BBQ Chicken Skewers

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If you’re looking to spice up your next grilled skewers, try these dry rub BBQ Chicken Skewers with peppers and onions. An easy recipe ready in about 40 minutes.

We’ve been having fun with summer grilling recipes over here…foil packet dinners and grilled salmon and even ideas for grilled pizza!

A close up of food, with Chicken and Skewer

Today we’re making a fantastically delicious chicken skewers recipe. You’ll love this easy dry rub that gives chicken an excellently spicy flavor. Use your favorite veggies on the skewers and have this healthy dinner recipe in no time!

BBQ Chicken Skewers or Kebabs?

I had a hard time naming this recipe. Are they kebabs? Are they bbq chicken skewers? Either works. Skewers are the wooden sticks that the meat and veggies are threaded on so that they cook.

We’ll call them both names as we talk about this recipe.

Best Chicken for Kebabs

What cut of chicken should you buy for bbq chicken skewers? We like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. They have great flavor and are tender!

How long do you soak wooden skewers before grilling?

The wooden skewers will take awhile to soak up water. You can soak them for as long as overnight…or at the very minimum, soak for 30 minutes. This is the first step to making skewers!

If you have metal skewers, you can use them too.

Need to buy skewers? We love these!

How to Make Grilled Chicken Kebabs

The first step to making bbq chicken skewers is to mix up the dry rub. Please note…this is a spicy rub as written. Reduce the pepper if you’d like.

  • Season chicken with BBQ seasonings. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes while you chop up the veggies.
    chicken and seasoning in a bowl
  • To a skewer, rotate adding in chicken, peppers, and onions, repeat until the skewers have been filled about ½ way (about 3-4 pieces of each). We end up with about 10 skewers, depending on how big the chicken breasts are.
    uncooked chicken skewers
  • Preheat a grill to 400º Fahrenheit. When you make the grill this hot before placing the skewers on, they won’t stick as much.
    chicken skewers on a grill
  • Add skewers to the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally and brushing with olive oil. Cook until chicken temperature reaches 165ºF internally.

What Vegetables to Use on Skewers

We kept this a low-carb recipe and only used peppers and onions. If you’d like, add mushrooms, potatoes or even zucchini. Get creative with the veggies you add!

peppers and onions on a wooden cutting board

Can you prepare kebabs ahead of time?

Yes! This is a great make-ahead recipe. Make the skewers the night before or even the morning of grilling. Then cover them and refrigerate. Remove them from the refrigerate about 30 minutes before you put them on the grill. This will help the skewers cook more evenly.

A plate of food on a table, with Skewer and Kebab

What to Make with Chicken Skewers

Wondering what to serve with chicken skewers? Try our famous baked potatoes, grilled pineapple, and baked beans.

close up of BBQ Chicken skewers
close up of BBQ Chicken skewers

BBQ Chicken Skewers

4.56 from 45 votes
If you're looking to spice up your next grilled skewers, try these dry rub BBQ Chicken Skewers with peppers and onions. An easy recipe ready in about 40 minutes.
Servings 8
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Marinate Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

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Ingredients
 

BBQ Chicken Seasoning:

  • ¼ cup chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less for a milder flavor)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar **
  • 2 boneless chicken breasts (cut into cubes)

For the skewers:

  • 3 green peppers (cut into thick pieces)
  • 3 red peppers (cut into thick pieces)
  • 1 large onion (cut into thick pieces)
  • 10-12 skewers (soaked for at least 30 minutes)

For grilling:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
 

  • If you are using wooden skewers, it is important to soak them first. You can soak them overnight or at least 30 minutes before making the kebabs.
  • In a small bowl mix together BBQ seasonings.
  • Season chicken with BBQ seasonings. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
  • To a skewer, rotate adding in chicken, peppers, and onions, repeat until the skewers have been filled about ½ way (about 3-4 pieces of each).
  • Preheat a grill to 400º Fahrenheit.
  • Add skewers to the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes, brushing with olive oil several times during grilling. Turn the skewers occasionally and grill until temperature reaches 165ºF internally.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

**We’ve used coconut sugar and also just left the sugar out. These are two options if you want to watch your sugar intake.

Nutrition

Calories: 121kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 605mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2120IU | Vitamin C: 94.1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Calories 121
Keyword dry rub for chicken, grilled skewers, how to make chicken skewers

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About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Rachna Bhasin
3 years ago

I was excited to make this. As I mixed the seasoning spices I was thinking 1/4 c chili was a LOT so I added a little less.
Post cooking – I am sure we were right. I like spice but these were so hot we couldn’t eat them. Can you please advise what is the right proportions and if it’s 1/4c then what kind of chili you mean. Bummer that we colluding eat dinner. Thanks.

Alma Vorrei
4 years ago

5 stars
My mouth is watering, just by looking at these pictures! These are looking absolutely DELICIOUS! We have yet to make skewers this summer.