Our Ultimate Family BBQ Menu (Easy Summer BBQ Ideas)

There is nothing more exciting than dusting off the long-forgotten BBQ at the start of the season and revving up the grills for a family BBQ feast.

As soon at the Met Office announces a heat wave weekend, you can almost hear the stampede of families off out in search of charcoal, burger buns and industrial quantities of meat! Sitting in your garden and smelling the charcoals heating up is the ultimate smell of summer.

This is our tried and tested set of BBQ recipes that always goes down extremely well whether you are feeding the kids or hosting family and friends – there is something for everyone.

What’s on the menu?

Whether you're planning a family garden party or a casual summer BBQ, this menu has everything covered. All these recipes can be prepped in advance so you can actually enjoy the sunshine instead of being stuck in the kitchen.

Slow cooked BBQ ribs
Beef burgers
Greek Salad
Mediterranean Bulgur Salad
Garlic Butter Corn

Slow Cooked BBQ Ribs

Forget burgers and sausages, these slow-cooked ribs are the real star of the show. And really, they don’t require any actual cooking on the BBQ as it’s all done in advance during the day. All they need is a couple of minutes on a hot BBQ to crisp them up.

If you are hosting family and friends, these sorts of ‘prep in advance’ recipes are a lifesaver. You can marinade the meat earlier in the day (or the day before if you are really organised!) and pop them into the oven on a low heat to cook whilst you get on with other things.

Everyone loves the fall-apart meat and sticky sauce; don’t be surprised if they all ask you for seconds.

Serves - 4
Prep -15 minutes
Cook - 4 hours

Get the full recipe here

Beef burgers

Honestly, my kids would stage a mutiny if I tried to cook a BBQ without including beef burgers! And these are so simple to prepare that there is really no excuse – just beef mince and a little seasoning. They taste so much better than shop bought patties, and the bonus is, you know exactly what’s gone into making them.

These can be made ahead earlier on in the day so they are ready to be cooked as soon as your guests arrive, just store them between sheets of greaseproof paper to stop them sticking.

Serves – 4
Prep – 10 minutes
Cook – 10 minutes

Get the full recipe here

Greek Salad

This Greek salad is a real taste of summer, it instantly takes me back to beach-side restaurants in Greece where it’s considered normal to serve a whole block of feta for one person! The fresh, crunchy salad combines so well with the tangy vinaigrette and is the perfect accompaniment to BBQ meat.

If you want to get ahead, the salad ingredients can be chopped in advance and the dressing can be made earlier and kept in the fridge – just don’t assemble the salad until you are ready to eat it or it will turn soggy.

Serves – 4
Prep – 10 minutes

Get the full recipe here

Mediterranean Bulgur Salad

This is another winning salad to serve alongside BBQ food; I love to have a selection of different salad options with a BBQ so that I can fill my plate with a bit of everything! It’s best to cook the bulgur wheat earlier on in the day so that it’s had chance to cool before you prepare the salad.

If you want slightly more texture to the salad, replace 50g of dried bulgur wheat for 50g dried red quinoa. This is a really lovely recipe to have on hand and uses the same vinaigrette as the Greek Salad so you can prepare it all together!

Serves – 4
Prep – 10 minutes
Cook – 12-15 minutes

Get the full recipe here

Garlic Butter Corn

If you like corn on the cob but you’ve never tried it cooked on the BBQ, you are in for such a treat! Everyone knows that corn and butter are best friends but adding garlic and herbs to the butter makes this extra delicious.

If you want to get ahead with this side-dish, par-boil the corn for 5 minutes before covering in the garlic butter and finishing off on the BBQ.

This is such a summery side dish that everyone will enjoy and really brings the sunshine to your plate.

Serves – 4
Prep – 5 minutes
Cook – 10 minutes

Get the full recipe here

Our BBQ Preparation Timeline

There’s nothing like an impromptu BBQ on a hot day but if you have something more structured planned for friends and family, you can take a huge amount of the stress out of the event by prepping some of the food in advance. This gives you more time to spend with your guests rather than being stuck in the kitchen.

Day Before

Marinate the pork ribs: Place in a lidded container and refrigerate until ready to go in the oven.
Cook the bulgur wheat: Boil the bulgur in vegetable stock for extra flavour, allow to cool and then refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the salad.
Make your burger patties: These are so simple, just good quality minced beef and some seasoning. I bought myself a cheap burger press and it made the whole process so much easier – just make the patties and arrange them between sheets of greaseproof paper and store in the fridge until you need them.
Check your supplies: Try to get everything you need in advance to avoid running around on the day. Make sure you have charcoal or a gas bottle, matches/lighter and enough plates, cutlery and glasses for everyone.
Top up your sauces: If you are anything like us, we all like different sauces with our BBQ. Make sure you have a selection of the most popular choices – Tomato ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, chilli sauce etc.
Check your BBQ: This is important and can easily catch you out (I speak from experience here!), make sure the grills are cleaned and the charcoal tray is emptied out ready for use.
Buy some citronella: If you are intending to eat outside, light some citronella candles and have them burning on the table to keep the flies away from your food.

On the Day - Morning

Slow cook your pork ribs: These take about 3-4 hours in the oven so don’t forget to put them on to cook early enough in the day.
Prepare your salad dressing: This will be used on both the Mediterranean Bulgur Salad and the Greek Salad, make ahead of time and it’s ready to simply pour over your salads when the rest of the food is ready.
Prepare your drinks: Make sure drinks are cooling in the fridge, make ice cubes and put in the freezer.

On the Day – 1 Hour Before

Chop your salad: Get all of your salad chopping done before the guests arrive and store in a large bowl, covered in a piece of cling film.
Prepare bread rolls: Pre slice these for burgers and sausages (if you are also cooking these), just slice them but let people butter their own.
Make the garlic butter ready to baste on the corn. Par-boil the corn for 5 minutes then drain and cover in the garlic butter. Wrap in foil until ready to go on the BBQ.
If you store your butter in the fridge, remove it now so that it’s spreadable for when guests arrive.
Set the table: Lay out plates, cutlery, and glasses ready for your guests to arrive.
Remove the ribs from the oven and cover over with foil, ready to caramelise on the BBQ later.

When Guests Arrive

Light the BBQ: If you are using coals, these will usually take around 15-20 minutes before they are ready to cook on. You need to wait for the coals to turn white – make sure you set your grill level at the correct height depending on the heat of your coals.
If you are serving sausages (and I’m sure there will be a few complaints if you don’t!), cook these first.
Next, cook the burgers.
Then the ribs and corn on the cob.
Whilst the food is cooking on the BBQ, assemble the salads and place into serving bowls.
Time to eat!

Our Top Tips for Hosting a Stress-Free BBQ

Enlist helpers: BBQ cooking is time critical so make sure you have a dedicated person cooking the BBQ food or you’ll end up with burnt bangers!
Set up a drinks station: This one really helps things to run smoothly, set up a table with drinks and glasses so that people can help themselves. Kids will appreciate a jug filled with juice or water that they can top up when they get thirsty.
Prepare as much as you can during the day, BBQ food cooks quickly and can easily burn if you are busy doing other things.
Have a back-up plan: We all know the Great British weather likes to keep us guessing. If it looks like it might rain, have a table ready indoors where you can layout food if the weather turns.

We hope this menu takes the stress out of your next family BBQ and gives you more time to enjoy the sunshine with the people you love. Save this post for your next BBQ day, we’d love to know which recipe was the biggest hit!