Middle Eastern-Style Grilled Chicken Kabobs
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You’ll make these flavorful chicken kabobs all summer long.
One of my go-to chicken recipes for summer cookouts, these Middle-Eastern style grilled chicken kabobs are wonderful over a bed of rice pilaf or served with a Greek salad. The chicken is marinated in yogurt, olive oil, lemon, garlic and spices, and then grilled over an open flame until juicy and golden brown. The only time-consuming part of the recipe is threading the meat and onions onto skewers. Short on time? Skip the skewers and grill the chicken pieces whole, and slice the red onions into large wedges and pop them right on the grill. A word to the wise: make more than you think you’ll need. The first time I made these chicken kabobs for a crowd, I actually ran out of food!
What You’ll Need to Make grilled Chicken Kabobs
I’ve specified boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe; they’re juicier and more flavorful than boneless skinless chicken breasts, and they also hold up better when using an acidic marinade; yogurt or lemon-based marinades can make boneless skinless chicken breasts leathery. Chicken thighs are also much easier to cook without drying out. (If you’d like to experiment with other chicken thigh recipes, BBQ-spiced chicken thighs and char siu chicken are both huge crowd pleasers.)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Marinade
In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic.
Stir to combine.
Step 2: Prep the Chicken and Thread onto Skewers
Trim the chicken of any excess fat and gristle. Don’t worry about getting every last bit of fat; most of it will melt off on the grill. Then cut the meat into bite-size pieces. I think it’s easiest to use kitchen shears as opposed to a knife.
Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers alternating with the red onions. Metal skewers are ideal as they won’t catch fire on the grill. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes first so they’re slower to char on the grill.
Step 3: Marinate the Chicken
Place the kabobs on a baking sheet lined with foil, and then brush the marinade all over the meat, coating well. Cover and let the kabobs sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Step 4: Grill the Kabobs
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, grease well, and then grill the kabobs until golden brown.
Serve and enjoy!
Chicken Kabob Video Tutorial
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Middle Eastern-Style Grilled Chicken Kabobs
You’ll make these flavorful chicken kabobs all summer long.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (reduce to ½ teaspoon for less heat)
- Zest from one lemon
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2½ to 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1½-inch pieces (see note)
- 1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Vegetable oil, for greasing the grill
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Thread the chicken onto metal skewers, folding if the pieces are long and thin, alternating with the red onions. Be sure not to cram the skewers. (Note: You'll need between 6-8 skewers.) Place the kabobs on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the marinade all over the meat, coating well. Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. To grease the grill, lightly dip a wad of paper towels in vegetable oil and, using tongs, carefully rub over the grates several times until glossy and coated. Grill the chicken kabobs until golden brown and cooked through, turning the skewers occasionally, 13 to 15 minutes. (The yogurt marinade makes these kabobs prone to sticking to the grill grates; if necessary, use a metal BBQ spatula to scrape underneath the kabobs and release them.) Transfer the kabobs to a platter and serve.
- Note: I've specified boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe; they're juicier and more flavorful than chicken breasts, and they work better in this type of yogurt and lemon-based marinade. They're also much easier to cook without drying out.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 350
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Sugar: 3g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 41g
- Sodium: 871mg
- Cholesterol: 186mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Absolutely delicious, better than my Turkish takeaway, I doubled up on the chilli flakes and used hot paprika, best recipe I’ve found.
Absolutely delicious.
So quick and easy to make and so healthy!!!
Thank you. Absolutely brilliant. my husband loved them.
Will try some more of your recipes.
Looking forward to trying this recipe! Can you use fat free Greek yogurt for the marinade (since I have some around) instead of full fat?
Sure, Jennifer, it will work, but won’t be quite as rich and flavorful. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Once again, this recipe hit a home run for us. We can now get our kabob fix at home without going out. We believe the spices treat this recipe with utmost respect and this marinaded chicken is just as good as our go to kabob carry out. I cut up & marinated two chicken breasts and six thighs for 8 hours. I skewered the chicken, alternating with onion and red pepper chunks. then grilled them on a charcoal grille. After I got a good char on them, I moved them to indirect heat to finish up the cook. My wife prepared the basmati rice, tzatziki sauce and I put some grocery store naan bread on the grille for crisping up to finish off the perfect Sunday dinner. The chicken breast chunks were very tender and were excellent. My wife only eats chicken breasts, so I was relieved all was good. A glass of white wine and sounds of contentment…….We will put into regular rotation!
Hi! I love your stuff SO MUCH! Everything looks thoughtfully put together and delicious. I especially love how you recommend side dishes to serve with all your meals. Question about this dish… How can I make this non-diary? (I am kosher and don’t mix meat and milk… 🙂 I’m afraid the yogurt is what makes it juicy and I wil already be using white meat chicken – which already is a bit drier….
So glad you like the blog, Elayna! 💓
Although I’ve never tried it, I think this could work with dairy-free yogurt. I’d love to hear how it turns out — Hope you enjoy!
I couldn’t find Non dairy yogurt so I was going to try soy milk … you think that’s a no-go? Haha thanks for answering ! Making many of your dishes this weekend – looking forward !!
Unfortunately, I don’t think soy milk will work here. You could give full-fat coconut milk a try. It will be different as it won’t cling to the meat like the yogurt, but it should work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Amazing. As always! Hubby has asked for this to become a regular.
Hi, I’d like to take these camping but I only have a normal frypan – can I frypan these? 🙂
Hi M, It’s not ideal, but I think it should work (keep in mind that I haven’t cooked them this way). Enjoy your camping trip!
I made these with non-fat yogurt and put half on the grill and the other half under the broiler. They both came out perfect!! Thank you!
I made both the chicken and the rice recipe and unfortunately my family and I thought they were bland.
I made this recipe with large-cubed chicken breasts because it’s what I had on-hand. Otherwise, followed the recipe as stated for the marinade. Marination time ended up being around 6.5 hours, but the meat was very flavorful and tender!
I opted to serve with thin slivers of red onion rather than grilled, along with garlic sauce, hummus, charred whole tomato, cucumber, and basmati rice with lavash on the side. Will definitely make again!
This is delicious – thanks for the recipe! Do you have any recommendations for a sauce that would pair nicely with it?
Hi Christine, Glad you like it! This would pair beautifully with my tzatziki. Hope you enjoy if you make it!