Italian Chicken Kebabs
Chicken marinated in homemade basil walnut pesto to create flavorful, grilled Italian Chicken Kebabs!
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While creating this recipe post, I realized I don’t have many chicken recipes in my recipe library. There’s this Mexican Chicken & Rice Soup, a Greek Chicken & Cauliflower Rice Bowl, and the Tuscan Kale Salad made with rotisserie chicken. That was about the extent of chicken recipes on here—until today! Introducing Italian Chicken Kebabs. I’d say this is one of my favorite meals created in the last month. It’s simple, it involves grilling, and the chicken is so flavorful!
Sometimes grilled chicken can turn out bland and over-cooked. No thank you. The chicken is marinated in a homemade Basil Walnut Pesto that comes together in about 5 minutes. You may remember that I shared the recipe for this pesto a couple weeks ago and now here’s one more delicious way to use it!
Making Italian Chicken Kebabs
I used boneless, skinless chicken breast in this recipe and once you’ve cut the chicken into pieces, they marinate in the Basil Walnut Pesto for about 20 minutes. That’s enough time to cut up the other veggies for these kebabs and to preheat the grill! Before you assemble the kebabs, be sure to soak bamboo skewers in water to prevent any flareups on the grill. If you’re using metal skewers, you’re good to go!
The only addition I might make to these kebabs next time is adding mushrooms. Grilled mushrooms are ahh-mazing plus it’s always good to add in some extra veggies. Cherry tomatoes would be another welcomed veggie (errr…well, technically fruit) for the kebabs.
We enjoyed our Italian Chicken Kebabs with tomato and mozzarella bruschetta—a solid choice to balance out the meal! These would also be great served with a side of pasta salad, seasoned rice, or a leafy green salad.
Equipment I used for this recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 2 small garlic cloves minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 0.5 ounce Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium zucchini cut into 1/2-inch thick half-moon pieces
- 1 orange or yellow bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 red onion cut into 1-inch pieces
- 6 metal or bamboo skewers
Instructions
- 1. Prepare the pesto by combining basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and salt in a small food processor or blender. Process until no large chunks remain.
- 2. Place chicken in a medium-sized bowl and pour pesto over top, stirring to coat chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, but no longer than 60 minutes.
- 3. Preheat grill and if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes.
- 4. Assemble Italian Chicken Skewers by adding the marinated chicken, bell pepper, zucchini, and red onion, alternating until the skewer is filled. Repeat with all skewers.
- 5. Place kebabs on grid over medium ash-covered coals, or over medium heat on preheated gas grill. Cook for about 4 minutes, then turn kebabs over and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until chicken has reached internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Nutrition
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