BBQ Lemon & Herb chicken skewers grilled to perfection are soft, juicy and packed with flavour. They are very easy to prepare (just marinade-and-cook) which makes for great camping food to cook on the grill or barbecue.

Preparing chicken skewers, chicken kabobs or chicken kebabs as they are also called, to grill on the barbecue is always nice. There are so many variations in marinades to add some extra flavour to the chicken. When the barbecue is out while camping or in the garden, what is nicer than eating grilled chicken with some delicious side dishes to complement the meal.

Why make bbq grilled chicken skewers?

For Camping food

Any type of skewers make great camping food. Just light the coals or the gas grill, assemble the skewers and you’re ready to go. You can even prepare and marinade the chicken at home and when arriving at your campsite, place the skewers on a grill and start cooking. And for minimal washing and cleaning up, just eat the chicken straight from the skewer with some dips like this Tzatziki sauce and some Mediterranean foil grilled vegetables or grilled potatoes and you have a great camping meal.

For outdoor cooking

Lemon & Herb skewered chicken is easy to make in advance, which is handy when having friends and family over for an outdoor meal. You can prepare everything way in advance and just assemble when the grill or coals are ready for the meat. No standing in the kitchen while your guests are having a good time in the garden.

Lemon & herb grilled chicken skewers

Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make lemon and herb marinade for chicken skewers

Marinating chicken pieces before cooking keeps them juicy and flavoursome. Any acidity in the marinade will make them tender. Why buy ready made marinade when making lemon & herb marinade from scratch is so easy and fast with just a few ingredients?

Here is what you need to make a herb and lemon chicken marinade:

• lemon zest
• lemon juice
• olive oil
• rosemary
• sage
• garlic
• dried oregano
• dried basil
• salt
• pepper

Combine the zest and juice of 1 lemon with olive oil, crushed garlic, sage, rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and stir well. That’s it. Fast and easy. For a slight change in flavour you can add different or more herbs to the mix, like thyme, marjoram or parsley.

How to make chicken kebabs

For making chicken skewers, either use chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs. I’ve used chicken breast for this recipe. Dice the chicken fillets into cubes of 2-3 cm (or 1 inch). Now use either a mixing bowl or a ziplock bag to combine the marinade with the chicken. When using a ziplock bag, add both the chicken and marinade, remove the air from the bag, close tightly and mix well by rubbing the bag. Place the bag or the covered mixing bowl in the fridge and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes before using, preferably a few hours to get the best flavour.

When using wooden skewers, place them in water for at least 15 minutes before using, otherwise they might burn on the grill. You can also opt to use metallic skewers instead. Just before cooking, thread the chicken on to the skewers, closely together and pour the rest of the marinade over the skewers. Place them carefully on the grill on medium coals or medium heat gas flame. Turn often on all sides to guarantee even cooking. Move the skewers to a colder area of the grill if they start charring too fast to prevent having burned chicken on the outside and raw on the inside.

Tip: What you should rather not do is marinade the meat after threading them on the skewers, always do it before. Otherwise not all sides will be properly coated with the marinade.

Serving suggestions

Serve the skewers from the grill on a plate with some extra slices of lemon. Or forget the plate and eat them direct from the grill with your fingers if you want less washing up afterwards. Just be careful, things straight off a grill tend to be rather hot.

Serve with sauces like homemade Tzatziki or Baba Ganoush. As a side dish serve a refreshing watermelon and cucumber salad, spicy Mexican style rice, BBQ grilled potatoes or Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches South Africa style.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment with rating below and share a picture with the hashtag #thetastychilli and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

BBQ Lemon herb chicken skewers

Grilled lemon and Herb chicken skewers are soft, juicy and packed with flavour. They are very easy to prepare (just marinade-and-cook) which makes for great camping food to cook on the grill or barbecue.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Marinating time1 hour hr

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Servings: 4

Author: Sabine

Equipment

• 8 wooden skewers or 8 metal skewers

Ingredients

Skewers

• 4 large chicken breasts cut in cubes of 1 inch or 2,5 cm

Lemon Herb Marinade

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 6 leaves sage
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients of the marinade in a mixing bowl or ziplock bag.
• Cut the chicken breast in cubes of around 2-3 cm or 1 inch. Add the chicken cubes to the marinade in the mixing bowl or ziplock bag. Mix well to coat all the cubes evenly with the marinade. Seal the bag or cover the bowl and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or longer until ready to use.
• When using wooden skewers, let them soak in water for 15 minutes just before assembling them.
• Prepare the coals of the barbecue. The coals should have medium heat. Or preheat the grill (oven or gasbarbecue) to medium heat. Thread the chicken cubes on the skewers and place them on the grill. Turn regularly and observe an even cooking on each side until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown on each side.

Notes

• Using a ziplock bag to marinade the chicken allows you to coat all pieces better with the marinade. Rather don’t thread the chicken on the skewers first and then marinade since not all pieces will be marinated evenly.
• Rotate the chicken skewers carefully on all sides to allow even cooking. Don’t leave them too long on the grill otherwise the chicken will dry out but make sure you don’t serve raw chicken pieces either.

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