Tender and juicy, my Lemon Yogurt Chicken Kebabs couldn’t be more delicious! The lemon, yogurt, cumin, and paprika marinade packs a ton of flavor and ensures that the morsels of chicken stay moist. The perfect summer chicken dish!
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Easy summer chicken
Whenever the weather warms up, I naturally gravitate toward cooking outdoors. Whether it’s my marinated grilled chicken, homemade rotisserie chicken, or these lemon yogurt chicken kebabs, if it can be cooked on a grill, count me in!
The thing I love most about this dish is how the chicken stays so tender, thanks to the yogurt marinade. The blend of spices is great too, and gives a Mediterranean flair to the kebabs.
I love to serve these yogurt lemon kebabs with rice pilaf or my homemade flatbreads, and a Greek salad.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I usually prefer chicken thighs for their flavor and fat content, but the lemon yogurt marinade adds so much flavor and keeps the chicken moist, which is why I’m opting for chicken breasts here.
- Yogurt. Feel free to use any Greek yogurt you’d like, from full-fat to 2%; you really can’t go wrong.
- Lemons. Fresh lemon juice is used for the marinade, plus I like to serve it with grilled lemon halves.
- Seasoning. I’m using a combo of smoked paprika, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt and pepper for the marinade, plus grated garlic.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make lemon yogurt chicken kebabs
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes.
- Combine the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisk together. Pour the marinade into a sealable plastic bag with the chicken and use your hands to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight, turning the chicken halfway through so it marinates evenly.
- If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 1 hour before skewering the chicken. Remove the chicken from the fridge and thread it onto the skewers, leaving a few inches of space at each end.
- Heat a grill to medium-high heat (400-450°F), wipe the grates with oil or cooking spray, and grill the kebabs for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Rotate the kebabs so each side gets grilled until the internal temp of the chicken reaches 160°F, then transfer to a platter and cover with tented foil.
- Grill the lemons cut-side down until charred, then transfer to a plate and serve with the skewers and your favorite sides.
Top tips
- The skewers. You can use either wooden/bamboo or metal skewers for my lemon yogurt marinated chicken kebabs. If using the wooden ones for this recipe, chicken spiedies, or anything on a grill, it’s important to soak them in water for an hour or so to ensure they don’t ignite on the grill.
- No grill? You can definitely make these in the oven under the broiler for 5-6 minutes per side. If doing so, use metal skewers or just spread the chicken out in a broiler pan. You can also bake them at 425°F for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach 160°F.
More warm-weather chicken recipes
If you’ve got the urge to cook outside, give these recipes a try!
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Lemon Yogurt Chicken Kebabs
Equipment
- 8 wooden skewers soaked in water for 1 hour
Ingredients
Base ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken breasts cut into 1-1.5" cubes
- 3 large lemons halved
For the marinade
- 1 cup Greek yogurt can be be either whole or 2%
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic grated
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
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Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- Cut the chicken breasts into 1 to 1 1/2" cubes.
- Whisk the marinade ingredients, then pour into a sealable plastic bag with the chicken. Use your hands to coat the chicken evenly. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight, turning the chicken halfway through so it marinates evenly.
Skewer and grill the chicken
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and thread the chicken onto the soaked wooden skewers or use metal skewers. Leave a few inches on both sides of the skewers. You will need 6-8 small wooded skewers or 3-4 larger metal skewers.
- Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat (400°F-450°F). Wipe the grates with oil or cooking spray. Grill the kebabs for 3-4 minutes per side, rotating so that each side is grilled, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160°F. Remove the skewers to a platter and tent with foil.
- Place the lemons, cut side down, on the grill. One the lemons are charred remove them to the plate.
- Serve the skewers and grilled lemons with pita or over rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Skewers. Make sure to soak the wooden skewers for at least 1 hour before cooking so that they don’t burn off during cooking, or simply use metal skewers.
- Oven method. Broil (use metal skewers) for 5-6 minutes per side on the second highest level or bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes or until the center of chicken reaches 160°F internal temperature. For thighs, cook until the center registers at least 185°F.
- Chicken. Chicken breast is recommended but boneless skinless chicken thighs are are great too. If using chicken thighs, make sure they reach at least 185°F temperature. Chicken thighs have large amount of connective tissue and cooking to a higher internal temp melts the tough collagen resulting in more tender meat.
- Storing and Leftovers. Lemon yogurt chicken kebabs can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven until warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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