BBQ Chicken Kebabs

These BBQ Chicken Kebabs are my go-to grill recipe with the most amazing barbecue sauce! Everyone always asks me for the recipe and they are easy too!


 

Fire up your grill and turn your favorite barbecue chicken into BBQ Chicken Kebabs!  Tender, juicy, spice rubbed BBQ chicken skewers smothered in sweet and tangy barbecue sauce will be a new family and company favorite!

BBQ Chicken Kebabs on skewers.

Barbecue Sauce.  I can’t think of a more beloved all American sauce.  It makes everything better.  Whether smothering Ribs (a must try),  steak taquitos (my very first post!), pork, chicken wings, chicken tenderloins, or any kind of chicken, its sweet and tangy sauciness moistens and infuses every bite with lip smacking deliciousness.

So naturally, in order to create the best barbecue chicken with the most surface area to be coated in an intoxicating spice blend including smoked paprika, brown sugar, and chili powder then smothered in spell bounding homemade barbecue sauce, I chose to create barbecue chicken shish kebabs (small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer).

Showing how to make BBQ Chicken Kebabs on skewers.

These chicken skewers are my go to grill recipe because not only are they delish, they don’t require any marinating, simply coating them with a little olive oil, then spices.  Once grilled (or broiled) for 8-10 minutes, the tender spiced morsels are brushed with barbecue sauce so the barbecue sauce caramelizes and becomes even more delicious.

BBQ Chicken Kebabs on skewers with parsley garnish.

Now I am sure you have your favorite barbecue sauce, but I implore you to give this homemade version a try.  Its a super simple whisking of reserved spices from your Chicken Rub with ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, cider vinegar, Dijon and butter for extra silkiness.   You will fall in love.

Close u of BBQ Chicken Kebabs on skewers being brushed with sauce.

And once you brush it on all over your barbecue chicken kebabs, you will stay in love forever with BBQ Chicken Kebabs.  forever and forever.

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These BBQ Chicken Kebabs are my go-to grill recipe with the most amazing barbecue sauce! Everyone always asks me for the recipe and they are easy too!

BBQ Chicken Kebabs

Servings: 6 servings
Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken breasts (4-6 breasts) chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Chicken Rub

BBQ Sauce

  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons molasses
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon reserved Spices (in directions)

Instructions

  • If using wooden skewers, soak for at least 30 minutes in water before grilling or broiling.
  • Mix all of the Chicken Rub Ingredients together in a small bowl. Remove 1 teaspoon spices to a small saucepan for the Barbecue Sauce.
  • Add chicken to large bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil; toss evenly to coat. Add Chicken Rub and toss evenly to coat. Thread chicken onto skewers. Set aside.
  • To the small saucepan with the 1 teaspoon spices, add all of the BBQ Sauce ingredients and heat over medium heat until butter is melted and sauce is heated through.
  • TO GRILL: Generously grease grill and heat to medium-high heat. Grill chicken for approximately 8-10 minutes, rotating every couple minutes until nicely browned and slightly charred on each side and chicken is cooked through.
  • Brush tops of chicken with barbecue sauce, flip and cook for about one minute then brush top side of chicken, flip and cook for one minute. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.
  • TO OVEN BROIL: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the skewers in a single layer and broil, turning every 5 minutes until cooked through, about 10- 15 minutes depending on thickness of chicken. Brush cooked chicken with BBQ Sauce and broil 1-2 minutes to caramelize. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.

Notes

*Recipe makes more chicken than pictured.

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32 Comments

  1. Dorothy Dunton says

    Hi Jen! My mouth is crying again! We have some fresh sweetcorn (not from our garden as it’s too early) and fresh asparagus from our garden and I think they would go nicely with this chicken! This recipe wold also be good using pork tenderloin. Kevin and Nagi are calling this afternoon, I am SO excited!

    • Jen says

      I LOVE sweet corn – and I can only imagine how much more delicious it is from your own garden! I hope you enjoy corn with this recipe when its ready 🙂 and oh my goodness, that is AWESOME Nagi and Kevin are calling you this afternoon – so fun! I dropped Nagi off at Kevin’s on Monday and was so sad to say goodbye – such wonderful and talented people. Hope you had a blast chatting it up! xo

      • Dorothy Dunton says

        Hi Jen! I had an amazing conversation with Kevin and Nagi (Dave piped in a couple of times too)! Yes, they are such GOOD people! Down to earth, honest people, just like you! 🙂

        • Jen says

          YAY, I am so glad you had such a wonderful call with them- we all love you so much and the light you bring to our lives! xo

  2. Kevin | Keviniscooking says

    These look mouthwatering Jenn. My favorite BBQ sauce is from Loveless Cafe in Nashville and I order it online. So good – sweet, tangy and spicy all in one. Need to try this one! Great seeing you the other day, too.

    • Jen says

      So great seeing you last week Kevin! I hope you had a blast with Nagi – so much talent in one house! and it was great meeting your dogs too 🙂 I am so intrigued about your favorite BBQ Sauce you order special online – I am going to have to check it out – there is nothing like a favorite BBQ Sauce!

  3. Julie says

    Made these tonight and they were delicious! Thanks for a simple and yummy recipe to add to my list of keepers.

    • Jen says

      Hi Julie, I’m so happy you found this simple and delicious – win, win! Thank you so much!!

  4. Kara says

    The general consensus around the dinner table — a perfect 10!!!! These were fabulous! Thanks for another scrumptious recipe!

    • Jen says

      YES! its hard to get a perfect 10 from everyone -thank you Kara! I am thrilled these were such a hit!

  5. Sharon says

    These look delicious…just wondering if they are too spicy for children. If so, any other recommendations for the rub? Thanks.

    • Jen says

      Hi Sharon, I don’t think the rub i s too spicy for children but if they are extra sensitive the you could use only 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Hope that helps, enjoy!

  6. Kendrick says

    Hey Jen,
    Great recipe. It looks so delicious and so easy to make. I think I will try to cook it tomorrow.
    Thank You!

    • Jen says

      You are so welcome! Enjoy!

  7. Alyssa says

    Hello! I’m looking to make these this weekend for a bbq lunch. There will be 4 of us. I’m curious how many kabobs this recipe makes? I see it says serving size is 6. Is that 1 kabob per person? Thank you!

    • Jen says

      Hi Alyssa, sorry for the delay as I’ve been traveling. This recipe makes 4-6 kabobs depending on the size of the skewer (I have extra long ones so it makes 4 for me). I think one recipe of this should be perfect for 4 people. You could also make some kabobs of just veggies or add some zucchini/onions/peppers to the kabobs tossed in a little olive oil and salt and pepper as well in order to stretch the kabobs. Have fun!

  8. Boyan Minchev says

    A Realy great recipe, this BBQ Chicken Kebabs are so delicious and not so hard to make. I’ve made them last week for my girlfriend and she was so impressed, so HAPPY 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Boyan! I’m so happy both you and your girlfriend loved them! Its always awesome when a man can show off his cooking skilzzzz!

  9. Eva says

    Wow, wow, wow!! These are SO good!! THE BEST chicken recipe I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot of chicken recipes! What I did is cut the chicken into tenders, and I burnt them slightly on the grill which added to the deliciousness! Then I did the BBQ sauce and broiled it. So, so good! Oh, and I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so I omitted that and added some worstechire sauce.

    • Jen says

      Hi Eva, thank you so much for your glowing comment, I am thrilled this was the “best chicken” recipe you’ve ever made – wahoo! They sound delicious as chicken tenders too!

  10. tausili logoleo says

    Made these tonight and they were delicious!

    • Jen says

      Thank you so much Tausili! I’m so happy you enjoyed them!

  11. Varun Sharma says

    Delicious and so easy to make! Made it for a dinner party and it was a huge hit!

    • Jen says

      Thank you, I’m so happy these BBQ Chicken Kebabs were a winner!

  12. George says

    Great recipe, They look so delicious and so easy to make. I am going to try cooking them on Sunday for my family. Thank You!

  13. SmoQ says

    BBQ Chicken Kebabs is great! I just finished it last night and the result was unexpected, my wife and daughter both liked it, which made me happy. Thanks for your recipe

    • Jen says

      I’m so happy to hear they were a winner, thank you!

  14. Cindy says

    This looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it. Can I omit the butter in the bbq sauce? Cannot eat dairy. Thanks!

  15. Glenn Howard says

    Regarding your Barbeque Chicken Kabobs recipe: It says in the recipe for the spices to (see in directions)!!
    The recipe does tell you about any spices in the category of directions?

    • Jen says

      Step 2: Mix all of the Chicken Rub Ingredients together in a small bowl. Remove 1 teaspoon spices to a small saucepan for the Barbecue Sauce.