These are the foods you probably didn't know you can cook on the BBQ

It's not just about sausages and burgers, according to new research by Aldi

Savoy inspired BBQ meals by Aldi made by chef Judy Joo.
(Image credit: Aldi)

What is the most inventive food you've cooked on the BBQ? Was it a medley of vegetables, or a new sausage flavor? It turns out that there's much more you can cook on the BBQ than you've ever imagined.

Investing in the best BBQ for your budget is an essential starting point for great-tasting barbecued meals, but a bit of pizzazz and ingeniousness won't hurt. And, according to recent research by Aldi, over half of us are already experimenting with what goes on the grill. 

Baked beans made on the bbq

Baked beans made on the BBQ

(Image credit: Aldi)

From pizza and ice cream to lasagne, full roast dinners and even lobster, the respondents on Aldi’s Raising The Barbeque campaign survey confessed to using the BBQ for much more than the traditional selection of meat and veg.

It also looks like the trend is catching on with professional chefs keen to show off their skills and ideas on social media. These could very easily have become 'fails', but we must admit that the results of the experimentation look quite appealing. 

Whole roast cooked on the bbq

Whole roast dinner cooked on the BBQ

(Image credit: Aldi)

Niki Webster, known for her plant-based recipe Instagram page @RebelRecipes – recently created a delicious-looking version of ‘Beans on toast’, made entirely on the grill. Featuring cannellini beans with homemade smoky tomato sauce, a portobello mushroom, and grilled bread, it was met with huge enthusiasm from her 288,000-plus followers. One comment summed it up as ‘ooo this is such a winner’. 

It's not just one chef who has taken up cooking up unusual things on the BBQ.  

Food Instagrammer Jake Saunders, of @Jakesfoodbible, which has over 100,000 followers, delighted fans when he barbecued a full roast dinner with all the trimmings: Yorkshire puddings, sausages, chicken, beef, pork belly, potatoes, and vegetables. This was always going to be a crowd pleaser and promptly received 1,300 likes on his page. One commenter even suggested a follow-up: ‘Bolognese on the grill next?’

This proves that whether you are a meat lover or a committed veggie, there's much more to barbecue weekends than the same old BBQ recipes. We're still not entirely certain how exactly people have been making ice cream on the barbecue, but we're definitely considering the beans on toast extravaganza a go. Making some of the best BBQ sauce ever as an accompaniment seems in order.

Anna writes about interior design and gardening. Her work has appeared in Homes & Gardens, Livingetc, and many other publications. She is an experienced outdoor and indoor gardener and has a passion for growing roses and Japanese maples in her outside space.