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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- Grilled Moroccan Chicken
- Perfect Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon, Garlic & Herbs
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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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This is very easy, very tasty and has become a go-to for me. It’s a keeper.
I have extra chicken in the marinade that I haven’t cooked yet. Can I freeze in the marinade or should I cook it first then freeze?
You can go either way — you’ll just need to boil it for at least 3 minutes (to rid it of any bacteria) if you plan to use it as a sauce.
Wonderful recipe. Enjoyed by all. Marinated the chicken overnight and result was tender and flavorful meat. Can’t wait to make it again!
Can I make this with low fat plain Greek yogurt or is that not advised? Trying to make it more diet friendly 🙂 it’s delish as is.
Sure — they just won’t be quite as rich. Hope you enjoy!
Dear Jenn, have just discovered your bolg🤗 one question, in this recipe – is it smoked paprika or regular? Thank you!
Happy you’ve found the blog! You’ll need regular paprika here. (I’ll always specify if you need the smoke variety). Hope that helps!
Can these be frozen
Sure, you can get away with freezing them. Enjoy!
So good! This recipe was actually brought to a potluck by a friend of mine a few years ago and it’s how I discovered this blog. I made it last night and I’m so glad I did! The chicken is tender and flavorful and even tastes good cold. I like serving it with hummus. I think it would be a great picnic food since it’s still yummy if it isn’t hot. Thanks!
I made these twice for BBQs in the summer strictly according to recipe and they were delicious. Today l made them using Skyr natural yogurt not Greek and cut up chicken breast instead of thighs as it was what l already had. I also baked them in my fan oven for 35mins at 200c as it’s autumn now and l was only cooking for myself. They were still delicious and l honestly could not tell that much difference. Lovely.
Hi there! I came across this recipe after trying another one a few weeks back (that I really enjoyed-the white chicken chili) and have been looking forward to it since. I make a similar kebab with beef or lamb using the yogurt but with different spices. I have this all set marinating in my fridge, and was a bit worried because I’ve experienced issues with chicken marinating in citrus for more than a few hours before and it becoming really tough/having an unappealing texture. I guess I just wanted to double check that the overnight marinade was really ok in this case. Appreciate any feedback you have-I did do it with thighs, as suggested, so looking forward to that change from normal 🙂
Hi Naseem, because thighs are used in this recipe, it’s fine to have citrus in the marinade and marinate overnight. Hope you enjoy!
Really nice recipe I found I had to leave mine in longer as it didn’t look properly cooked but it was bursting with flavour thank you!
The chicken kababs were delicious and tender.
My wife makes fun of me because when its my turn to cook, the first thing I do is google “the best… hamburger, the best.. taco recipe, etc”. It almost never fails to turn out awesome! Thanks internet. My wife likes complex food, fresh food, healthy food, etc. I like to work in the garage and cook things with less steps. For example, frozen pizza – heat oven, open box, put pizza in oven, wait, take out, cut, serve.. 4-5 steps!! You’ve probably figured out by now, this methodology is not acceptable for my wife.. 🙁 As a solution, now when I have to cook, I try to find recipes that most ingredients go in one bowl or all go in the pan you will cook them in. There are some awesome honey glazed chicken thighs in here somewhere, all prepared and cooked in a deep casket iron skillet. Anyway… this time I searched “the best chicken kabobs” and came up with this recipe. I’ve done this before by the way. If you were wondering if you always get the same recipe, ya don’t. So this time I searched for kabobs I got this one. Hands down, easily one of the best kabob recipes ever! The chicken thighs were tender. However next time I think I’ll do the recipe on a cast iron skillet for some more crispiness! I also did all of the sides, awesome! The Israeli salad rocks!
lol Frank, I’m with you – in fact I think you are me 🙂
Exactly what you do, I do.
Great write up, it put a smile on my face.
An Aussie.