
Chicken Shish Kebab
Cubed chicken breast marinates in yogurt, lemon, garlic, and paprika until tender, then grills on skewers with red onion and bell pepper until charred and juicy. A Turkish grill classic that's just as good with flatbread as it is over rice.
Ingredients
- 600 gchicken breast
- 120 gyogurt
- 1lemon
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 1red onion
- 1red bell pepper
- 1 tsppaprika
- 0.5 tspground cumin
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 tspsalt
- 0.5 tspblack pepper
Steps
- Cut the chicken breast into 1.5-inch cubes and place in a mixing bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, juice of the lemon, minced garlic, paprika, cumin, olive oil, salt, and black pepper into a smooth marinade.
- Pour the marinade over the chicken, tossing to coat every piece. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 10 minutes. Cut the red onion and red bell pepper into 1-inch chunks.
- Thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers, alternating with the onion and bell pepper chunks.
- Preheat a grill or broiler to medium-high heat.
- Grill the skewers, turning every 3-4 minutes, for 12-15 minutes total, until charred in spots and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
- Transfer the skewers to a platter and tent loosely with foil.
- Let rest for 3 minutes so the juices redistribute.
- Cut the remaining lemon into wedges.
- Serve the skewers with a simple salad or warm flatbread and the lemon wedges for squeezing.
Tips
- Yogurt is a gentle tenderizer — even a 30-minute marinate makes a noticeable difference, but overnight is even better.
- Cut the chicken and vegetables into similarly sized pieces so everything on the skewer finishes cooking at the same time.
- Turn the skewers every few minutes rather than leaving them on one side — this builds even char without drying out the chicken.
- Let the skewers rest a few minutes off the heat before serving so the juices settle back into the meat.


