Forget Sheet Pan Dinners, We're All About Grill Basket Dinners Right Now (2024)

When I want an easy one-pan dinner most times of the year, I crank up my oven and throw a bunch of veggies and protein that'll cook at the same rate on a sheet pan and throw it in that hot oven, then smile with the knowledge that a fuss-free dinner will soon be mine. But in the summer when it's already too hot in my kitchen and I wouldn't dare turn on the oven, that strategy needs a tweak. Instead of relying on my oven, I fire up the grill and throw everything in a grill basket instead.

The same principles of a sheet-pan dinner apply to a grill basket dinner: you need to pair proteins and vegetables that will cook at the same speed at the same temperature, but you get the added benefit of smoky flavor and delicious char. Bonus: you can cook it outside. In your sunny backyard, sure, but also at the park or over an open campfire—grill basket dinners travel well—you just have to BYO grill basket (but hey, it doesn't weigh much.)

There are a lot of different kinds of grill baskets out there (and they all work, more or less)—some are open like bowls, and some can be closed and flipped. I prefer the close-and-flip kind. When you stuff it with your dinner ingredients and lay it on the grill, everything in it comes in equal contact with the fire, and you can easily flip it to get both sides deliciously charred. A standard sized grill basket holds everything you need for a full dinner for two. If you're cooking for more, you'll want to use two baskets, or seek out an extra-large one.

Shrimp and pieces of boneless skinless chicken are especially well suited to the grill basket dinner format, since they're fast-cooking and easily absorb flavor-packed marinades. After a few missteps with a grill basket full of halloumi that burned before the veggies I'd paired it with even had a chance to cook through, I've got two new favorite grill basket dinners that both cook in less than half an hour (!!), and each feed two for a festive, summery dinner. I'm going to keep making these a lot this summer, and I think you might, too:

A 15-Minute Greek-Style Grilled Shrimp Dinner

Shrimp cooks fast, so you need to find the largest shrimp you can find in order to give the rest of the ingredients you put it in a grill basket with enough time to cook. I toss jumbo peeled shrimp with zucchini and cherry tomatoes, and then toss the whole mixture in garlic, fresh oregano, and a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes. Once it hits the grill, the meal only takes 6 minutes to cook, and then I toss it all together in a bowl so that the tomatoes burst their sweet juices all over everything. (That tossing step is really key—don't try to skip it!) I serve it with some grilled pita and a sprinkle of fresh crumbled feta on top and my favorite cold white wine and it's almost like vacationing in Greece.

A Lemony Spanish-Inspired Grilled Chicken Dinner

When it's chicken I want to grill in my grill basket, I always turn to boneless skinless chicken thighs—fattier and juicier than breast meat, they're more forgiving to cook and flavorful to eat. I like to cut each thigh in half for more manageable pieces, then toss them in a marinade of lemon zest, juice, olive oil, Spanish smoked paprika, and lots of grated garlic. Under the Spanish influence of that paprika, I add some sliced lemon, leeks, red bell pepper, and baby new potatoes and then arrange it all in my grill basket. Unlike the shrimp dinner, this one cooks best over medium heat with the grill covered to give those heartier vegetables time to actually soften. It takes about 20 minutes on the grill—still fast enough for a weeknight. When it comes off the grill, I toss the contents of the basket with a lot of fresh parsley leaves so it almost feels like a salad, and most definitely feels like summer.