Flavorful Greek Chicken Kabobs with easy 30 minute marinade are grilled to perfection with juicy chicken and tender crisp veggies. Eat off the skewer or serve traditionally with pita and dip!
Grilled chicken breast in the summer is our favorite, but we also rotate healthy grill recipes with grilled lemon rosemary chicken and coconut lime chicken thighs.
Table of contents
These Greek chicken kabobs are made with my Greek chicken marinade 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 for grilling season 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 Mediterranean flavor in as little as 30 minutes. Try it on grilled shrimp skewers!
You may also love these 5 chicken marinade recipes!
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.
Then they are grilled to a perfectly delicious char!
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 or as an appetizer, which our family loved, or you can serve them on a plate with your choice of healthy salad recipes. Either way, they’re fun to eat and summer dining at it’s finest.
Greek Chicken Kabobs Ingredients
An easy and flavorful marinade makes these tender juicy Greek chicken kabobs loaded with fresh, bright flavors!
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into 2” pieces.
- Zucchini: Zucchini cut into 1/2” rounds.
- Bell peppers: I used yellow bell pepper and green pepper, but you could use red bell pepper or orange and cut into 2” pieces.
- Cherry tomatoes: If you are not a grilled tomato fan, substitute with additional bell peppers.
- Pitted kalamata olives: Adds that traditional Greek salty taste.
- Red or white onion: Even if you don’t like onion, add them as they will impart flavor to the other skewer ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Adds additional flavor and is best for marinades.
- Fresh lemon juice and zest: Fresh not bottled for the best taste and the zest adds some zing! You could also add a splash of red wine vinegar for an additional acidic ingredient.
- Dried oregano: Adds a bold, earthy taste in this herb infused marinade.
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper: To season and taste.
- Cooking spray: I use Misto to prevent kebabs from sticking to the grill.
- Skewers: 14 short skewers or 7 long ones.
How to Make Greek Chicken Kabobs
This is the kind of healthy chicken kebabs dish you grill and the whole neighbourhood will wish they were dining at your house tonight!
Soak wooden skewers: Soak for at least 30 minutes to prevent a grill fire.
Marinate the chicken: In a large bowl add cubed chicken, olives, onion, garlic clove, lemon juice + zest, oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and marinate for 30 minutes – 24 hours. The longer meat marinates, the more flavorful it is and the faster it cooks.
Chop vegetables: Refrigerate if marinating chicken overnight, or set aside if marinating for 30 minutes. While your bell peppers could be marinated as well, do not marinate the zucchini. It will become mushy and too hard to skewer.
Assembly: Set up a prep station then skewer the meat in any order you would like. For reference, here is how I assemble the kabobs. I first slide on 2-3 chicken pieces, then onion, 2 olives, zucchini, tomato, 2-3 chicken pieces, 2 peppers and end with onion. Discard remaining marinade.
Preheat grill: Your grill needs to be around 500 degrees F or medium heat. Spray grates with cooking spray before turning on the grill. Alternately, you could use a grill pan.
Grill: Grill skewers with the lid closed. Turn every 2 – 3 minutes for even grilling. Kebabs are ready when chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
FAQs
If you’re just freezing the chicken, you can. The veggies and olives will get soggy, so I don’t recommend freezing those.
Yes, pork or lamb would be delicious as well.
While that is not necessary, I will often make extra marinade and reserve it while grilling the Greek chicken kabobs. Right before serving, I will brush them for extra flavor.
No, thread them onto your skewers to add additional flavor. The heat from the grill makes them safe to eat.
Can You Bake Kabobs in The Oven?
You can use the oven for this recipe which means you can enjoy it all year round.
Bake on high heat, anywhere from 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes to 450 degrees F 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!
Do I Need to Soak Wooden Skewers for Kabobs?
If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them for 30 minutes beforehand. This will help prevent them from burning on the grill.
No need to soak metal skewers, just in case you were wondering.
Tips for Best Results
- 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.
- Grills vary by age, make, and model. You know your grill best so use your best judgment with cook time.
- Make additional marinade separately to brush kabobs right after they come off the grill.
- Add skewers to a preheated grill on high heat for that initial sear and grill marks.
- 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.
Serving Suggestions
These Greek chicken kabobs taste best hot off the grill served over quinoa with fresh
traditional Greek salad and some crumbled feta with fresh parsley! Here are some other ways we enjoy them.
- With a side: Serve hot with Instant pot brown rice or healthy pasta.
- Salad: The flavors in Mediterranean quinoa salad or tomato pasta salad go so well with Greek chicken kabobs!
- In a wrap: Remove the chicken and veggies from the skewers and pack them in delicious warm pita bread. Top with crumbled feta, and a drizzle of tzatziki sauce.
- With a dip: Garlic hummus recipe is always a great choice.
- On a mezze platter: Place skewers on a giant platter and have an assortment of various marinated extra grilled items available like grilled zucchini, peppers, olives, and tomatoes. Add some feta and grilled lemon slices for a beautiful colorful platter for everyone to pick from.
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 it. When we’re not dunking crusty bread into it, I like to use it as marinade for grilled vegetables.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
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 Chicken Recipes to Try
- Grilled chicken salad
- Grilled BBQ chicken breast
- Cilantro lime chicken
- Chili lime chicken
- Chimichurri chicken
- Yogurt marinated chicken
You may also enjoy browsing all my healthy grill recipes!
Greek Chicken Kabobs with Easy Marinade
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 traditional Greek salad.
Notes
- Store: 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.
- Uniform pieces: The key to cooked-through chicken and not burnt veggies at same time is to cut all ingredients into same size pieces.
- 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.
Love, Love this recipe!! Try it. You will not be disappointed. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed it Delorse!
Super delicious and super easy! Great family meal.
So happy to hear this, Camille.
Hi Olena!
The recipe looks yummy and I want to try it but I don’t have any access to a grill. I was wondering if I can make these in an oven as well. Would you recommend it?
Thank you for your time and also for putting up so many good recipes ^^
I have never tried but if I tried I would bake them at 450 – high and fast. If you have convection, then even better. How long? I would keep an eye on them after 15 mins. I think should be great!
Made the Greek chicken kabobs few month ago and loved it. Today, I made greek pork tenderloin kabobs. It was a hit again! This marinade is now officially in my preferred ones. Delicious!!!
That is so great! Thanks for sharing Marie.
Hi Olena,
I have been making your Greek chicken kabobs on repeat and sharing your recipe with friends. Just a quick question about the olives in the marinade. Do you add them to the skewers or are just for flavour?
Julie
Hi Julie. I add them to marinade for flavor, and then on the skewer as well. More flavor. Thanks so much for sharing my recipes!
Just made these succulent kabobs. Was it ever good! The garlic oil brushing before serving makes it the perfect final touch.
I served it with the Mediterranean Quinoa salad, it was a real hit, perfect match for us.
Thank you again Olena!
Sounds like a delicious meal Marie 😉
Do these freeze ok? To reheat them from frozen, would you recommend keeping frozen and then microwaving? Or thaw overnight in fridge?
I would not recommend freezing these. Veggies will be soggy unless you skip veggies.
These Greek chicken kabobs were super yummy.