Fire up the BBQ grill for these delicious, fast, and easy BBQ chicken skewers (kabobs), ready in 30 minutes. Juicy chicken, your favorite sauce, and optional fresh veggies are perfect for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner or summer cookout. Oven-baked instructions are included.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
BBQ sauce
Pantry ingredients—olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper
Optional—Pineapple, red or green peppers, red onions, zucchini, or summer squash
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I use this recipe when I don't know what to make with those chicken breasts in the fridge. Just trim, skew, grill, and brush with barbecue sauce, all in under 30 minutes. I use my favorite barbecue sauce for flavor and add optional ingredients if I have them for a complete dinner.
Check out these other easy kabob recipes, like Marinaded Beef Kabobs, Honey Garlic Chicken Kabobs, or Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Kabobs.
👨🍳How to Grill BBQ Chicken Skewers—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Preheat grill to 450°—medium-high heat on most grills.
2. Trim and cube chicken breasts and any vegetables or pineapple.
3. Mix oil with salt and pepper and brush the chicken. Brush other ingredients with oil.
4. Thread onto skewers. If using vegetables or pineapple, add between the chicken.
5. Grill over direct heat and rotate every 5 minutes until 155°, then brush with BBQ sauce. Continue to grill until 165°. About 20 minutes total grill time
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
How Long to Grill Chicken Kabobs
The time needed to grill chicken kabobs on a 450° BBQ grill will vary depending on the size of your chicken pieces and the exact grill temperature. But 15 minutes is a good estimate to reach 165°F.
Check several locations, usually in the bigger pieces near the center of the skew, and check early with an instant-read thermometer.
♨️How to cook chicken skewers in the oven
You can cook kabobs on a tray in a 450° oven for about 15 minutes. As always, you cook to a final internal temperature, not by time alone. Time varies by the oven, the tray, and the size of the chicken chunks.
Ingredient options and variations
Chicken—skinless, boneless chicken breasts trimmed into approximately 1-inch cubes. Skinless thighs may be used, but they should be cooked to a slightly higher internal temperature of 180°F for tenderness.
BBQ sauce—the barbecue sauce you like or Memphis BBQ Sauce. Other seasoning options are discussed in the Tips section below.
Other seasonings besides BBQ sauce can easily be used. Try a seasoning salt like Loweys, thyme, rosemary, Chipotle Seasoning, Black Magic Seasoning, or BBQ Dry Rub are all good choices.
A marinade may be used, but it will add time. Check out Lemon Butter Chicken Marinade or Quick and Easy Chicken Marinade.
If cooked on separate kabobs, the standard onion and bell peppers will cook faster than the chicken. However, they can cook with the chicken when mixed in with it.
Suggested serving
Serve with a grilled side dish like Grill Red Potatoes, Grilled Potato Slices, or Grill French Fries, and maybe a side salad and Single Serving Lemonade.
Storage and reheating leftovers
Leftovers should be stored, sealed in an airtight container, refrigerated for 4 days, or frozen for 3 months. They can then be reheated in the oven or an air fryer.
❓FAQs
The terms are all used interchangeably, as is "shish kabobs." Kabobs are food on skewers. However, skewers can also refer to the wood or metal rods used to make kabobs or skewers. So use the term you like—I tend to go back and forth.
Use metal skewers, especially for chicken, where some heat transfer along the metal will help the cooking. You can use wooden skewers if soaked first to prevent them from burning.
A grill surface temperature of about 450° is suggested for this and most chicken cooking. Higher temperatures tend to overcook and dry the outside before the center reaches the desired final internal temperature.
On most gas grills, this will be a bit above medium. On charcoal grills, you must be careful with the number of coals and the vent settings.
Please use a grill surface thermometer to get the right temperature. For more information on grill temperature, please see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
Food safety
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.
We do not routinely wash raw chicken due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
Most recipes (including this one) include estimated cooking times. These are provided for planning purposes. You can not cook safely by time—you must use a thermometer.
These gatherings are ready-made for food safety issues and leftovers at the party. Let's plan for food safety and get it right. Check out the USDA Food Safety recommendations.
📖 Recipe
BBQ Chicken Skewers
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Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
Optional added ingredients
- 1 Green or red bell peppers
- 1 Red onion in chunks
- Pineapple
- zucchini or summer squash
Instructions
- Start by cleaning and oiling the grill grates, then preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°—medium-high heat on most grills.
- Trim 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts. Cut into 1-inch cubes or a little bigger. If using vegetables or pineapple, trim and cut into chunks.
- Mix with 2 teaspoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and brush the chicken. Use the remaining oil to brush the optional ingredients.
- Thread on to skewers. I like metal for heat transfer, but wood will do. If using wood, soak them first. If using vegetables or pineapple, trim and cut into chunks—add between the chicken and brush with oil.
- Place over direct heat and grill each side for 5 minutes before turning. Starting with the second turn, brush lightly with BBQ sauce.
- Cook until a nice color and an internal temperature of 165°.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use chicken thigh meat for these kabobs, but they should be cooked to an internal temperature of about 185°.
- The main trouble most people will have relates to grill temperature being too high, causing the surface to burn before the inside is done.
- You can put a very light sauce coat on the chicken at the start of cooking, but it is not really needed and may burn if you are not careful.
- Add bell pepper and red onion chunks between the chicken and cook with the chicken. If you make separate vegetable kabobs, they will cook about 5 minutes faster.
- You can do this on a charcoal grill but not over hot coals. Make a cooler area for the chicken and check frequently.
- I usually cook these with a closed grill hood, but you can do this with an open hood.
- You can also do this in an oven at 450° for about 15 minutes.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editors Note: Originally Published June 25, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Greg says
Hi Dr. Dan,
LOVE your recipes!
I plan on making these on a rotisserie kebab wheel. What do you think the surface temperature should be (even though they wint be resting / cooking on the grill grate)?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Greg,
Keep it in the 450° range. There are currents of heat around the inside of a grill. While I always say 450° really a range of 400-500 is good. So get around the middle of the range, close the lid, and watch the final temp.
Dan