Who says you need a grill to enjoy juicy and flavorful chicken kabobs? Just bake them in the oven! Transport yourself to the Mediterranean with this super easy Greek style version in just 30 minutes.

Serve with a crisp, fresh salad, tsatziki sauce and pita bread for a tasty, healthy and – best of all – simple midweek dinner option the whole family will love.

I love making these with Greek style flavors (everyone loves ‘souvlaki’!). However, the main idea is to learn how to make chicken kabobs (or kebabs!) in the oven in any ‘style’ really easily.

You can tweak the recipe in all kinds of ways to make it your own!

Read on to find out how.

Why you’ll love Oven Chicken Kabobs

✔ No need for a grill. Sometimes you just want dinner to be hands-off and let the oven do most of the work, right? No scrubbing of grill plates necessary. Clean-up will be a breeze!

✔ A 30-minute meal. You’ll need around 15 minutes to toss chicken pieces into a quick Greek yogurt marinade, then thread the pieces onto wooden skewers. Then oven bake the kabobs for around 15 minutes. No one will believe this is such an easy recipe!

✔ Just a few simple ingredients. All you need for the marinade is Greek yogurt and a few Mediterranean flavors such as oregano, paprika and cumin. I bet you have most of what you need in your pantry already.

✔ Moist and juicy chicken… every time! Marinating the chicken in yogurt makes it so tender and delicious. You can absolutely make these oven baked chicken skewers at the last minute. However, if you can marinate for a few hours or, even better, overnight.

✔ Great for any season. Whether it’s a warm summer day or a chilly winter evening, these oven-baked chicken kabobs can be enjoyed year-round. No waiting for the perfect grilling weather.

Ingredients

Skewers: I usually use wooden or bamboo skewers. Just remember to soak them in water for at least 5 minutes before threading on the chicken.

Of course, you can also use metal skewers if you have those instead.

Chicken breast: I usually use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this oven kabobs recipe. You can either buy ready-chopped, or chop it yourself into roughly 1 to 1.5 inch pieces.

Of course, it’s also possible to use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead. Just trim any fat off before marinating.

Yogurt: I usually use Greek yogurt because that’s what I most often have. However, it’s absolutely fine to use other types of natural yogurt (including non-dairy) instead.

Lemon juice: If you don’t have a lemon, replace with half the amount of white or apple cider vinegar.

Olive oil: I suggest using a nicely flavored good quality extra virgin olive oil. However, it’s fine to use any that you have.

Garlic: Throw fresh minced garlic into the marinade. Feel free to use garlic powder instead if you like. 1 teaspoon is equivalent to 1 clove of fresh.

Herbs and spices: I keep things simple with some classic Greek style flavors – dried oregano, paprika, dill, cinnamon (so delicious with meat!), and cumin.

However, there are other dried herbs and spices that would work as well. Try dried mixed Italian seasonings, coriander, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, allspice or even ginger.

Salt and pepper: Around half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper is about right. However, you can add less or more to taste.

How to bake chicken kabobs

The first thing you should do is soak some wooden skewers in water. This helps to stop them from burning in the hot oven.

Ideally, do this overnight, or a few hours before cooking. If you forget, however, no worries! Just soak them while you prepare the chicken.

Next, dice the chicken into roughly 1 to 1.5 inch cubes if it isn’t already chopped. Put it into a medium sized bowl.

Then add all the chicken kabob marinade ingredients to the bowl and stir.

If you have time, cover the chicken and marinade and pop it into the fridge for a while to let the flavors infuse into the meat.

When it’s time to eat, preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Thread 5 or 6 pieces of chicken onto each skewer. Lay them on top of a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for around 15 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle and it’s lightly charred on all sides. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165F/74C. Turn the skewers over half way through the cooking time.

How to serve

I love to serve these oven-baked chicken skewers Greek style!

If you like you can arrange them as you see in the photos – on a simple bed of crunchy lettuce, crisp cucumber, juicy tomatoes and thin sliced red onion. Don’t forget a sprinkle of feta cheese and a bowl of Greek tsatziki dip, and of course some toasted pita bread. An alternative would be this quick Greek yogurt dip with dill.

A few lemon segments and fresh herbs scattered over are the icing on the cake, but not essential.

If you don’t have pita bread, these 2-minute toasts with olive oil are wonderful, too!

But this is certainly not the only way to serve them.

For a family midweek meal, make a classic Greek village salad or a lettuce Greek salad to go with your oven chicken kabob recipe instead. Prefer dark leafy greens? Try 5-minute sautéed spinach (cook straight from frozen).

You could leave it at that, or add Greek lemon potatoes, these simple baked diced potatoes (since you already have the oven turned on!), this easy Greek potato salad or Greek lemon rice.

Alternatively, either this amazing baked eggplant with tomatoes and feta or fasolakia (Greek green beans and potatoes are unbelievably delicious and would both go perfectly with these kabobs!

Want ideas other than Greek style? Check out all easy side dish ideas. It’s actually hard to pick one that wouldn’t go with this baked chicken skewer recipe!

Variations

• My top idea is to add a few colorful vegetables onto the skewers in between the chicken pieces. Bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and red onions are my favorites.

• Haven’t got any yogurt? That’s OK – you can skip it altogether and still get very delicious kabobs.

• Not in the mood for Greek chicken kabobs? Switch the Greek style spices and herbs for a curry paste, pesto, teriyaki sauce, or any other marinade you like. I highly recommend these 30-minute satay chicken rice bowls!

• Make chicken pitas! Either make Greek chicken gyro pitas with the cooked chicken cubes, or wrap in pita bread with salad, pine nut hummus and this 5-minute falafel sauce.

• Use the kabobs as the centerpiece on a Mediterranean platter with any of the following: baked feta with vegetables, spicy feta dip, beetroot and feta dip, giant Greek beans (so easy!), mini cheese pies, or anything on this list of easy Greek appetizers!

For an even quicker and easier option for baked chicken kabobs, you might like to use this all-purpose seasoning recipe or this Greek lamb marinade instead (works for any meat)!

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