The Best Gluten-Free Grilling Tips and Recipes

Summer is our favorite season for cooking. It’s so easy to get your hands on delicious fresh produce from the farmers’ market, or even from your own back garden, and all of it is gluten-free—score!

Our favorite way to cook all those in-season veggies? On the grill! It adds an irresistible smoky flavor and crisp texture to just about anything you’re making, and the fact that it cuts down on dishes is always a bonus. However, grills can be a source of gluten cross-contact, so you’ll need to take some precautions if you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance. It’s true that meats and veggies are naturally gluten-free, but the sauces and marinades used on them may not be. Toasting burger buns on the grates can also leave traces of gluten behind.

According to Beyond Celiac, an advocacy organization for people with celiac disease and gluten-intolerance, there is a misconception that gluten can be “killed” or “burned off” with high heat, but it doesn’t work like that. Gluten isn’t a bacteria, it’s a protein, so you can’t kill it. The only way to get rid of it is by completely cleaning the grill surface—and we all know how hard it is to scrub a charred grill grate.

Here are some tips to help you avoid gluten cross-contact from the grill:

1. 1. Use aluminum foil. Placing aluminum foil under meat or wrapping veggies in foil packets creates a physical barrier between your food and the grill grates.
2. 2. Designate the top rack for gluten-free only. Much like storing food in a shared kitchen, gluten-free items should be cooked above any gluten items so you don’t risk crumbs falling through the grates and onto your gluten-free food.
3. 3. Use a separate grill brush and separate utensils. Cleaning the grates of the gluten area and the gluten-free area with the same grill brush is like double-dipping—don’t do it! Same goes for tongs and forks.
4. 4. Keep it 100% gluten-free if you can. We’ll be honest: cooking on the top rack of the grill is a pain. It adds time since food is further away from the flame and the area is usually smaller, so you might have to cook in batches. If you can, get a second grill, even a small charcoal barbecue, and designate it the gluten-free grill. The investment will be worth it!

Gluten-Free Grilling Recipes

Now, onto the fun part—deciding what to grill! You can always keep it simple with meat seasoned with salt and pepper and veggies like asparagus or carrots. Kabobs with chicken and chunks of pepper and onion are easy to make and always a hit with both kids and adults. Corn-on-the-cob, of course, is a classic. Or, if you’re looking to change things up, try one of these fresh gluten-free grilling ideas!

Grilled salmon served on toasted Mikey’s Cassava Flour Tortillas and topped with avocado, tomatoes and radishes—it’s summery, nutritious, and full of flavor!

Juicy beef burgers topped with grilled onions and portobello mushrooms on grilled Mikey’s Gluten-Free English Muffins are the perfect way to celebrate the end of a long week.

Ditch the pan and make these gluten-free quesadillas on the grill! Start by marinating a flank steak for tender, juicy meat. Grill it up, and then slice into strips for sandwiching inside a grilled Mikey’s Cassava Burrito Wrap alongside plant-based cheese and lots of veggies!