The sun is shining, there’s a light breeze and just a few fluffy white clouds in the sky.  Some days are just made to be spent outdoors. Cooking in the garden with an ice cold drink is one of my greatest joys of summer. And since some of Gousto’s dishes are perfect to cook over a BBQ, you can spend more time cooking in the fresh air and less time slaving over a stove indoors. There are some great drink options available on Gousto Market too, just to complete this summer fantasy.

Baharat Lamb Kebabs with Red Pepper Hummus

This is a dish to show off to your friends with – juicy lamb kebabs, served with a fragrant bulgar wheat and a delicious red pepper hummus. And the best part? You can prepare most of it in advance, which will leave you chilled out for when your guests arrive.

Wait until just before you serve to toast the pitta breads and add herbs to the bulgar wheat, then all you have to do is throw the kebabs on the BBQ and you’re cooking with fire!

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Food Stylist Jenny’s Top tip: Make sure your meat is cooked and piping hot all the way through before serving, even if this means adding a few minutes to the recommended cooking time. Even better, invest in a temperature probe. They’re pretty cheap online and can take the guesswork out of barbecuing. As a general rule, cooked through minced meat and chicken should register at least 74C.

Cheesy Mushroom Burger with Pickled Shallots and Chips

Treat any vegetarians in your life to this delicious umami burger, which is a firm favourite at Gousto HQ (I order it every time I see it on the menu!). Cooking down the mushrooms before you blend them intensifies their flavour and the twist of adding soy sauce ensures your patties are perfectly seasoned.

Homemade pickles are an easy way to take your BBQ to the next level and taste better the longer you leave them (covered up to 4 hours in advance). There’s not mushroom for improvement!

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Chef Flo’s Top tip: This burger doesn’t do well on the racks coal BBQ (we tried and we failed!) but it loves the flat grill part of a gas BBQ or a cast iron pan on a regular BBQ – just let it get hot first.

Chicken Tikka Burger with Jeera Potatoes

Chicken Tikka tastes better with a little char, and whilst a grill does a good job, a BBQ takes this dish to the next level. The punchy marinade is cooled with a simple cucumber raita, buttery cumin dotted potatoes blows a supermarket potato salad out of the water, and serving the chicken in a brioche bun will make this a dish you will want to make time and time again!

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Chef Sonali’s Top tip: Meat can be marinated for up to 48 hours before cooking, which means you can get this dish ready before work (or the night before), then come home and start BBQing as soon as you get in – just make sure your meat is in date on the day of cooking.

Vietnamese-Style Lemongrass Chicken

This dish takes its inspiration from Vietnamese street food which is cooked over hot coals, so it tastes even better (if that’s possible!) when cooked over a BBQ. Sticky rice and crunchy homemade pickles make for tasty sides and rounds out this dish that demands to be eaten outside.

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Chef Blake’s Top tip: We’re all about reducing food waste at Gousto, so why not use your BBQ to meal-prep any leftover veggies lurking in the bottom of your fridge? Char up that sad wrinkly pepper for a delicious smoky addition to the hummus recipe above.

Make some veggie kebabs to add a little colour to future meals. You can even try individually wrapping sweet potatoes in foil before leaving them on the cooling coal for 30 minutes to get them delicious squishy and caramelised.

Ultimate Cheeseburger with Bacon and Rosemary Fries

If you’re having a BBQ why not go all the way and make the ultimate cheeseburger? The easiest way to upgrade your burger (aside from melted cheddar and crispy bacon!) is to make your own sauces and seasoning. Homemade burger sauce is incredibly simple to make, especially with Gousto’s perfectly pre-measured ingredients.

Rosemary salt adds a special twist to these chips, but if you have extra rosemary left over why not make more rosemary salt? Use good quality flaked sea salt and it will keep for months, ready for you to sprinkle over your BBQ.

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Chef Jordan’s Top tip: Let meat start to come to room temperature before you cook (20 minutes out of the fridge, but out of direct sunlight, should do – and make sure it’s covered!) that way it’s not cold when it hits the grill, the middle will cook quicker and it will help you avoid the BBQ cliche burnt-on-the-outside raw-on-the-inside burger.

Which of our dishes above would be your top choice for your summer BBQ? Let us know below!