A super easy and delicious Marinated Chicken Skewers recipe that can easily be adapted to add different vegetables and marinade. Grilled, baked or BBQ'd, these lean chicken kebabs are moist and juicy, and great for feeding a crowd. You will want to use this super easy marinade for everything.
Whenever we have a large group of meat eaters over for dinner, we usually make some kind of skewer. They are easy to make, can be prepared in advance, and everyone loves them. These chicken skewers are a favourite, because they are so simple, but really tasty.
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Why should you try it?
- A delicious way to eat chicken
- Great for BBQs and feeding a crowd
- Easy to adapt with different marinades and vegetables
- Delicious cold, and good for packed lunches and picnics
What you will need
- Chicken thighs - We have used boneless and skinless chicken thighs in this recipe as they are really juicy when cooked, making them perfect for skewers. You can swap them for chunks of chicken breast for a leaner recipe.
- Red onion - These add colour and crunch to the chicken skewers. You could use halves of small shallots though if you prefer.
- Bell peppers - These also add lots of colour and texture. You can use any colour pepper you like, but we find that red, yellow and orange have a sweeter flavour, especially when cooked.
- Oil - Olive oil gives a really nice flavour.
- Garlic - Fresh is always best, but you can save some time by using ready chopped garlic in a jar.
- Lemon - This gives the chicken skewers some delicious freshness.
- Herbs - We used dried thyme, basil and oregano for a tasty mix.
Step by step
One: Chop up the chicken thighs.
Two: Put them in a large bowl with the marinade ingredients and mix well. Put in the fridge overnight or at least for 2 hours.
Three: Add the vegetables and mix well.
Four: Thread on to skewers.
Five: Put under the grill (broiler) for about 20 minutes, turning regularly.
Are they healthy?
Grilled chicken is a really lean dinner option, and easy to pair with some light and healthy sides too. We used chicken thighs, because I find they are really juicy when used on these skewers. However you could use chunks of chicken breast instead to make it lower in fat - cooking times may vary though.
These skewers are a good opportunity to get some extra nutrients in your diet as there are lots of veggies threaded on to the skewers. We went with bell peppers and red onion, however there is no reason why you couldn't add things like courgette and aubergine too.
Chicken marinade
This marinade is lovely and light and fresh, with plenty of flavour from the garlic and herbs. It's really important to use a really good quality olive oil, as you will honestly taste the difference.
It is worth marinating the chicken overnight if you can, as it will really intensify the flavour. However, if you don't have that long then just a couple of hours will be okay.
How to cook them
We cooked our skewers under the grill, because I find that it cooks them pretty quickly (just 20 minutes), and it gets those nice charred edges. You can cook these in the oven too though. They will take around 25-30 minutes in the oven, but make sure to check that they are cooked thoroughly before serving. We use a Thermapen meat thermometer to check.
You can also put them on the BBQ and they will cook in around 20 minutes too. Please note that cooking times will always vary depending on the intensity of the heat you are using, and the thickness of the chicken on your skewers.
What to serve them with
These chicken kebabs are super versatile, and they will go with pretty much with any sides that you can think of. We love them with Garlic Potato Wedges, Oven Baked Onion Rings, Easy Homemade Flatbreads, Coleslaw and Tzatziki.
They are also really good as a protein addition to a salad. Why not try one of these salads - Roasted Cauliflower Salad, Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, Broccoli Salad or Roasted Sweet Potato Salad.
FAQs
You are best to get a meat thermometer to check that you chicken is cooked all the way though. Chicken should be cooked to a temperature of 75°C (165°F). If you don't have a meat thermometer, then cut a bit of the chicken open and it should be white with no pink bits.
You don't want to overcook the chicken, otherwise it will be dry. The aim is to have nice and juicy chunks of chicken with a slightly charred outside.
These skewers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. They are actually really delicious cold, so we always make extra and then put them in to lunch boxes or to pack for picnics with some wraps and dips.
Extra tips
- If you are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them for 30 minutes before threading everything on to them. This will ensure that they don't burn when cooking.
- We used chicken thighs, because they are nice and juicy, however you could use chunks of chicken breast instead.
- Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chunks of chicken you use.
- You can cook these on the grill, in the oven or on the BBQ.
- These are great cold the next day, so make extra and them pack them in packed lunches or for picnics.
- You could make a vegetarian version of these by swapping the chicken for chunks of halloumi.
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Recipe
Marinated Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
For the skewers:
- 3 chicken thighs chopped into chunks
- 1 red onion cut into chunks
- 1 red pepper cut into large chunks
- 1 green pepper cut in to large chunks
For the marinade:
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 lemon (juice and zest only)
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon dried basil
- 0.5 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Chop up the chicken thighs.
- Put them in a large bowl with the marinade ingredients and mix well. Put in the fridge overnight or at least for 2 hours.
- Add the vegetables and mix well.
- Thread on to skewers.
- Put under the grill (broiler) for about 20 minutes, turning regularly.
Notes
- If you are using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them for 30 minutes before threading everything on to them. This will ensure that they don't burn when cooking.
- We used chicken thighs, because they are nice and juicy, however you could use chunks of chicken breast instead.
- Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chunks of chicken you use.
- You can cook these on the grill, in the oven or on the BBQ.
- These are great cold the next day, so make extra and them pack them in packed lunches or for picnics.
- You could make a vegetarian version of these by swapping the chicken for chunks of halloumi.
Nutritional Information
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Eleanor
I was just thinking the other day that I wanted a good chicken marinade recipe, thanks!
I think going to the gym is a great Friday night thing. Like you say, it's sociable - and there's no hangover! Having said that, I'd never even have the energy for the gym on a Friday night :-)
Zumba with disco lights sounds brilliant too.
HHHAdmin
The no hangover thing is definitely a bonus. The older I get, the worse they get!