Greek Chicken Kabobs are loaded with juicy chicken, tender-crisp veggies, herbs and garlic, olives, tomatoes, and delicious char. With a 30 quick flavorful marinade and finished with a brush of garlic oil, healthy chicken souvlaki never tasted so good! Serve as a grilled main with a side dish, in a pita, or with a dip. Either way, there is something for everyone!
Grilling chicken in the summer is our favorite way to prepare meat. We usually rotate between grilled lemon rosemary chicken, coconut lime grilled chicken thighs, and cajun chicken. Adding these kabobs to the mix just means we’ll never run out of ways to enjoy the grill!
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Greek Chicken Kabobs with a Herb-Infused Marinade
These Greek chicken kabobs are made with the Greek chicken recipe I’ve been making for years. The flavorful marinade is bright and zesty, yet so simple and who doesn’t love food on a stick?! They’re a summer staple around here and the perfect hand-held food for any BBQ, potluck, or family gathering.
I marinate the meat in a generous amount of dried herbs which imparts a ton of flavor in as little as 30 minutes. The kabob seasoning results in juicy, succulent pieces of chicken that are placed on a skewer alongside tender zucchini, crunchy bell peppers, red onions, fresh cherry tomatoes, and Kalamata olives. The kabobs are grilled to a perfectly delicious char, then brushed with garlic-infused oil.
The best part is, this Greek chicken shish kebab recipe is super healthy! They’re not heavy, but they are filling and versatile. They can be eaten on the skewer as a grab-n-go handheld appetizer, which my kids love, or you can serve them on a plate with a couple of side dishes. Either way, they’re so fun to eat. So much flavor and so tender! Good luck stopping at just one skewer!
Host Tip: While you wait for your greek chicken skewers to grill, make this quick olive oil dip and enjoy a starter of dipping fresh pieces of baguette into this garlicky balsamic oil. It’s delicious and super simple, so we really need no excuse to enjoy it. When we’re not dunking crusty bread into it, I like to use it on my grilled vegetables.
Why This Greek Kabobs Recipe Works?
- Easy and flavorful marinade which makes tender juicy greek chicken kabobs loaded with bright flavors.
- Minimal marinating time makes it perfect for a quick dinner on any weeknight.
- Delicious grilled char brings out even more flavor.
- Easy handheld food perfect for parties and BBQs and really any time!
- Simple summer dining means it’s nice and light and can be eaten on its own or with a light side salad.
- Healthy grilling with homemade marinades, fresh veggies, and lots of protein.
- Kid-friendly food on a stick makes healthy eating fun.
- Versatile Greek chicken shish kebab can be taken off the skewer and used in salads, as leftovers for lunch, or added to a pita as a wrap.
Ingredients for Greek Style Chicken Skewers
- For the skewers: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into 2” pieces. Zucchini cut into 1/2” rounds. Bell peppers cut into 2” pieces, cherry tomatoes, pitted kalamata olives, red or white onion.
- For the marinade: Lemon juice and zest, extra virgin olive oil, dried oregano, salt & pepper.
- Cooking spray: I use Misto to prevent kebabs from sticking to the grill.
- Skewers: 14 short skewers or 7 long ones.
Pro Tip: If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes beforehand. This will help prevent them from burning on the grill.
How to Make Greek Chicken Shish Kebabs
This is the kind of healthy chicken kebabs dish you grill and have the whole neighbourhood with their noses in the air trying to figure out which house they wish they were eating at!
- Marinate the chicken: In a large bowl add chicken, olives, onion, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice + zest, basil or oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and marinate for 30 minutes – 24 hours. The longer meat marinates, the more flavourful it is and the faster it cooks.
- Make garlic oil: Combine olive oil and 1 garlic clove in a small bowl and set aside. Toss zucchini and bell peppers with remaining salt and pepper. If marinating the meat overnight, you can do this step right before grilling.
- Assembly: Skewer the meat alternating with olives, red onion, and vegetables onto each skewer. I ended up using 5 – 6 pieces of chicken, 2 zucchini slices, and 3 – 4 bell pepper slices on each out of 10 long metal skewers. Discard remaining marinade.
- Grill: Grill skewers on a hot grill with the lid closed. Turn every 2 – 3 minutes for even grilling. Kebabs are ready when chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Finish them off with a brush of the garlic-infused oil you made earlier. So good!
Tips for Grilling Success
- Cut each piece into uniform sizes that way it grills evenly. The chicken, zucchini, and peppers should all be about the same size.
- Pitted olives work best, otherwise, you’ll be spending your time taking out the pits before placing them on the skewer.
- No need to soak metal skewers, just in case you were wondering.
- Grills vary by age, make, and model. You know your grill best so use your best judgment with cook time.
- Brushing with garlic oil at the end takes it over the top, so don’t skip this step!
- Add skewers to a preheated grill on high heat for that initial sear and grill marks.
Pro tip: Do not marinate the zucchini. They will become mushy and too hard to skewer.
- If eating off the stick DO NOT eat straight off the grill. Allow cooling first.
- Load up the skewer and pack everything tightly. The contents will shrink when cooked, so packing them together will still allow it to look nice and full.
Add ins & Variations
- Use marinade for pork kabobs or a flavor twist on these grilled shrimp skewers.
- If you like nothing but meat on your skewer feel free to omit the rest of the items from the skewer and serve separately on a beautifully presented platter.
- Not a fan of grilled tomatoes? Skip them and add more peppers instead.
- Crumble feta over top of the garlic oil for an extra salty finish.
FAQs
You can use the oven for this recipe which means you can enjoy it all year round. Bake on high heat, anywhere from 400 for about 20 minutes to 450 for 15 minutes. You will still need to soak the wooden skewers and place them on a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Keep an eye on it!
If you’re just freezing the chicken, you can. The veggies and olives will get soggy, so I don’t recommend freezing those.
Serving Recommendations
- With a side: Kebabs are best served right away while warm. Remove from the grill and brush each skewer with garlic oil. Serve hot with rice, quinoa, pasta, and/or salad like Mediterranean quinoa salad, tomato pasta salad, or Greek salad.
- In a wrap: Remove the chicken and veggies from the skewers and pack them in a delicious warm pita. Top with crumbled feta, and a drizzle of tzatziki sauce.
- With a dip: All the dips! Think tzatziki, yogurt, and cucumber, garlic hummus, olive oil dip, you name it!
- On a platter: Place skewers on a giant platter and have an assortment of various marinated extra grilled items available like zucchini, peppers, olives, and tomatoes. Add some feta and grilled lemon slices for a beautiful colourful platter for everyone to pick from.
Making This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: Chicken is able to be prepped ahead and marinated for up to 24 hours. Alternately, you could prep and marinate the chicken in a sealed freezer bag/container (do not freeze vegetables). Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and chicken will marinate while thawing.
Storing: I recommend removing the meat and veggies from the skewers and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. This way you will be able to preserve more freshness than if you kept them wrapped with plastic on a dish. Not to mention space in the fridge.
Reheating: I would recommend to just microwave the leftovers as a quick and easy way to not dry out the meat and have limpy veggies.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
Greek Chicken Kabobs {Easy & Flavorful!}
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into 2" pieces
- 1 large zucchini cut into 1/2" thick half rounds (2 baby zucchini into rounds)
- 2 large bell peppers cut into 2" pieces
- 14 grape or cherry tomatoes
- 28 Kalamata olives pitted
- 1 large red or white onion cut into 2" pieces
- 2 large garlic cloves grated
- 1 lemon zest and juice of
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tbsp oregano dried
- 1 1/4 tsp salt divided
- 1 tsp ground black pepper divided
- Cooking spray I use Misto
- 14 short skewers or 7 long ones
Instructions
- If using wooden skewers, soak for at least 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl add chicken, olives, onion, garlic, lemon juice + zest, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and marinate for 30 minutes – 24 hours. The longer meat marinates, more flavourful it is and cooks faster.
- Chop veggies while meat marinating and you can refrigerate them as well. Prep skewing station.
- To skewer kabobs, here is the order I used – you can use any: 2-3 chicken pieces, onion, 2 olives, zucchini, tomato, 2-3 chicken pieces, 2 bell peppers, onion. Discard remaining marinade.
- Preheat grill on medium heat, around 500 degrees F, and spray with cooking spray.
- Grill skewers with lid closed turning every 2 – 3 minutes for even grilling. Kebabs are ready when chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.*
- Remove from the grill and serve hot with pita bread, (Greek yogurt) tzatziki and Greek salad.
Storing: Remove meat and veggies from skewers and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat leftovers in microwave.
Make ahead: Chicken can marinate for up to 24 hours. Freezer meal: Prep and marinate the chicken in a sealed freezer bag/container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and chicken will marinate while thawing.
Notes
- Uniform pieces: The key to cooked-through chicken and not burnt veggies at same time is to cut all ingredients into same size pieces.
- Olives: Any pitted olives work.
- Skip tomatoes: You can use 3 bell peppers and omit tomatoes.
- Metal skewers do not need soaking.
- *Grills vary: Cooking time will vary depending on the age and make/model of your grill. Use your judgement and experience with your grill.
Nutrition
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My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.