Grilled Octopus

4.50 from 18 votes
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Grilled octopus with olive oil, cayenne pepper and lemon. This Spanish grilled octopus with salad is the best and restaurant worthy, juicy, tender and delicious!

Grilled octopus on a plate.
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Octopus

Octopus is a soft-bodies mollusk or cephalopod with eight limbs. Even though the look of octopus is somewhat bizzare, it’s one of my favorite seafood.

In recent months, I haven’t been able to dine out at my favorite restaurants. I really miss it especially grilled octopus with salad.

I took matters into my own hands and bought some at my seafood store.

I fired up the grill and made this amazing Spanish grilled octopus to kick start my summer, and I also made some grilled oysters.


Grilled Octopus Ingredients

Grilled octopus recipe with salad.

It’s very easy to make this recipe as it calls for few simple ingredients:

  • Octopus
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Lemon juice

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


How To Make Grilled Octopus

Grilled octopus salad.

You can buy fresh, raw and uncooked octopus or boiled octopus that has been cooked.

As octopus are naturally briny, you don’t need a lot of ingredients. All you need are a great olive oil and basic seasonings. A few minutes on the grill and you’re done!

After grilling, slice it into pieces and serve with a simple green salad of your choice.

Serve with fresh lemon wedges and you will have a dish that rivals your favorite restaurants.


Frequently Asked Questions

How to grill octopus without boiling?

If you are lucky to get fresh octopus, you just need to grill them on direct heat for a total of a few minutes on both sides.
As soon as the tentacles or limbs curl up and the flesh turns white or opaque in color, they are cooked.
Do not over grill or they will turn rubbery and chewy.
Perfectly grilled octopus should be tender to the bite and juicy.

What side dishes go well with this recipe?

Fresh green salads are great with octopus. You can use all kinds of salad. I love spring mix salad with arugula.

How many calories per serving?

This recipe is 146 calories per serving.

Spanish grilled octopus with smoked paprika.

What To Serve With Grilled Octopus

Serve this dish with fresh salad. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.50 from 18 votes

Grilled Octopus

Grilled octopus with olive oil, cayenne pepper and lemon. This Spanish grilled octopus with salad is the best and restaurant worthy, juicy, tender and delicious!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 People
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Ingredients  

  • 1 lb (500g) boiled octopus
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 3 dashes cayenne pepper
  • 1 pack spring mix salad
  • Lemon wedges

Instructions 

  • Season the boiled octopus with olive oil, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
    Boiled octopus
  • Fire up the grill and quickly grill the octopus over direct heat until the surface is slightly charred. Turn it over and grill the other side.
  • Remove the grilled octopus and slice it into pieces. Serve immediately with a fresh spring mix salad and lemon wedges.
    Grilled octopus.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 146kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 269mg, Potassium: 462mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 0.1g, Vitamin A: 809IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 6mg

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

Please rate and comment below!

About Rasa Malaysia

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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Recipe Rating





23 Comments

  1. John says:

    How long do you boil the octopus before grilling?

    1. Bee Yinn Low says:

      You boil for 30 minutes.

  2. Sharon says:

    Found your recipe after returning from Spain where I had a memorably octopus meal. Your recipe hit it! I brought Spain home!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      ??

  3. Felix says:

    Hi, can i replace with oven roast instead of grill? Do not have access to grill.
    If oven roast, what temperature and how long should i roast it?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Just cook on the stove top.

  4. Nash says:

    Got frozen octopus I defrost it but how long to boil to get it tender and how
    Do you have any other receipts for octopus
    Thank you
    Nash

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Just boil for 1 min max in rolling boil.

  5. Jenny K says:

    Love this recipe so much, I just tried it, really yummy and easy to make, thank you!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Thanks for trying my grilled octopus recipe!

  6. Janey Perry says:

    I live in Hawley, Pennsylvania and there arenโ€™t many seafood markets in my area. Do you know where I can purchase Octopus online?

    Thank you,
    Janey Perry

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Janey, I am not sure sorry.

      1. anne lee says:

        In your grilled octopus recipe, you mentioned season boiled octopus with olive oil, salt, etc. Then grill the octopus.

        Someone asked for how long to boil the octopus. You answered if she is having raw octopus no need to boil. Instead just grill it till cooked.

        It’s confusing.

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Anne – in my recipe, I used boiled octopus, it’s stated in the recipe clearly. So, if you have raw octopus, don’t boil and grill right away. That would taste the best. It’s just like if you have raw shrimp, you grill raw shrimp instead of boil and then grill. It’s really common sense and there is nothing to confuse about.

    2. Gabriela Davis says:

      Costco online! Itโ€™s fabulous!

  7. Marylin Morello says:

    How long should I boil the octopus?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      If you have raw octopus, no need to boil. Just grill until cooked.

      1. Debra L Suchor says:

        How long for frozen octopus to boil?

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          If you have frozen octopus, just thaw and boil in rolling hot water for 1 minute.

      2. Nash says:

        Hi
        Do you have recipes for octopus cook in air fryer

        1. Bee Yinn Low says:

          No sorry I don’t have.

    2. Ali says:

      I boil mine for about 40 to 50 minutes…

  8. Bee Yinn Low says:

    5 stars