Broiled Chicken Kabobs

Broiled Chicken Kabobs are a quick and easy way to make chicken skewers indoors and all year long. Flavorful marinated pieces of chicken breast and tender crisp vegetables skewered and then cooked to perfection under a hot broiler.

Jump to:

• Broiling vs. Grilling
• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• How To Grill Chicken Kabobs
• Expert Tips
• Variations
• Storing & Freezing
• Recipe FAQ’s
• More Sheet Pan Chicken Recipes You'll Love
• Broiled Chicken Kabobs

Check out my Oven Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs and my Broiled Chicken Wings for more oven chicken recipes!

With summertime well on its way, it's time to break out the bamboo skewers and make some broiled chicken kabobs. Tender chicken and colorful vegetables make the best flavorful kabobs!

While kabobs are certainly synonymous with summertime grilling, they can also be made in the oven. Oven chicken kabobs is a great way to achieve charbroiled flavor and flavorful chicken kabobs.

Broiling vs. Grilling

Let's first discuss how broiling compares to grilling. Both methods use direct heat and a similar cooking process. The primary difference is the source of the heat. When grilling, the heat source is below the food and when broiling the heat source is above the food. During both methods, food is turned to cook all sides evenly.

That said, broiling is different from roasting and baking in that the food is rotated during the process, exposing one side at a time to the high heat.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This is the perfect summertime recipe, but since we're making these in the oven there's no need to stand over the grill during bad weather.
• The simple marinade is jam packed with flavor. It's the best marinade for this chicken kabobs recipe. 
• There's only a handful of basic, simple ingredients the entire family will love. Plus, easy cleanup is a bonus!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Olive Oil: The base of the marinade and helps achieve lightly charred edges. You can also use vegetable oil.
• Lite Soy Sauce: Adds savory, umami flavor to the marinade.
• Honey: Adds a subtle sweetness to the marinade. The natural sugars also help tenderize the chicken.
• Minced Garlic: Flavors the marinade.
• Salt & Ground Pepper: Enhances the flavor of the whole dish.
• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast: Cut into bite-size cubes of 1 ½-inch to 2-inches.
• Zucchini: Should be firm and vibrant green. I try to find larger zucchinis for grilling/broiling because their thicker skins hold up to the high heat.
• Red Onion: Adds another layer of veggies to the skewers.
• Green, Yellow, and Red Bell Peppers: Add a beautiful pop of color to each skewer.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Place the olive oil, light soy sauce, minced garlic, and salt/pepper in a large bowl or resealable baggie. Stir the marinade ingredients well to combine. 

Step 2: Add the chicken pieces and vegetables to the marinade. Toss well to coat.

Step 3: Cover the bowl (or seal the bag) and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes, or as long as 8 hours.

Step 4: Meanwhile, soak wooden skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes to prevent burning. 

Step 5: Turn the broiler on and preheat for 15-20 minutes.

Step 6: While waiting for the oven to get nice and hot, skewer the chicken and veggies.

Step 7: Next, prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. Arrange the kabob skewers in a single layer.

Step 8: Place baking sheet under broil and broil for 4 minutes. Carefully flip each kabob over and continue broiling for another 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and veggies are lightly charred and cooked tender. You can check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer if you're not sure if it's cooked through. 

NOTE: You can print the FULL recipe with all ingredients & detailed instructions below!

How To Grill Chicken Kabobs

It's worth mentioning that you can also grill these kabobs.

Step 1: Preheat grill range over medium heat.

Step 2: Place kabobs over direct heat and cook until chicken is no longer pink and the vegetables are just beginning to char (8 to 10 minutes), turning halfway through.

Step 3: Remove from heat as soon as the chicken reaches temperature to avoid overcooking.

Expert Tips

• Don't skip soaking the wood skewers! Soaking them first prevents them from charring and turning black in the oven - OR go ahead and skip this entire step and just use metal skewers.
• Soak the skewers and marinate the meat and vegetables the night before, so the day off all you need to do is throw the kabobs in the oven.
• Extra marinated veggies? You can either skewer them up and make vegetable kabobs or toss them on a foil-lined baking sheet and plop them under the broil for about 10 minutes.

Variations

The list of things you CAN cook on a stick is basically endless. Here are a few of my favorite ways to switch up these kabobs using my basic marinade.

• Steak Kabobs: Use a tender cut of beef (like sirloin).
• Salmon Kabobs: Sub chicken breasts for salmon (or shrimp/scallops).
• Vegetable Kabobs: Add mushrooms, tomato wedges and yellow squash or any veggie combination you like.
• Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs: Add fresh pineapple chunks to each kabob. Yum!

Storing & Freezing

Storing: Make sure the broiled chicken kabobs have cooled completely and then store in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Freezing: If freezing, it's best to freeze the skewer before cooking. Freeze raw skewers on a baking sheet and then wrap each frozen skewer tightly in plastic wrap and store in a container in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before broiling or grilling.

Recipe FAQ’s

More Sheet Pan Chicken Recipes You'll Love

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