Baked Chicken Kabobs
No grill at home? Try baking your chicken kabobs, instead! Kabobs are such a fun way to serve chicken and veggies and they taste great, too! You don’t need a grill because baked chicken kabobs in the oven are equally as delicious. The marinade keeps these chicken kabobs moist and flavorful. They’re naturally gluten-free and dairy-free.
If you ask me, kabobs are the epitome of summer. Chicken kabobs. Vegetable kabobs. Fruit kabobs. All on the grill! There’s nothing better! Well that is, unless you live in an apartment building in downtown Chicago and don’t own a grill…. Depressing.
Well, there’s no need to miss out, my apartment dwelling friends. Because I’ve figured out how to create tasty, flavorful chicken kabobs in the oven! These kabobs are so moist and delicious and the marinade gives it that extra oomph of flavor.
I’m a huge fan of marinading meats. It doesn’t take a lot of time to do – pretty much dump all of your marinade ingredients into a bowl or large sealable bag, toss your meat in and toss it around so the meat gets covered. Then let it do it’s thing in the refrigerator!
You can also add the vegetables to the marinade if you wish, but I typically don’t for my kabobs.
I LOVE using a colorful selection of bell peppers for this recipe because it just makes the baked chicken kabobs look so gorgeous. We eat with our eyes!
The bell peppers also get beautifully browned on the edges in the oven and I just love those crispy bits. YUM!
These kabobs come together very quickly with a bit of preparation ahead of time. The night before serving, soak your wooden skewers, marinade your chicken, and toss them in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld.
When you get home from work, all you have to do is bake in the oven! Serve with some quinoa, rice, or a nice side salad and you have the perfect weeknight dinner! They also preheat really well for lunches during the week!
Tips and Tricks for Making Baked Chicken Kabobs
Soak Your Wooden Skewers
Soak those wooden skewers! You want to make sure that the skewers don’t burn in the oven or dry out, so submerge your skewers in water overnight or at least a few hours if you’re short on time.
Marinate Your Chicken Kabobs
Marinate, baby! The flavor is all in the marinade. I always marinade my meat at least an hour, but preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
It’s an easy way to maximize flavor so it’s not to be skipped. If you are REALLY short on time and want to skip the marinade, consider making a sauce to put on your kabobs after they come out of the oven.
Just make sure to toss your kabobs in oil, salt and pepper before cooking.
How Long To Cook Chicken for Baked Chicken Kabobs
Keep an eye on your kabobs in the oven. You don’t want them to burn or dry out.
Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165F, which typically takes about 20-30 minutes in the oven at 450F.
However, depending on how big your pieces of chicken are, it could take more or less time. Be vigilant!
Use Aluminum Foil for Easy Cooking
Use aluminum foil to cover your baking sheet for easy clean up and so your kabobs don’t stick to the pan. I always spray my aluminum foil with cooking spray to ensure I can easily lift my kabobs off the pan after baking.
How to Make Baked Chicken Kabobs
Don’t let rainy weather or not having a grill get you down. You can make baked chicken kabobs with peppers and onions in the oven! The secret is in the marinade. They come out moist and flavorful every time!
You May Also Like…
- Baked Honey Lime Chicken Kabobs
- Mediterranean Chicken Bowls
- Mango Habanero Chicken Wings
- 5-ingredient Coconut Chicken
- Oven Roasted Whole Chicken
Baked Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 2 large yellow onions (cut into large chunks)
- 3 bell peppers (cut into large 1-inch pieces)
- ½ cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 4 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley (chopped)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 12 wooden skewers (soaked in water overnight)
Instructions
- Soak 12 wooden skewers in water overnight so they don’t burn in the oven.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together avocado oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Place chicken cubes in a large gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the chicken and close the bag. With your hands, squish the chicken around to make sure it gets completely covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but 4-6 hours being best.
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Alternate the vegetables and chicken on the skewer, making about 12 skewers.
- Place on two baking sheets lined with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping the skewers about half way through. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through. You may need to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken chunks.
Nutrition
**Note: This post was updated on April 10, 2018 with new photos and some additional tips and tricks I’ve learned from making this recipe over and over! I hope you enjoy!
I’m Megan
A gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let’s make gluten-free stress free together! Read more…
We made these last week and they were so good! I added zucchini and grape tomatoes from our garden, too! Thanks for the recipe!
Follow the directions! Simple and delicious. Time definitely fluctuates between piece sizes and ovens.
Making these tonight but instead of putting them on skewers I’m just going to bake them on a sheet pan with the veggies
very nice web site. thank you, my first time cooking kabobs
Kind of confusing, you said there’s no pre-marinading but then you have a paragraph or two saying to marinade for 4-6 hours first.
So the oil, salt and pepper is if you don’t marinade for hours.
But if you do marinade, you let it marinade for hours? Do you also brush with oil in addition to the marinade, to prevent the chicken from being too dry?
Hi wco, there is a marinade. It’s in the recipe card ingredient list and instructions. I prefer to marinate for 4-6 hours, but if you are short on time you can do 1 hour. I also state in the body of the post that if you skip the marinating then you can cook the meat right away (still using all of the marinade ingredients – just toss it all together and then cook right away), it just won’t have as much flavor as it would if you had the marinade. So that might be what you’re seeing about not marinating? You do not also need to brush with oil in addition to what’s called for in the recipe, the chicken will have enough moisture as is. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
I was nervous about this for many reasons: I have never made kabobs before, I tend to not have luck making chicken, and I didn’t think I would get the flavor I was looking for just from the oven. I could not have been more pleased with how they turned out. They were incredible, the marinade was so easy and made it all pop. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it, Marydith! Thanks so much for sharing – I appreciate it!
Can you use dried parsley instead of chopped parsley?
Hi Carolyn, Yes you can – use 1 teaspoon of dried parsley in place of 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley.
Hi Megan
The recipe looks amazing. Can I marinate the chicken for longer than 4 to 6 hrs?
Thank you!
Hi Line, Yes! Up to 24 hours is fine. Enjoy!
Thank you! I am making this recipe for friends tomorrow . I will let you know how it turns out. 😊
Amazing. We’ve made this 3 times now. The marinade is simple and great. Wouldn’t change anything.
Hello- I’m wanting to add pineapple to this combo. Any ideas on how those would hold up in the baking process?
Hi Autumn, That should work just fine! I would use a fresh pineapple instead of canned because they are a a bit sturdier. And just make sure the chunks are big enough that they won’t soften and fall off the skewer. I’d say same size chunks as the chicken. Enjoy!
OMG!! These were so good!! They’re pretty easy to make and we’re definitely adding them to the rotation – perfectly easy weekend dindin!! Thanks!! 10/10 recommend!
Made these for dinner last night. My children, who have become increasingly picky this summer, really enjoyed this! (So did I.) We will make these again for sure.
Made the chicken kabobs they were great thanks for the tip on soaking in salt water
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Laurie!