Grilled foil packet dinners are the answer to quick summer meals with minimal cleanup! In this post, we’ll show you how to make two different easy meals the whole family will love.
Have you ever made a foil packet meal? I hadn’t before and was so pleasantly surprised by how good these turned out! When thinking about what kinds of recipes we wanted to make this summer, we knew grilled recipes were at the top of our list, but we wanted to find a way to give you a perfect meal with minimal prep and clean up, too. Enter: grill foil packets. These little packets are similar to the concept of a sheet pan dinner, because you get your protein, veggies, and starch all cooked at once, except they are grilled instead AND you don’t even have to dirty a sheet pan to make them. These are perfect for low-key summer evenings, or even a great recipe to make while camping!
What is a foil dinner?
A foil dinner is simply a combination of protein, fresh veggies, and starch all packaged together in foil and seasoned. You’ll place equal portions of each in a square of heavy duty aluminum foil, then roll them up and place them on the grill, where they’ll cook in just 15 minutes. With this method, everyone gets their own individual, perfectly-cooked meal full of their favorite things!
Foil Packet Dinner Ingredient Ideas
For this article, we tested out 2 different foil packet recipes: a Cajun shrimp boil foil packet and a BBQ salmon, sweet potato, and broccoli foil pack dinner, but you can easily mix and match from the below lists to create your own!
Proteins
Almost any type of protein will cook well in a grilled foil packet dinner, we just recommend cutting up your proteins into equal pieces so that it cooks evenly. Here are our favorite picks for proteins:
- Chicken – you’ll want to stick to boneless, skinless cuts of chicken cut into 1-inch pieces to ensure everything cooks at the same speed. Thighs will be the juiciest and most flavorful option, but chicken breasts or tenders will work well, too!
- Seafood – salmon, shrimp, or whitefish are all great options here.
- Beef – ground beef patties or cubed steak will both cook up perfectly.
- Pork – avoid larger, tougher cuts of pork and opt for cubed pork tenderloin instead to ensure it isn’t overcooked.
- Sausage – any type of link sausage will work wonderfully in these dinners.
Veggies
You can opt for almost any type of veggie, but below are a few of our favorites:
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Cherry tomatoes
- Fresh green beans
- Red Bell Peppers
- Zucchini or summer squash
Starches
We found that chopped potatoes, whole baby red potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn are all great starch options for these dinners, or, if you are cooking lower carb, you can use two veggies instead!
Sauces and Seasonings
Now that you’ve picked out your main components, the next step is to season them! We recommend using about a teaspoon of seasoning for each packet. You can either grab your favorite seasoning blend (we love Primal Palate and Balanced Bites!), or season simply with salt, pepper, and a bit of lemon juice.
You can also opt for a sauce instead of a seasoning blend, just use about 1/4 cup per foil packet. Here are some of our favorites:
- BBQ Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
- Coconut aminos or a Teriyaki-style sauce
- Honey Mustard
- Ranch Dressing
- Any of your favorite dressings
How to make a grilled foil packet dinner
Now that you’ve picked out your ingredients, it’s time to put everything together! You’ll need to follow a few super simple steps to make these dinners:
- Cut up your veggies and starch. You’ll want to chop all of the components of your foil packets into equal, small pieces (about 1-2 inches). This helps ensure that everything cooks evenly!
- Cut your foil and parchment paper. Cut 4, 12″ pieces of foil and 4, 12″ pieces of parchment paper. The foil will seal the meals and the parchment paper will keep your food from sticking. Line up the aluminum foil pieces, then place the single layer of parchment paper on top.
- Make your foil packets. Evenly divide your protein, starches, and veggies between the 4 pieces of foil and parchment and place in the middle of the foil sheets, then add your sauce or seasoning. Fold the foil in half over the dinner, then roll up the sides to seal your packets. This is a great place to involve your kids so that they can make their own foil packet!
- Grill. Now you’re ready to grill! Simply place the foil packets on the grill over high heat for 12-15 minutes, until everything is fully cooked through, then remove from heat and serve.
Oven Method
If you don’t have a grill, or you planned this dinner earlier in the week and unexpected rain is quite literally raining on your parade, you can still make these all-in-one packets! To make these in the oven, simply bake them at 425°F for 20-25 minutes.
There you have it – our complete guide to grilled foil packet dinner! We hope this gets you inspired to create some fun dinners this summer.
Just for You
Grilling Recipes
Want more recipes like this?
2 Easy Seafood Grilled Foil Packet Dinners
Ingredients
BBQ Salmon Foil Packs
Shrimp Boil Foil Packs
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp peeled and de-veined
- 12 ounces andouille sausage cut into 4 pieces
- 2 ears corn cut in half
- 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1/4 cup melted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt to taste*
Instructions
For the BBQ Salmon Packs:
- Preheat a grill to high heat.
- Cut 4, 12″ pieces of foil and 4, 12″ pieces of parchment paper. Line up the foil pieces, then place the parchment paper on top.
- Place one salmon filet on each piece of foil/parchment, then evenly divide up the broccoli and sweet potatoes and place them next to the salmon.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over the salmon and veggies, then season them with salt. Next, pour 1/4 cup BBQ sauce over each piece of salmon.
- Fold the foil and parchment in half over the salmon and veggies, then roll up the sides to create a tightly sealed packet.
- Place the packs on the grill and cook for 12-15 minutes, until everything is fully cooked through.
- Remove from grill, let cool slightly, and serve!
Shrimp Boil Foil Packs
- Preheat a grill to high heat.
- Cut 4, 12″ pieces of foil and 4, 12″ pieces of parchment paper. Line up the foil pieces, then place the parchment paper on top.
- Evenly divide up the shrimp, andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn and place them on the pieces of parchment paper.
- Pour one tablespoon butter or olive oil over the shrimp and veggies in each packet, then season with 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning.
- Fold the foil and parchment in half over the shrimp and veggies, then roll up the sides to create a tightly sealed packet.
- Place the packs on the grill and cook for 12-15 minutes, until everything is fully cooked through.
- Remove from grill, let cool slightly, and serve!
Recipe Notes
- The amount of salt needed for the shrimp boil foil packs will vary depending on how much salt your Cajun seasoning blend contains.
- To make these in the oven, simply bake the packs at 425 F for 20-25 minutes.
- You can make these packs up to one day in advance before grilling them!
- Nutrition is for the salmon packets.
Nutrition
I have made the salmon foil packs a few times this summer. They are amazing!! So easy and quick to make and delicious! Even my 2-year old loves them! I use Primal Kitchen Unsweetened BBQ sauce and Simple Truth frozen wild caught sockeye salmon.
Biggest compliment when the smallest critics love it!! We are so happy y’all enjoy them, Sara!
I made the shrimp boil packets and I can’t believe how good they turned out! So easy to clean up, too. I will definitely be making some variation of this recipe over and over. Thank you!
YES!! isn’t that clean up just amazing haha!! We are so so happy you loved them, Mandy!!!
These are my favorite “passive lunch for champs” meals ever.
It has really changed my work from home lunch game.
That’s so awesome! I haven’t thought about having these for lunch, but that’s such a great idea!
How do you pick your shrimp/salmon?
Is there anything to look for or avoid?
Thank you!