Don’t miss these marinated Honey Soy Chicken Kebabs for a simple and delicious grilled meal any day of the week, with or without the skewers!
I love chicken kebabs. When done right, they are tender, juicy, smoky from their time on the grill, and perfect for summer nights. But I confess that I don’t really like the kebab part of the process – soaking the skewers, threading the pieces onto the skewers, removing the food after it cooks. Am I alone in this? The novelty wears off so quickly for me in the face of what feels like a lot of extra work.
So, I deconstruct my kebabs, cook everything in grill pans, and call it a day. It’s so delicious with all the benefits of kebabs, the grill, and that marinade with none of the extra fuss. Yes!
If you are hosting and want something impressive for people to grab, or if you enjoy the true kebab experience, get out those skewers! But if you can relate to my own skewer frustrations, this recipe is for you too. Just ditch the sticks, grab some foil or a grill pan, and cook up this healthy and oh-so-satisfying grilled dinner on the regular.
Start With Your Chicken
Cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts into pieces and place in a dish or plastic zip-top bag. Whisk the marinade ingredients together and pour half of it over the meat. Allow to sit at least half an hour in the frig so the chicken can soak up all that flavor. If you remember to get the marinade going earlier, even better!
Just before you want to grill, cut up all your veggies and put them in a large bowl. Pour the other half of the marinade over them so they, too, can grab that wonderful flavor.
Get Everything Ready
Go ahead and heat up your grill to medium-high. If you are going to use wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least half an hour to keep them from burning on the grill.
Instead of putting meat and veg on the same skewer, you’ll get much more even cooking by separating the meat from the vegetables and grilling them separately. So, some skewers will be meat only and others will be veg only. When piercing the veg, try to go through the skin of the squash. That will keep the pieces from sliding off when the flesh of the squash softens.
Make Your Own Pan
No grill pan? No problem! Here’s how you make your own from heavy-duty aluminum foil. Start by taking a long sheet of the foil. Make this big enough to hold all of your chicken or veg, but small enough to fit two pans side by side on your grill – one for the chicken and one for the veggies.
Fold the long sides in about half an inch, then fold it over again to create a thicker edge. Now do the same thing on the shorter ends. Stand up the longer edges so that the outermost edge is pointing straight up. Fold up the short edges in the same way and create your corner by gently folding the end of the short edge inside the end of the long edge where the two meet. Pinch it together to create your secure corner. Repeat this for the remaining corners.
These foil pans are single-use, disposable items. If you want to invest in pans you can wash and reuse, this one and these are both good options.
And there you have it! It’s fun kitchen arts-and-crafts. Pat yourself on the back, even if your pans aren’t perfect. Mine never are and they still work just fine. Now get both of your pans into place before you heat the grill so that the pans will heat up too. You want it all nice and hot when you put your meat and veg in.
Grill it Up!
Drain your chicken and veggies from the marinade and get it all on the skewers if you are using them. Keep the chicken and veggies on separate skewers!
The veg takes a bit more time to cook, so get them on the grill first. After about 5 minutes, get your chicken onto the grill. Stir or turn it all occasionally.
When the chicken is cooked through (the internal temp should reach 165) and the veggies are tender-crisp, take it all off the grill and serve immediately with rice.
This one’s a winner, for sure! A nice Lemon Bundt Cake or some Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies would be a great end to this meal! Or serve up some strawberry shortcake using this Strawberry Shortcake Scone recipe as the base. Your people will sing your praises for a good long while. And it doesn’t get much better than that!
Enjoy!
Honey Soy Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2/3 cup soy sauce preferably gluten free
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the Kebabs:
- 2 lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 medium zucchini cut to 1/4-inch slices
- 1 small yellow summer squash cut to 1/4-inch slices
- 4 oz mini bella mushrooms cut to 1/4-inch slices
- 1 orange, red, or yellow bell pepper cut to bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 green bell pepper cut to bite-sized pieces
- 1 small onion cut to 1/4-inch slices
Instructions
- Make the marinade by whisking the oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper together in a small bowl.
- Combine chicken and 1/2 the marinade in a large bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- If using wooden skewers, submerge them in water and set them aside to soak. They need to soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the veggies in a separate large bowl and pour in the other half of the marinade. Set aside at room temperature while you heat the grill to medium high.
- Drain chicken and veggies from the marinade and put them on the skewers. Do not combine chicken and veg on each skewer or you won’t get an even cook. Alternatively, use grill baskets and/or handmade foil trays.
- Grill veggies for 15-18 minutes, or until they are tender. Grill chicken for 10-15 minutes, turning frequently, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Serve with rice.
