Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Skewers

5 from 145 votes

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Skewers

Moist delicious chicken, sweet grape tomatoes and red onion grilled to perfection and served with a tangy yogurt-feta sauce makes for perfect lower calorie summer grilling. The chicken marinates in a seasoned yogurt marinade leaving it super moist and well flavored without lots of oil.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Marinating time (minimum)30

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat

Servings: skewers

Calories: 162kcal

Author: Toni Dash

Ingredients

Yogurt sauce and marinade

1 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt we use Chobani brand
¾ cup fat-free feta cheese crumble reduced fat could also be used
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mediterranean chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size cubes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Kabob ingredients

1 cup grape tomatoes rinsed
1 small red onion cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

In a blender combine the Greek yogurt, feta cheese, garlic clove, lemon juice, basil, and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
Combine ¼ cup of the sauce with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, kosher salt and paprika. Stir to combine.
Add the cubed chicken to a gallon Ziploc bag along yogurt marinade you just mixed. Force as much air out of the bag as possible and seal.
From the outside of the bag, massage the chicken kabob marinade to coat the chicken.
Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes and not longer than 8 hours.
Seal and refrigerate the remaining sauce.

When ready to grill....

Thread the chicken, grape tomatoes and onions onto 7 skewers (metal skewers or sturdy bamboo skewers), alternating ingredients leaving about 3 inches at the blunt end if using bamboo or wooden skewers.
Allow a little bit of space between ingredients if possible. This should make 7 regular length skewers each with 4-5 pieces of chicken.
Discard the marinade and Ziploc bag.
Spritz the skewers lightly with olive oil spray.

Grill

Heat the grill to medium heat (around 350 degrees). Use a grill brush to scrape off any food residue from the hot grill grates. Oil the grates well.
While heating the grill take the remaining yogurt sauce out of the refrigerator and allow it to warm to room temperature.
Place skewers on the grill with a strip of foil underneath the exposed blunt end of the skewers if using bamboo skewers.
Close the lid and allow chicken kabobs to cook 10-15 minutes, rotating them on each side during the cooking (2-3 minutes a side).
The chicken should register 165 degrees F internal temperature, have no pink color in the middle before removing all the skewers from these grill. You'll have nice grill marks too!
Serve immediately with yogurt sauce for dipping.

Notes

Total yield:

6-7 skewers
1 ¼ cups sauce/marinade. One cup of the sauce will be left for dipping.
The nutrition facts and WW Personal Points equal 1 skewer and 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dipping sauce per serving. You may choose to eat more but this is the basis for the calculations.

Expert Kabob Grilling Tips

Use flat skewers. The biggest issue with grilling skewers or kebabs is the ingredients spin on the skewer as you rotate them on the grill. There are two solutions for this. Use flat skewers or double skewer. With this recipe having smaller ingredients makes double skewering not possible. If you have flat skewers those are the best to allow the kebobs to cook on all sides without the ingredients moving.

Turn with tongs. Rather than rotating grilling chicken skewers with a gloved hand use tongs. This makes it easier to turn the entire skewer over minimizing rotating ingredients (ensures even cooking of the ingredients).

Use a homemade grill guard. If using bamboo skewers you don't need to soak them. Take a long piece of foil, fold in half lengthwise and place it on the front edge of the prepared grill. When adding the chicken skewers ensure the blunt end with no ingredients is sitting above the foil. Then the skewers won't burn and no soaking time is required.

Don't cram the ingredients together on the skewer. Giving a bit of space between ingredients allows them to cook better on the grill.

Do not reuse the marinade. Once raw meat has been in marinade ingredients I should not be used again. After removing the chicken pieces discard the bag of marinade.

to Store leftovers

Remove ingredients from the skewer and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store extra dipping sauce (unused) sealed in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition