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Authentic Chicken Kabobs
Chicken Kabobs are my favorite way to enjoy chicken in the summer – it’s the Lebanese in me! I love skewering tender pieces of chicken breast marinated in a combination of Middle Eastern spices, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. And I add chunks of color vegetables in between the chicken cubes. Or sometimes I’ll just make Grilled Vegetables or Grilled Veggie Kabobs on the side.
When it’s rainy, I use my grill pan, but whenever I can get outside (or my husband can!) we grill it over an open flame until the chicken, and the vegetables are slightly charred. The result is a juicy tender chicken kabob that is bursting with flavor that everyone reaches for a skewer before reaching for anything else!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Kabobs Ingredients
- Chicken breast: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. They are easy to work with and cook evenly on the grill. You can also use chicken thighs. They are juicier than boneless skinless chicken breast. But I prefer chicken breasts because of their thickness and overall presentation.
- Vegetables: I typically use bell peppers and red onions but feel free to mix it up and use your favorite vegetables. If you’re not a fan of peppers, you can use zucchini, squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, or even parboiled potatoes
- Mediterranean spice blend: I luse paprika, cumin, a touch of cinnamon, and salt and pepper, of course – it’s a very common spice mix for chicken kabobs.
- Garlic: I always use fresh garlic in this recipe. If you don’t have any fresh garlic, you can use 1 tablespoon of garlic powder instead of the 4 cloves.
- Lemon juice: This helps to tenderize the chicken and adds flavor to the kabobs. Lime will also work, but lemon is more Mediterranean.
Popular Additions
- Add yogurt. I’m always a fan of marinating my chicken in yogurt for extra juicy chicken that won’t dry out on the grill. That’s how I make my popular Shish Tawook.
- Add tomato paste: It gives the chicken a great umami flavor and red color which is so appetizing.
How to Make Grilled Chicken Kabob
Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip the marinate time. The key to juicy chicken is marinating it for at least half an hour or even overnight if you have time but don’t marinate longer than 24 hours since the lemon juice can start to break down the chicken too much.
- Soak wooden skewers. To avoid burning wooden or bamboo skewers, if you’re using, make sure to soak them in water for at least 20 minutes. This keeps them moist and typically reduces the chance of them burning on the grill.
- Check for splits on skewers. If you’re using wooden or bamboo skewers, make sure to check for splinters on the skewers. If you see any, you can remove them by rolling two of them together in your hands or rubbing them over each other, as if you are sharpening a knife.
- Use large chunks of chicken and vegetables. These work best for grilling. Just be sure to secure everything well, so they don’t fall through the grill grates. This is especially important if you’re using chicken thighs that may have long, thin pieces.
- Marinate the chicken on the skewers. If you want to save time right before grilling, this is a helpful trick. Make sure to pour any leftover marinade on top of the skewers, so the chicken really soaks up the juices as it marinates. Also if you’re doing that, there’s no need to soak the skewers before grilling. All those juices will soak up the skewers and keep them moist.
Serving Ideas
Serve these grilled chicken kabobs with a dollop of yogurt or tzatziki sauce, and a side of rice or pita bread. You can also add some pickled turnips or chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or mint, for extra flavor. You can serve them straight off of the grill on the stick, or you can serve them with a number of popular sides like the ones below:
- Lebanese Rice Pilaf (pictured below)
- Lemon Rice
- Classic Hummus
- Fattoush Salad
- Tabbouleh Salad
Recipe Help & FAQs
Chicken kabobs keep wonderfully in the fridge. Store them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly with foil or plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
When ready to eat, remove the chicken from the skewers and heat it up in a skillet over medium-high heat until warmed through. You can also use the oven to reheat your kabobs, preheat to 350°F, and heat on the skewer until just warmed through, about 10-15 minutes.
You can freeze these chicken kabobs! Just make sure to remove them from the skewers and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
If you’re using an outdoor grill, you want to heat the grill to 350-400°F. Be sure to flip them halfway through. The chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 160-165°F.
The best way to prevent your chicken kabobs from burning is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken and grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 160-165°F. Another tip is to make sure you cut the chicken in uniform pieces to avoid unevenly cooked meat.
More Mediterranean Chicken Recipes:
- Grilled Lemon Chicken
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Shish Tawook
- Harissa Chicken
- Skillet Chicken with Couscous
- Simple Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Cilantro Chicken and Veggie Skewers
If you try this Grilled Chicken Kabobs recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Grilled Chicken Kabobs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into large bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large red onion cut into thick slices
- 2 bell peppers cut into squares
- vegetable oil for greasing the grill
- Chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and mix well to combine. Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, and grease the grill with vegetable oil.
- When ready to grill, thread the chicken onto the skewers, with the vegetables in between the chicken kabobs. Pour any leftover marinade on top of the chicken kabobs. Makes 6-9 skewers.
- Grill the chicken kabobs until fully cooked and golden brown, about 10-15 minutes, turning the skewers every couple minutes to allow for even cooking.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and serve with Lebanese rice or any other sides, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Great recipe, thank you.
Yay, so glad to hear it!!
I made this for my wife and me just the other day while we were on winter vacation in Tucson. We both agree that it is very delicious. We are enjoying it with rice and a nice tzatziki sauce. Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Aww, how special! So glad you both enjoyed the recipe. Thank you, Charlie!!
YUM! The marinade is a perfect blend of seasoning while needed a little more salt per our taste. Per our like of spicy foods I did add two teaspoons of Harissa for a hint of heat and step up the flavor without being too hot when used prudently. As this is a Mediterranean spice (Trader Joe’s brand is great) it was the perfect personal enhancement to the kabobs. It was a big hit and will be our go to when making kabobs. Thanks for sharing a delicious recipe.
Harissa sounds like a yummy addition! So happy these were a hit in your household. Thank you, Kathy!!
OMG so good! It’s a crowd pleaser and really not that hard. I also marinated the chicken and cooked it alone to use in chicken salad. It was the best chicken salad ever.
Thank you, Vanessa! Yum, that chicken salad sounds so good!! So happy you liked the recipe.
Delicious recipe! I made this on the grill and the flavor was fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Ellen!
Love your recipes! After marinading the chicken for the chicken kebabs recipe, is there anything that can be done with the leftover marinade? It would be great to be able to cook it somehow so that it could be safely spooned over the chicken or over rice. the other option would be to just make more and don’t add the chicken.
thank you James in Canada
You could use a little to baste the kabobs while they are grilling, but from a food safety standpoint, it’s best not to use it for anything else.
Made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious. Great flavour and an easy meal. Will definitely make them again.
That’s awesome! Love that you tried it and liked it!
This marinade is a keeper. After marinating chicken thighs for nine hours today we just polished off 2 chicken and vegetable grilled kabobs each. The flavor combination from the spices was absolutely outstanding! Saved one skewer (although it was hard not to devour) for leftovers tomorrow night to slide into a pita. We are foodies and feel really, really good that we were lucky enough to find our favorite marinade ever. Thank you!
Aw, thank you so much for the kind words, so happy to hear that you guys enjoyed them! Thank you for making the recipe and taking a leap to try out the kabobs!
I made this as part of my menu for a 90th birthday party. We had 20 people with the youngest feign 16 and the oldest 90 and Everyone loved it!
I brought my 90 year old bonus mom out of assisted living to have a surprise party. Day later she is talking about the chicken and how much she liked it.
Thank you for helping me make her birthday special.
Lisette
Aw, thank you for making my recipe and sharing it with your family!
The flavors on the chicken were outstanding!
Thank you so much!