Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs are perfect for a low-carb summer meal and they’re easy-to-make and delicious! You can vary the vegetables based on what you have and the veggies your family prefers.
PIN the chicken kabobs to try them later!
These favorite Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs are the chicken kabobs I made often when I catered houseboat trips on Lake Powell in Southern Utah, and kabobs were always a hit on the boat. They’re made with a flavorful marinade using dried herbs and other ingredients you probably always have on hand.
Chicken Kabobs aren’t really that difficult to make, but it’s important to cut the food in same-size pieces so it will cook evenly. The other thing that can be tricky is putting the ingredients on the skewers tightly enough that food doesn’t “spin” around when you turn the kabobs on the grill. If you’re lucky enough to have Double Kabob Skewers (affiliate link) like I do, that eliminates the problem of spinning.
I think this is perfect for an inexpensive summer dinner that’s sure to impress; hope you enjoy! And leftover chicken and veggies is delicious reheated, so if you have enough skewers I wouldn’t hesitate to double the recipe so you’ll have leftovers!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- red bell pepper
- red onion
- olive oil
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- fresh ground black pepper
- Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or other all-purpose seasoning blend
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Dried Basil (affiliate link)
- Dried Oregano (affiliate link)
- Dried Sage (affiliate link)
- Onion Powder (affiliate link)
How to make this recipe:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- Trim the chicken breasts and cut them crosswise into pieces about 1 inch wide. (This recipe calls for 2 chicken breasts to make 3-4 kabobs, but you can use more chicken if you prefer.)
- Mix olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), pureed garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dried sage, and onion powder to make the flavorful marinade.
- Put the chicken into a large plastic bag (so there’s room to add the veggies later.) Add the marinade, and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or longer is fine if you’re not home.)
- I love peppers and onions on kabobs like this because if you cut them in same-size pieces, they cook at about the same rate. Feel free to use other veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, or eggplant if you prefer. I like to cut up the veggies when I’m prepping the chicken and just keep them in the fridge until I want to add them to the marinade.
- When it’s an hour or two before you want to cook the kabobs, add the veggies and marinate in the fridge again until you’re ready to grill.
- When you’re ready to cook dinner, spray the grill with nonstick spray or brush with a high smoke point oil; then preheat the grill to high and drain the marinating chicken and veggies. (Don’t save the marinade and baste with it, because the bacteria in the marinade from the raw chicken may not be killed if you baste towards the end of the cooking time.)
- I made mine into four kabobs, but you can make larger kabobs, depending on what you’re serving them with.
- If you have a gas grill, turn it down to medium-high when you put the kabobs on.
- Kabobs need about 4 minutes per side to get good grill marks. I start with the flatter sides; be sure to leave some space between the kabobs when you grill them.
- After 4 minutes or so, turn kabobs over to the other side and cook 4 minutes more. (I turn with long-handled tongs.)
- I cooked these kabobs about 4 minutes on each of the four sides. It can be a little tricky to get them to stay on some of the sides; this is another reason why same-size pieces are important.
- Kabobs are done when the chicken is firm (but not hard) to the touch and all sides have some grill marks. For me this was a total cooking time of 16 minutes, but grills can vary in hotness so watch them carefully towards the end of the cooking time.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
These Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with Garlic and Basil would taste great with Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan or Roasted Broccoli with Garlic for a low-carb meal.
More Chicken Kabobs on the Grill:
Ultra-Easy Lemon Pesto Chicken Kabobs ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Orange Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs ~ Barbara Bakes
Sriracha-Glazed Grilled Chicken Kabobs ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers ~ FoodieCrush
Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Asian Marinade ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with Garlic and Basil make a perfect summer meal.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 1 large red onion
Marinade Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 T fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tsp. Spike seasoning
- 1 T garlic puree (sold in small jars, could substitute finely minced garlic)
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- 1 tsp. onion powder
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts, and cut each one into crosswise strips slightly over 1 inch wide. Generally this is four strips per breast, unless they are very large.
- Peel onion and cut into pieces about 2 inches square.
- Cut ends off red pepper, remove seeds, and cut the pepper into pieces about 2 inches square.
- Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper, Spike Seasoning, pureed garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dried sage, and onion powder to make the marinade.
- Put the chicken in a large Ziploc bag (big enough to hold the vegetables later) and pour marinade over.
- Marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours (or longer.)
- Put the chunks of red pepper and red onion in a different container and refrigerate while the chicken is marinating.
- About 1-2 hours before you want to cook the kabobs, add red pepper and red onion to the plastic bag with the chicken and continue to marinate.
- When you’re ready to assemble kabobs, drain the chicken and veggies and let ingredients come to room temperature. (Don’t save the marinade to baste with, because the bacteria from the raw chicken may not be killed if you baste too close to the end of the cooking time.)
- Spray the grill with nonstick spray or brush with a high smoke point oil, and preheat grill to high.
- Thread ingredients onto kabob skewers, pressing tightly together.
- Put kabobs on the grill and turn grill down to medium-high. (If you’re using a charcoal that can’t be turned down, cooking time will be slightly shorter.)
- Turn kabobs when you see grill marks on each side, cooking about 4 minutes per side or a total cooking time of about 16 minutes.
- Kabobs are done when chicken feels firm (not hard) to the touch and veggies are lightly browned.
- Serve hot.
Notes
This recipe created by Kalyn many years ago when she was young, lean, tanned, and cooking on houseboat trips at Lake Powell.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 372Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 808mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 20g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs with Garlic and Basil are a perfect dish for low-carb diets and any phase of the original South Beach Diet as well as many other other healthy eating plans, including Paleo and Whole 30.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2006! It has been enjoyed many times since then and the recipe was last updated in 2021.
18 Comments on “Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs”
Maureen, I love, love, love the double skewers. Once I discovered them I wondered why I ever used the other kind!
Kalyn, I must have those skewers! I think I could be the hero of the neighborhood with these.
I love kebabs or kabobs – even in the winter like it is now for us.
Wanda, sounds like fun. I hope you enjoy the kabobs!
Timely recipe Kalyn. I am traveling on a summer vacation for 3 weeks in Toronto Canada where I will barbecue these kabobs at the cottage on the lake. I like that they are easy to assemble ahead of time. Thanks!
Cocktail Lady, hope you enjoy! These are loaded with flavor.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! We are having a BBQ coming up and I'm thinking THESE need to be on the menu! Thank You for this recipe, I'm excited to try them!
Pam, I do feel your pain! You must have kabobs before summer ends.
Kalyan, glad you like it!
looks inviting and mouthwatering stuff!
I just realized that summer is almost over (for me at least – back to school August 1st) and I haven't done any kebobs!
Wow, what a goodlooking kebabs! Drooling as i type…
these look WOW… and you are obviously an expert…
the onions and bell peppers are chopped so well…
I’ve taken the liberty to post a link and the recipe to your blog and these juicy kebabs on my food group
chilliesandchutney@yahoogroups.com
🙂 Will keep coming by..
Ok, I fixed it, but have I mentioned lately how much I HATE Internet Explorer?
Jennifer, thanks. I made it for a friend and we both loved it.
Steven, it’s a school. For some reason my district is very suspicious of Firefox. They won’t let us use it. So although I have a pretty good computer at school I have to use IE. It stinks.
Gattina, the wild rice with pine nuts was great. Thanks for the compliments.
Rand, of course I’ll make the kabobs for you. You can order anything you want and I’ll cook it.
I agree about Explorer. IE is soooo 1.0 It’s all about Firefox, or Safari.
Can you make me these kebabs when you come to the beach?
kalyn,
the marinate ingredients certainly sounds great. And so many cooking tips you gave out, thanks! Oh yes, I certainly love wild rice and pine nut to go with your kebabs!
Kayln, what sort of animals would make you use Internet Explorer?!!! I’m always surprised when I look at the browser share of my Sitemeter stats and see how many people are still using IE and it makes me wonder why they haven’t switched.
I love the kebabs, I use double bamboo skewers most of the time, but the metal ones transfer heat to the center of the meat so the cook time is better and there’s less guess work about the timing, size and density of the veggies. I do cheat sometimes and make huge chunks of veggies, but I blanch them for a bit.
Wow, I just looked at this post at work where I have Internet Explorer and it looks terrible. I can only hope people are using Firefox to see it.
So perfect for this time of year–I love any complete meal you can marinate, set on the grill, and then eat! Looks really yummy.