These delicious grilled seafood dishes maximize flavor by employing a variety of seasonal produce, fresh herbs, tangy citrus, and, in many cases, glorious butter. Make-ahead marinades and the ease of the grill mean your tastebuds will be transported under the sea in a snap. Light up your grill and read on for our favorite grilled shrimp, lobster, scallop, oyster, and other seafood recipes.
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Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon
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The sauce for this shrimp is a simple version of Italy's salmoriglio, typically made with lemon and herbs in a mortar. It can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight; just be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
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Grilled Sea Scallops with Corn Salad
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This perfect dish for corn season is sweet, savory, and satisfying. Fresh corn is combined with grape tomatoes, scallions, and basil, then tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette and crowned with hot scallops.
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Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Lemongrass-Lime Aïoli
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Sweet, mild grilled mahi-mahi harmonizes with an aïoli featuring lemongrass and lime. The creamy aïoli comes together in seconds using an immersion blender, resulting in a silky texture that's less likely to break and adding richness and zest to a classic summer meal.
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Shrimp and Okra Kebabs with Grilled Peaches and Jalapeño-Bourbon Vinaigrette
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A splash of bourbon in the vinaigrette adds a sweet, boozy kick of flavor and helps tenderize the shrimp. Cutting okra in half lengthwise keeps it big enough to skewer and get charred and crispy on the grill, without falling through the grates.
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Grilled Scallops with Honeydew-Avocado Salsa
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This recipe's fruity spin on salsa verde mixes sweet honeydew and buttery avocado, which marries perfectly with the simply seasoned and charred scallops. The round, toasty flavors of a California Chardonnay pair excellently with this dish.
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Grilled Seafood Kebabs and Orecchiette with Arugula
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This lovely dish makes the most of seasonal tomatoes. Here, they're skewered and grilled with jumbo scallops and shrimp, then served alongside a bright arugula pasta. Pinot Grigio is an ideal accompaniment.
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Citrus-Soy Squid
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While the squid is tasty after 30 minutes of marinating, an extra half hour makes a big difference in the flavor. This super simple marinade keeps for several days in the refrigerator, so it's great to make a large batch and save half for later.
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Grilled Shrimp with Green Chile–Condensed Milk Sauce
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Cookbook author Andrea Nguyen's sensational grilled shrimp are brushed with a garlicky, basil-infused butter during grilling. The shrimp get an extra punch of flavor from the dipping sauce, which is spiked with Thai green chiles and tempered with sweetened condensed milk.
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Jerk-Grilled Lobster
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"After trying every item that can be basted or drizzled in the flavors of jerk, from shrimp to chicken to whole fish and even co*cktails, hands down my favorite incarnation is lobster," says Gail Simmons. "The jerk paste is stirred into butter and used to baste the crustacean while it cooks over the flames."
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Grilled Oysters with Spicy Tarragon Butter
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Bubba Hiers, the late brother of TV cook Paula Deen, served fantastic grilled Gulf Coast oysters smothered in butter and Parmesan cheese. Chef Bobby Flay modifies the recipe by topping his oysters with a blend of butter, tarragon, and hot sauce, then returning them to the grill so the butter melts into little pools in the shells.
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Hawaiian-Style Garlic Butter Shrimp
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In this recipe from Hawaiian chef Sheldon Simeon, shrimp are marinated in a mixture of Italian dressing, mayonnaise, calamansi juice, and salt, then grilled and tossed in roasted garlic butter. The result: unbelievably sweet, juicy grilled shrimp.
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Scallop and Corn Bacon Burgers with Spicy Mayo
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Scallops make incredibly juicy burgers despite their low fat content. The addition of corn provides a bit of sweetness and crunch. To keep the burgers moist, don't overcook them; there should be a thin layer of barely cooked scallop at the center.
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Grilled Lobsters with Miso-Chile Butter
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Grilling lobsters at home, as Gail Simmons does, is super easy if you have your fishmonger clean and halve the lobsters for you. This flavor-packed lobster recipe only calls for four simple steps and is ready in less than an hour.
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Grilled Shrimp with Apple and Charred Scallions
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"Shrimp come from all over the world, but I think the kind from coastal Georgia and the Gulf is the best — and it's pretty much a sustainable product," says chef Hugh Acheson. Here, he prepares the shrimp as a light appetizer with green apple, charred scallions, smoked paprika, and sesame seeds.
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Easy Grilled Paella
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To cook this seafood and chorizo paella, Australian chef Pete Evans uses his grill as both a stovetop and an oven, simultaneously using direct and indirect heat. We've replaced his whole crab with jumbo lump crabmeat for simplicity's sake.
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Grilled Oysters with Chorizo Butter
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No shucking necessary: Once the oysters open on the grill, simply top them with chef David Kinch's smoky, tangy butter. Oysters are usually served with sparkling wines, but the intensely flavorful chorizo butter allows for a more full-bodied wine pairing, like a minerally Chablis.
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Grilled Shrimp with Miso Butter
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"I love mixing miso and butter together," says chef Jamie Bissonnette. "If you spread that miso-flavored butter on toast, people always love it and ask, 'What is this?'" Bissonnette also transforms the butter into a sauce for grilled shrimp.
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Grilled Halibut with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
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This punchy, well-balanced sweet roasted red bell pepper sauce does double duty here as both a marinade and mildly spicy sauce for the cooked halibut. Serve with crusty bread for sopping up the extra sauce, and juicy grilled squash on the side.
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Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis
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Tender, juicy sweet peas and yellow corn kernels make for a light and refreshing salad atop a silky, creamy corn coulis in this easy-to-double recipe. Tangy sour cream and buttermilk balance the natural sweetness of the vegetables and Gulf shrimp.
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Spiced Crab Tacos
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Chef Michael Psilakis's bright, fresh crab tacos incorporate traditional Latin ingredients and a hit of chile sauce. Cooked shrimp would be great here as well.
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