Properly prepared grilled calamari is guaranteed to be delicious, even for non-squid loving fans like myself!

Grilled calamari with roasted red peppers in a bowl.

In a previous life, I was a ravenous sushi hound, but there was always one sashimi variant that made me turn up my nose: Raw squid – a.k.a. ika. (As in “EEEK! AAAH!”) I found it too slimy, inky, and just plain icky. Cooked calamari was a different matter – I’d down a plate happily – but my aversion to the raw stuff caused me to avoid squid altogether at the market, and I never learned to prepare it properly. Someone else would have to cook the tentacled sea beasties for me.

After all, this is what usually pops into my head when I think about calamari:

Different cartoon squids with a cartoon bubble saying, "It's a trap!"

But this week, I got a pound of squid in my seafood CSA delivery. It sat in the fridge for a day while I pondered how to cook it.

Since my super-chef sister knows how to make EVERYTHING, I rang her up and she gave me the deets on how to throw together a quick and easy flash-grilled calamari salad.

Time to make Grilled Calamari and Roasted Peppers!

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients:

  • I medium red bell pepper
  • 1 pound squid, cleaned and gutted
  • 2 tablespoons melted ghee, avocado oil, bacon drippings, or fat of choice
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from ½ a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup Italian parsley leaves

Equipment:

  • All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.

Method:

Start by placing the bell pepper directly on your gas range and charring it until black all over.

Roasting a red bell pepper until charred on a stove over an open flame.

Place the pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and let the sucker steam for at least 15 minutes. I usually leave the bell pepper alone for a few hours while I go about my important business of blogging and yelling at the kids to put away their toys.

Rub off the blackened skin and remove the stem, seeds, and ribs.

Someone rubbing off the blackened parts of a roasted red bell pepper.

Cut the bell pepper into thin strips and set aside.

If you’re lucky like me, you can get ridiculously fresh, sustainably-caught squid from a groovy seafood seller like Siren SeaSA. Mine came cleaned and gutted, but if you need to do some dirty work, check out this handy guide.

A pile of raw squid on a cutting board.

I rinsed and dried the squid and cut each one open so it would lie flat on the grill.

Someone slicing through a cleaned and raw squid.

You can remove the skin if you want, but I was too lazy. (Note: my sis HIGHLY recommends removing the skin because it’s unsightly in her opinion.)

A pile of sliced raw squid prepared to be grilled.

A pile of raw squid.

Toss the squid with the cooking fat…

Measured oil that will be added to a bowl of raw squid for grilled calamari.

Raw squid with oil in a bowl for grilled calamari.

…and salt and pepper to taste.

Salt and pepper added to a bowl of raw shrimp for grilled calamari.

Tossing the raw squid with oil and seasoning in a bowl with a spoon.

Combine the shallots and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and let them mellow out.

Combining sliced shallots and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.

Preheat your gas grill on high. Once it’s super hot, toss on the squid and cook for 20-30 seconds on each side.

Squid being cooked on a grill for grilled calamari.

The tentacles take a tiny bit longer to cook, but don’t let the calamari linger on the grill until the meat turns to rubber.

Tentacles of a squid being cooked on a grill for grilled calamari.

Once the squid is flash-grilled…

Flash grilled shrimp in a bowl.

…slice it up…

Thinly slicing the flash grilled squid for grilled calamari.

…and toss the pieces in a bowl.

Sliced pieces of flash grilled squid for grilled calamari.

Add the juice from half a lemon…

One slice of lemon crosswise.

…pour in the olive oil…

Someone measuring out olive oil that is to be added to the bowl of grilled calamari.

…and toss in the the balsamic-marinated shallots, sliced peppers, salt, and pepper.

A bowl of the flash cooked calamari and grilled peppers.

Mix everything well…

Mixing the ingredients for grilled calamari and roasted red peppers.

…and sprinkle on the parsley.

Someone adding parsley to the bowl of grilled calamari with roasted red peppers.

Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed with extra lemon juice, salt, or pepper.

A bowl of grilled calamari with roasted red bell peppers.

The result: A tangy, toothsome, easy-to-make salad of grilled calamari and sweet roasted peppers.


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).


 PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Grilled Calamari and roasted Peppers

4.50 from 2 votes
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Servings 3
I've always had an aversion to raw squid, but cooked calamari was a different matter. I'd happily down a plate of those! This is a great recipe that is quick and easy to put together.

Ingredients 
 

  • 1 medium red bell pepper
  • 1 pound squid cleaned and gutted
  • 2 tablespoon melted ghee or fat of choice
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt 
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 small shallot thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup Italian parsley
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Instructions 

  • Start by placing the bell pepper directly on your gas range and charring it until black all over.
  • Place the pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and let the sucker steam for at least 15 minutes.
  • Rub off the blackened skin and remove the stem, seeds, and ribs.
  • Cut the bell pepper into thin strips and set aside.
  • Rinse and dry squid. Cut each one open so it will lie flat on the grill. (You can remove the skin if you want, but I'm lazy and I don't always)
  • Toss the squid with the cooking fat and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Combine the thinly sliced shallots and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and let them mellow out.
  • Preheat your gas grill on high. Once it’s super hot, toss on the squid and cook for 20-30 seconds on each side. The tentacles take a tiny bit longer to cook, but don’t let the calamari linger on the grill until the meat turns to rubber.
  • Once the squid is flash grilled, slice them up and toss them in a bowl.
  • Add juice from half a lemon over the squid and pour in the olive oil.
  • Toss in the balsamic-marinated shallots, sliced peppers, salt, and pepper.
  • Mix everything well and sprinkle on the parsley. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 22g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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