6 Cheap Grilling Ideas for Affordable Cookouts
Updated: December 2024
Got a special occasion coming up? For many families, celebrations often mean firing up the grill—whether for a birthday, anniversary, or graduation.
But if your budget is tight, you don’t need to spend a fortune to host a great barbecue. With some planning, you can throw an amazing cookout that your guests will love without emptying your wallet. Let us show you our cheap grilling ideas for an affordable cookout!
Grilling For a Crowd On a Budget
Throwing a BBQ doesn’t need to be expensive.
You can do numerous things to ensure a cheap yet delicious meal. Follow these basic rules for grilling for a crowd while on a budget:
- Incorporate lots of bread
- Cook with inexpensive meats
- Bulk up your beef
- Use small portions of meat
- Go heavy on the veggies
- Grill fruit for dessert
Incorporate Lots of Bread
You can make hearty appetizers with bread to get your guests so stuffed they will hardly reach the main meal. This could include making crostinis, grilled ham & cheeses, or going the old-fashioned Italian way and grilling up a loaf of garlic bread.
Photo by Jonathan Taylor on Unsplash
Cook with Inexpensive Meats
Some of the cheapest meats can be out-of-this-world with a little love. Our cheap cooking-for-a-crowd favorites are:
- Chicken thighs, drumsticks, and wings
- Ground beef
- Beef brisket
- Pork shoulder/Boston butt pork roast
- Chicken wings
- Whole turkey
- Beef back ribs
- Hot dogs
Bulk Up Your Beef
While grilling up ground beef is already one of the cheaper options, why not cheapen it up even more? Bulk it up with add-ins like shredded potatoes, pureed veggies, or herbed breadcrumbs. Pair your add-ins with your burger toppings, and it will get the crowd talking!
Use Small Portions of Meat
Choosing to serve meat in smaller portions is another money-saving tip. You can then dress it up with loads of other things that will fill the belly.
Tacos are a great example. They have small, tasty portions of meat. These are mixed with veggies, cheese, and, of course, the tortilla.
Go Heavy on the Veggies
Why not just ditch the meat altogether? Ok, you might think we are talking crazy here, but stick with us. Cauliflower steaks, sweet potatoes, eggplant, and stuffed portobello mushrooms are all great options as an entree.
You can load them up with other ingredients and pile on a delicious sauce. The flavor explosion will wow your guests, and they won’t feel heavy or lethargic afterward.
Grill Fruit for Dessert
Dessert is usually thrown together at the last minute. To save a little money, we suggest grilling some fresh fruit. This idea is quick, easy, and cheap.
You can even throw on a dollop of ice cream. The melty ice-creaminess on top of grilled fruit will far outshine the cake frosting that stains everyone’s teeth with rainbow colors.
6 Inexpensive Grilling Ideas
Using some of these general rules, we pulled together a few budget-friendly meal options to try out.
Base the meal around one of these ideas, and you are sure to please the crowd. Your wallet will be happy, too. If you are also looking for some great side dish recipes, we’ve got you covered!
1. BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe:
- 2 Grilled chicken breasts, seasoned
- 6 Cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
- ¾ Cup canned corn kernels, drained
- ¾ Cup black beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ Cup diced red onion
- ¼ Cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ Cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ Cup Ranch dressing
- ¼ Cup BBQ sauce
- ¼ Cup tortilla strips
Place romaine in a bowl and top with grilled chicken, tomato, corn, beans, onion, and cheese. Finish with Ranch, BBQ sauce, and tortilla strips.
2. Gourmet Hot Dogs
Nothing says cookout like drinking beer and grilling hot dogs. However, you can’t make everyone happy with your beer selection. Why not make your event BYOB so the guests can bring the beer they like?
You can save that extra money and use it for some bomb extra toppings for your hot dogs. Here are a few of our favorite gourmet hot dogs:
- Cheesy Mexican: Top with cheese sauce, serrano peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, bacon, and queso fresco.
- Greek: Top with feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, kalamata olives, tzatziki sauce, and lemon juice.
- Spicy Bacon-wrapped: Wrap the dog in bacon and grill. Top with cheddar, jalapenos, and guacamole.
- Buffalo-style: Top with chopped celery, blue cheese, and buffalo sauce.
- Chicago-style: Top with yellow mustard, relish, white onions, tomato, sport peppers, pickle, and celery salt.
- BBQ Bacon: Wrap the dog in bacon and grill. Top with BBQ sauce and crispy onion rings.
3. Grilled Tacos
Tacos are a great choice when you want to stretch your meat out to feed the crowd. You bulk it up by adding lots of toppings, and the taco shell or tortilla makes it filling.
Of course, there are so many ways to make tacos fun and delicious on the grill. We like these fresh grilled fish tacos for a chill summer cookout.
Another great idea is these black sage grilled chicken tacos. Chefs add rice and cheaper vegetables to help fill the bellies of the crowd.
4. BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients: 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut up, and your favorite BBQ sauce.
Instructions: Make sure your grill grates are clean and greased. Check that you have emptied your Kick Ash Can.
Preheat the grill to medium. Place your hand 5 inches above the grill grate to check this on a charcoal grill. Hold it for 5 to 7 seconds to determine if the heat is medium.
Place chicken wings, thighs, or legs on the grate. Cover.
Grill for about 30 minutes, using tongs to occasionally turn the meat. The wigs will begin to turn golden brown.
Baste chicken with BBQ sauce. Turn each piece over and repeat, basting for 15 more minutes until the chicken finishes cooking. Move the chicken to indirect heat if you think it is cooking too fast.
Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf on Unsplash
5. Kebabs
Load up your kebabs with mostly veggies and just a few bites of juicy meat to pacify the budget. The guests will never know the difference. These grilled chicken kebabs will be sure to please.
You can also go full vegetarian with these surprisingly filling ratatouille kebabs. They also harmonize well with your favorite pasta sauce. Our mouths are watering!
6. Pizza on the Grill:
One great thing about pizza is that it is so versatile. If we are discussing meals for a crowd on a budget, this is a go-to.
Not only is it filling with all that bread, but you can also get by with scrimping your meat. If you buy your pizza dough, it is surprisingly easy to make. If you make your pizza dough, your guests will appreciate your effort, and the pizza will taste much better. Here is how to make a pizza on the grill:
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Start with your pizza dough rolled out. You can shape it with your hands or hold onto the edges while you let the dough hang and stretch to the right shape. Let it sit for five minutes, then push it into a nice round shape. Place it on a lightly floured cookie sheet.
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Slide the dough off the sheet directly onto high direct heat. Make sure to clean the grate and grease it beforehand. Close the lid and let it cook for two minutes.
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Check under the dough to make sure it is browning evenly. When it starts bubbling up, use your cookie sheet or pizza peel to remove it from the grill.
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Paint the grilled surface with olive oil. Then, spread one ladle of sauce evenly. Sprinkle your toppings, and then add mozzarella cheese. Slide the pizza back onto the grill.
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If using a charcoal grill, close the vents on the cover almost all the way. Close the lid and cook for two to three minutes more.
The bottom should begin to char, and the cheese should be bubbling. Pull off the grill and onto a flat surface to slice and serve.
Enjoy Your BBQ on a Budget
We wish you so much fun celebrating at your BBQ-on-a-budget. You can breathe a sigh of relief.
Barbecues don’t need to be about pricey steaks to make guests happy. Happy grilling on a budget!