Grilled Chicken Kabobs make for a flavorful, healthy grilled dinner! Perfect served over a bed of rice and Mexican salsa, these skewers will please even picky eaters!

 

 

When it comes to chicken shish kabobs I literally have no self control. The marinade they sit in is a combination of lemon and garlic goodness. 

The salsa these grilled Mexican Kebabs are served with is filling and delicious. And the rice is covered in buttery perfection. 

It’s an entire meal plan to impress even the pickiest of eaters and I love that I can prepare it ahead of time.  Making getting home with dinner on the table a snap.

Grilled chicken kabobs are a summertime staple. No heating up the house, we can eat it with our fingers, and we can eat it outside too. You cannot get more summertime than that.

 

 

Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Here’s the ingredients you’ll need for your marinade and to give your chicken a little Mexican flavor:

• Soy Sauce: This is the main liquid in your marinade. You can use full, reduced, or low sodium soy sauce. You could also use liquid aminos or coconut aminos to make this recipe gluten free if you can’t find gluten free soy sauce.
• Lemon: Use either pre squeezed lemon juice or the fresh juice of one lemon.
• Garlic: Mince or chop up the garlic so more of the flavor is able to absorb into your chicken.
• Cilantro: Cilantro is one of those flavors that screams Mexican food. It’s delicious and perfect for adding to grilled chicken kabobs.
• Olive Oil: You could also substitute with avocado or vegetable oil.
• Garlic Powder: I wouldn’t substitute with garlic salt as the soy sauce is normally also pretty salty. 
• Black Pepper: For flavor.
• Chicken Breasts: Use boneless and skinless chicken breasts for less prep.

 

How to Make Grilled Chicken Kabobs

1. Cover and marinate the chicken breasts in the delicious sauce overnight. When you’re ready to grill, skewer the meat.
2. Boil the uncooked marinade down until it thickens. Then use it as a glaze drizzled on top of the shish kabobs and rice.

 

 

What to Make with Grilled Chicken Kabobs

While I highly recommend the first two on this list, any of these would go great with grilled chicken kabobs.

• Black Bean and Corn Salsa
• Buttered Rice
• Mexican Rice Recipe
• Baked Mac and Cheese
• Esquites Recipe
• Creamy Coleslaw
• Summer Fruit Salad

Don’t be afraid to toss out some chips too! Enjoy that barbecue!

Pro Tips:

• Let the Mexican Salsa marinate overnight, the same as the chicken kabobs. They will both be bursting with flavor by the time you eat!
• Prepare any other side dishes before cooking the chicken kabobs so they’ll be done around the same time.

 

 

How Long to Grill Chicken Kabobs

The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165*F to be cooked through. You can check this with a digital thermometer.

It should take about 2-3 minutes on each side. Rotate the chicken kabobs so all 4 sides get crispy.

You can also cook the shish kabobs in the oven or on the stove, making sure to rotate them the same.

 

 

Can Grilled Chicken Kabobs Be Made Ahead of Time?

The raw chicken should be prepared ahead of time so the full flavor of the marinade can penetrate the chicken.

That being said, you only want to leave the thawed chicken sitting in your fridge for one overnight.

Thawed, unwrapped chicken can go bad very quickly and lead to food poisoning.

You can, however, grill the chicken kabobs ahead of time and reheat them when you’re ready. Chicken dries out really quickly when reheated so reheat for the least amount of time possible to make them hot.

Store for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, on the stove, in the oven, or with the air fryer.

You can also take the leftover chicken off the skewers and throw it in a salad cold. Your chicken is still nice and juicy and the flavors are wonderful on a bed of lettuce.

 

 

Does the Chicken Need to be Marinated?

No.  If you’re in a hurry, make the marinade then cook it down to thicken it up and serve as sauce!  However if you can marinate it for even 30 minutes, do it!

 

 

How Many Grilled Chicken Kabobs Per Person?

For this chicken kabob recipe, plan on two kabobs per person. With the rice and salsa that should be plenty of food.

For the kids I typically only serve one shish kabob per child and it fills them up quickly.

 

 

How to Cube Chicken for Kabobs

The chicken should be bite sized pieces, typically about an inch square. You want them to all cook about the same so try to make them similar sized.

Start by cutting the chicken diagonally, spacing every 1 inch apart. That should give you about four cuts.

Then go the opposite direction, continuing to space every 1 inch.

Pro Tip: Be careful not to cut any pieces super small or they will burn by the time the other pieces cook.

 

 

Can You Freeze Grilled Chicken Kabobs?

Meal prep time! You sure can!

Once grilled the chicken kabobs can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Wrap tightly and store in a zipper freezer bag.

Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Pro Tips:

• Write the date on the bag when you toss it in the freezer. Things tend to get lost in the freezer over time.
• If making ahead of time, for a freezer meal, slightly undercook the chicken.  145*F should be good.  That way when you reheat them, the wont be tough and dry, but perfectly cooked.

 

 

More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love…

• Chicken Parmesan with Mushrooms
• Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
• Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
• Baked Chicken Legs
• Honey Chicken
• Crock Pot Yellow Curry
• Chicken Lo Mein Recipe 

 

Grilled Chicken Kabobs are juicy on the inside, packed with flavor, and have a crispy outer layer. Everyone is going to love them when you serve them up at your next barbecue.

 

Originally Posted: July 19, 2017

Photos & Text Updated: July 21, 2021

Kabobs adapted from All Recipes

Salsa adapted from All Recipes

 

 

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