I think I’ve mentioned before that although I’ve always loved to play around in the kitchen, I didn’t really start exploring my inner foodie until I moved to an apartment my sophomore year of college and had my own (well, shared with 3 other girls, but not my parents) kitchen for the first time. These grilled chicken veggie skewers are literally one of the first dishes I made on a regular basis that wasn’t 100% from a cookbook. And I mean, it’s really not rocket science, but believe me, marinating and grilling vegetables was a long, long way from Some-Kind-of-Browned-Meat-in-Cream-of Something-Soup-Over-Some-Kind-of-Starch-ville where I grew up.
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast – Steak would work as well.
- Your Favorite Veggies For Grilling – zucchini, yellow squash, onion, peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, etc.
- Italian Dressing – This homemade version is best, but your favorite store-bought variety will work in a pinch. The dressing contains:
- Vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
- Dry mustard
- Kosher salt
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
- Fresh garlic
- Neutral oil or olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- Skewers – You can use metal or bamboo skewers. Just remember that skewers made form bamboo or wood need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes before being placed on the grill so they hold up to the heat. See the note below about my preferred variety of metal skewers with a wood handle.
How To Make Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers
- Place your veggies in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and drizzle about 3/4 of the dressing over the vegetables.
- Place the cut-up chicken in another large Ziploc bag and pour the remaining dressing over the chicken. Seal and refrigerate both bags for at least 4 hours, no more than 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to cook, preheat your grill over medium heat to about 425°F.
- Thread the meat and veggies loosely onto the skewers.
- Lightly oil the grill grates before adding the skewers and then grill for 4-5 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill another 4-5 minutes on the other side and voila! You have one of my most favorite meals of all time!
A Note About Skewers
Bamboo skewers have to be soaked and are hard to handle once hot on the grill. Metal skewers can also be troublesome when trying to turn. I did some poking around the internet and stumbled across lots of options for metal skewers with wooden handles and I love them! There are also varieties with silicone handles available. You leave the handle on the outside of the grill (the lid still closes just fine) and then you can easily turn your skewers– no soaking, no fires, no burned fingers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Be sure to cut all of your veggies and meat into similarly sized pieces. When threading your skewers, don’t pack the ingredients tightly together. Leave a little space for the heat of the grill to cook everything through.
Chicken and Vegetable Skewers
Equipment
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup neutral oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese either fresh or from a can
- ¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning more if desired
Skewers
- 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless, skinless cut into small, bite-sized pieces
- 1 each zucchini squash, yellow and green cut in half (if large) and sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, small, whole sliced in half
- 2-3 cups sweet peppers, mini
- 1 red onion, small carefully cut into bite-sized chunks (try to keep as much of the pieces in tact as possible)
Instructions
Marinade Prep
- Place vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard, salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and garlic in the jar of a blender and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, add the oil in a steady stream. Remove the blender jar from the blender and mix in the cheese and Italian seasoning by hand. Set aside.
Marinating
- Chop and prepare vegetables, and place in a large zip-top bag. Drizzle about ¾ of the dressing over the vegetables, seal, and place in the refrigerator.
- Place the chicken breast pieces into a large zip-top bag and add the remaining dressing. Seal and place in the refrigerator. Marinate both bags for at least 4 hours, no more than 24 hours.
Grilling
- About 30 minutes before serving, remove both bags and skewer the chicken and vegetables onto the skewers (if using bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before skewering the food). I usually try to get about 3 pieces of chicken plus as many vegetables as I can onto each skewer.When ready to cook, preheat the grill to about 425 degrees F. Lightly grease the grill grates, then add the skewers. Cook for 4-5 minutes on one side, flip, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from grill and serve immediately.
Notes
- Note that bamboo skewers need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes before being used and put on the grill. I prefer metal skewers with wooden or silicone handles. The handles stick out of the grill so that they are always cool to the touch and make flipping easy.
- Be sure to cut your veggies and meat about the same size for even cooking.
- Don’t pack your ingredients too tightly onto the skewers. Thread them loosely so the heat from the grill can cook everything evenly.
Questions & Reviews
Quick question: any ideas on how to adapt this to a Traeger smoker?
I’d preheat it to a high heat, like 450 and then smoke them for about 10-15 minutes. You’ll just want to watch the temperature probe and take them out when the chicken reaches almost 165.
We’re planning on making these for dinner tonight… but we are suddenly in the middle of a crazy spring rainstorm! I know they won’t be quite as good, but could we put them on a sheet pan in the oven? If so, at what temperature, and for how long?
Sure- I’d do 400 and you’ll have to eyeball and remove when chicken is done. You could also broil them.
This is my first time on your site. We had dinner with family in Wyoming and they grilled these babies. Oh my goodness!! So delicious. Still dreaming about the marinade. She told me to check out Our Best Bites. Here I am. I’m excited to try more of your recipes. Thanks for sharing your sweet foodie skills.
We made these last night for dinner, and we were in HEAVEN! So much so, that since we had a few of the vegetables left over, my husband asked me to make it again tonight! My kids are prickly when it comes to new vegetables, so they wouldn’t even attempt to eat those, but asked for seconds and thirds of the chicken! Seriously, SO GOOD!
I am going to have to try your homemade dressing. I always make homemade marinades, but not homemade dressing. These look delicious! Also, your pics with Sara and the kids were sweet. How nice that you were able to get together again. I always make these honey chicken kabobs (https://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/honey-chicken-kabobs) , but will have to try your Italian kabobs soon.
Just made these tonight. I typically dislike mushrooms, but made this way with this marinade, the whole family loved them (and the rest of the food too!)