Save yourself the time of doing all the cooking and preparation work for your barbecue on the day-of. Instead, get everything you need prepared ahead of time so you can relax and enjoy the barbecue with your household!

Drinks

There is plenty you can do ahead of time to make sure everyone stays refreshed and hydrated. Bar tools can be brought out from storage and given a quick rinse, and any outdoor cups and pitchers can also be given a quick wash and organized in a bar area or on a counter until they are needed outside. Make sure to put cans and bottles into the fridge to chill in advance and bring out any coolers that may be needed. Don’t forget to make sure you have plenty of ice as well! 

While some garnishes are best prepared closer to the actual barbecue to prevent them from wilting, others can also be cut up and placed in containers until everyone in your household is ready for dinner.

Thrillist has a list of cocktails that can be made ahead of time. While they had the beach in mind for these drinks, the recipes can also work great to cut down on preparations even if you’re just at home and relaxing with your household in the backyard.

Otherwise, you can start planning what ingredients and tools you might need to make these classic cocktail recipes that are perfect for any size of household, like these Peach Bellini and Sangria recipes or this unique Apposta Cocktail recipe, all from Better Homes and Gardens.

Food

The food is obviously the main event of any barbecue, and many classic barbecue dishes can easily be prepared in advance so all you need to do once supper time comes is heat the grill and cook!

These two foil pack recipes from Delish conveniently include all you need for a barbecue meal in one individualized pouch. Even better, you can easily put these together ahead of time by prepping the vegetables, preparing the foil pouches, marinating the meat, and assembling everything together ahead of time to store in the fridge. Check out this recipe for Chicken, Tomatoes and Corn or this one for Sausage and Peppers.

Burgers are a popular meal to serve at a barbecue, and this “Full Works” burger from Olive has it all! While it looks like a lot, the sauce and other garnishes are best made a few hours or even a day before, leaving you with less preparation right before the meal.

Barbecue ribs, like this recipe from Food Network Magazine, are always a great choice to cook on the grill, especially if you have a larger household to feed. To get the most flavour out of these ribs, they are best if the spice mixture is prepared and rubbed onto the ribs the night before the barbecue – leaving only the cooking to be done in the oven a couple of hours before they are finished off on the barbecue.  

Every barbecue star dish is not complete without a side dish (or more!), and there are plenty of recipes and ideas that are easy to prepare the day before or morning of. For example, this unique take on a tomato salad from Taste of Home features a lot of different vegetables that can easily be prepared a day or two before so it only needs to be assembled right before eating.

 An even simpler dish like grilled vegetables requires even less effort – simply wash and cut your favourite vegetables, give them a light seasoning, and place them on the grill! This grilled rapini recipe from AllRecipes shows just how easy and delicious grilled vegetables can be! A lighter salad or dessert option perfect for an outdoor barbecue is a fruit salad, which is also good to prepare in advance and leave in your fridge. You can simply put together a salad from what fresh fruit you have on hand or try something new like this watermelon and basil salad from AllRecipes.