Baked Chicken Kabobs Recipe | Chicken Shish Kebab

A kabob or kebab is a Middle Eastern or Eastern Mediterranean dish that consists of grilled or roasted meat, fish, or vegetables on a skewer or spit (rotisserie style).

To cook shish kabob in the oven properly, there are two main things that are necessary and those are skewers and a baking tray.

The key for this system is to find a baking tray narrow enough that the skewers can be put across it allowing the meat or vegetables not to touch the base of it (as per the pictures below); as the marinade will likely drip a bit from the chicken shish kabobs on to the tray, 

In order to obtain a nice grilled color, while still keeping the chicken moist, put the baking tray in the middle of the oven when baking.

There are many vegetables that work well with these baked chicken skewers, however, as you can see from the pictures, I like to use red onions, sweet peppers and bell peppers; other great options for these chicken kebabs are sliced tomatoes (will work well with keeping the meat moist) or eggplant.

The vegetables do not need marinating, however, should you prefer you could season them with a bit of salt, black pepper, and perhaps a bit of garlic powder, onion powder, and a few red pepper flakes.

The baked chicken kabobs can be served in wraps (fancy making your own? Try this spectacular Lebanese Mountain Bread Recipe!), with some pita bread, with rice and crunchy vegetables, or used to dress some couscous or bulgur wheat for a healthy dinner idea.

A great way of using this chicken is to have it as a base for meal prep and then use it to bulk up salads for a healthy meal made with crunchy leaves, some grated carrots, fresh peppers, fresh herbs, and a different dressing every day, like a tzatziki-like light delicious sauce, a honey mustard dressing or a honey soy sauce.

For an easy meal, the next day, a fun way of eating leftover chicken is to chop it in small dice and fill a panini or sandwich with it or a nice jacket potato.

Yes, it is absolutly safe and fine to cook chicken skewers in the oven. Like for all chicken dishes, ensure the meat is thorouly cooked before serving. 

Baked chicken kabobs can be cooked in the oven at  180 degrees Celsius, Gas 4 or 350 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. 

Yes, these can be baked  at 180 degrees Celsius, Gas 4 or 350 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. It does take longer than grilling, however the result will be as delicious and you won’t have so much cleaning to do afterwards. 

It takes about 25 minutes when cooked at  180 degrees Celsius, Gas 4 or 350 Fahrenheit, when the chicken breast cubes are about 1-inch (2.5cm) in size. 

This dish requires very little ”hands-on” prep time, as most of the flavors come through via the marinade and the baking time.

To prepare the shish kabob marinade, mix together in a large bowl full-fat natural yogurt or curd (it is better than low fat as it is harder for it to split while cooking), sunflower or olive oil, Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, black pepper, lemon juice (or lime juice), ginger garlic paste and thinly sliced fresh cilantro (coriander) and set aside.

Once the marinade is ready, cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts in dice about 1 – 1 1/2 inches per side (2.5 – 3.5 cm) and then toss them in it, ensuring each cube is completely covered with the marinade ingredients; allow the chicken to marinate for the longest amount of time possible, preferably at least half an hour.

After the meat has marinated sufficiently, skew the pieces of chicken on skewers (together with the desired vegetables)  and bake in the oven on the middle shelf at 180 degrees Celsius, Gas 4 or 350 Fahrenheit for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.

Serve and enjoy your chicken kabobs! 

Absolutely yes! When using a grilling pan, ensure this is warmed up on medium-high heat before putting the chicken skewers to cook; allow each of the four sides to cook against the pan in order to ensure the best flavors come out (yes, char-grilled chicken!) and to keep moist you can sprinkle a few drops of olive oil and lemon juice along the way. No matter what, always ensure the chicken is fully cooked before serving.

My favorite way of cooking these kebabs is on the barbeque, although we know it is (unfortunately) not always grilling season! Before cooking, ensure you have a hot grill and a sheet pan where to put your meat once cooked; to keep it hot, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.

These kabobs can be stored at different stages: 

• Raw with marination: if the meat was not frozen before, it can be frozen for use next time, alternatively store it in the fridge (if the meat is fresh) in an airtight container for up to 2 days. 
• Cooked: the meat can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days once cooked, or it can be frozen and used within 3 months.