you find at any cookout or potluck. The drumsticks will require an overnight marinate and take almost an hour to cook. However, in combination with your delicious, hand-made barbecue sauce these wings will smoke the competition. Guaranteed to have people asking you where you got the recipe for such delicious chicken wings!

21. Candied Bacon

The final appetizer on our list will be a dessert of sorts using the fan-favorite — bacon. A fairly straightforward recipe, place your bacon strips on your grill rack and sprinkle both sides with brown sugar and apple butter seasoning. It’ll take about two hours to cook so you can throw it on with some of the other tasty appetizers from this list for near the end of your cookout!

Try these 21 delicious and light appetizers when you break out the grill this spring! Which grilled appetizers do you like the best? Or do you have any other delicious appetizers you throw on the grill with friends? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/HH8D03HHqDI
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Samuel Anderson

I have a passion for helping others and see journalism as a great way to reach and impact many people. Born in Texas but raised in the San Francisco Bay Area! Then with a short detour in Boulder, Colorado to get my bachelor's in Journalism with a minor in political science. I'm a determined, motivated individual striving to make a difference in this world. I have hopes to play a role in the continued development of journalism and in maximizing efforts to inform and inspire the public. Check out my articles on Society19!

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