For most people, barbecues tend to conjure up images of warm summer days, drinks in hand (usually beer or soft drink), snags on bread with tomato sauce, onion, potato, and some salad.

So what about if you can’t or don’t eat dairy, soy, gluten, egg or meat?

Up until now, barbecues might have been yet another invitation you dread.

But not anymore.

Hold onto your tongs because in this post we have put together the ultimate free-from barbecue feast!

In this ULTIMATE post we’ve got alternatives for everything including:

• Meat alternatives
• Sausages
• Tomato & Barbecue Sauce
• Mustard
• Bread
• Cold Drinks
• Salads (creamy coleslaw and green salads)
• Salad dressings
• Plastic alternatives (to help reduce waste)
• Desserts

Basically – we’ve got your dairy, gluten, egg, soy and meat free needs taken care of in this post. There’s something for everyone here! But if there’s an alternative you’re missing that you can’t see here – let us know and we’ll see how we can help!

Meat alternatives:

Here are 5 different options so you can throw another burger on the barbecue.

Watch our BBQ Episode (link below) to find out how to make Lisa’s Meatless Meat Patties (you can find the recipe in The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Light Meals).

Or convert this nutritious nut  roast mix by Lisa published on Casa de Karma into a burger patty mix, by adding some extra egg alternative to help bind it together, shaping it into burger patties and get a crispy charred outside by rolling it in gluten free flour before putting it on the grill (make sure there’s some olive oil sizzling on the barbecue first for the best effect).

Or if you’d like to add a little appetizer you could try these by Robyn Birkin (also known as Modern Day Missus).

If you’d rather serve sausages, then check out Glenys Sizzling sausage recipe from our BBQ Episode (these are divine!)

Watch our BBQ Episode here:

Tomato Sauce Alternatives

It wouldn’t be an Aussie BBQ without tomato sauce or barbecue sauce, so check out these recipes for some options.

You could try this yummy tomato sauce option by Jo Whitton from Quirky Cooking

Or this yummy option by Tracey Fry from Sistermixin

Or how about this yummy tomato sauce by Lisa Munro from Happy Tummies

Or this one from eco living expert Laura Trotta

Or if you like more of a barbecue tomato sauce you could try these options, like this one here from Shan Cooper at My Food Religion

Or last but not least, this one by Jo Whitton from Quirky Cooking

Other condiments

Another common condiment you’ll find at barbecues is mustard. If you’d like to try your hand at making your own, you might like this cultured mustard by Jane from Wholefood Family

Bread Alternatives

Bread alternatives can be tricky – while there are some free-from options you can buy from the bakery section of the supermarket or health food store, in the last few years, one of my favourites (because it’s quick and easy and suits most of the needs I cater for at our parties) is the Orgran packet bread mix.

If you’d like to bake your own breads from scratch though then we’ve got a few more options for you. Like this “formula” bread by Jo Whitton from Quirky Cooking.  One recipe – many options. Love it!

If you’d like even more alternatives, How about this amazing resource by Tania Hubbard which includes a combination of grain, gluten, egg, yeast, sugar, dairy and nut free options?

Drink Alternatives

All kinds of cold drinks can be found at barbecues, if you haven’t yet, make sure you watch our Cold Drinks Episode because in there we cover how to make your own refined sugar-free cordial and you can get the recipes from our Cold drinks episode here.

How to make bubbly drink and alcohol alternatives.

Watch the episode here:

But if that’s still not enough ideas, you could check out this Creaming soda alternative by The Holistic Nutritionist

Salad Alternatives

As a naturopath, the first thing I look for at barbecues are the salads! But sometimes there aren’t any that are dairy free or meat free (and sometimes there aren’t any at all). So here are some ideas for delicious salads to serve at your next barbecue:

Creamy dairy-free coleslaw
In our BBQ Episode Anne makes a creamy coleslaw click here for the recipe

If you’d like some home made dairy and egg-free mayonnaise alternatives watch our Mayonnaise Episode (link below) we’ve got 3 egg free-mayonnaise options including one which is egg and oil free!

You can get the mayonnaise recipes in The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Tasty Toppings book.

Green Salads

So here are a couple of yummy options:

This tasty Vietnamese inspired summer salad by Melinda Overall from Overall Nutrition

Or this yummy pumpkin and beetroot salad by Vanessa Vickery from Becomingness

Or this Apple walnut and cranberry salad also by Vanessa from Becomingness.

There is also this yummy Broccoli Salad by Lisa Corduff

And this yummy Cauliflower by Simone at The Nourishing Hub

We have a range of salads in The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Light Meals such as creamy potato salad, four bean salad and gluten-free tabouli, and a vegan-friendly waldorf salad.

Salad Dressing Alternatives

Alternatively, you could get a bowl of baby spinach, rocket, cos lettuce or a mix and add some of these yummy salad dressings.

We’ve got 3 great salad dressing recipes in our book The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Tasty Toppings which include Hayley’s creamy satay dressing, Glenys’ Balsamic Dressing and Karina’s Lime and chilli dressing.

Or there’s this one from Sonia at Natural New Age Mum which you can drizzle over some greens.

Reducing plastic waste

Talking about salads makes me think of plastics and there can be a lot of plastic waste at barbecues so check out these tips by Eco-living Expert Laura Trotta

and Sonia Donaldson from Natural New Age Mum.

To reduce the plastic waste at your next barbecue.

Dessert Alternatives

Lastly, it’s nice to finish off a barbecue with a piece of yummy cake. If you’re looking for some dairy, soy and gluten-free deliciousness, then you should absolutely check out our Cheesecake Episode we’ve got 4 “cheesecakes” to choose from. Watch the full episode here.

(You can get each of these cheesecake recipes, and more dessert ideas in our book, The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Dessert Recipes).

If you’re looking for even more dairy-free cheesecake recipes try this beautiful berry swirl cheesecake by naturopath Jules Galloway.

Or perhaps you like the look of this sweet potato tiramisu cake  by Mummy Made It instead?

If you like dessert but want a simpler packet mix cake option, you could make this vanilla Orgran Packet Cake mix cake I used in this post here for my son’s spider-man birthday.

Of course, you’re not just limited to making cakes for dessert at a barbecue. Ice cream works pretty well too! You’ll find these recipes in our book The Little Book of Allergy-Friendly Dessert Recipes and you can see how we make them in The Ice Cream Episode.

So how do you like those options? Are you feeling inspired?  I don’t know about you but I feel like firing up the barbecue!:-)

If you’d like more ideas,  inspiration and info about cooking with alternatives check out our Episodes and our Recipe Books.