How to Cook Kabobs in the Oven

Reviewed by Ollie George Cigliano

Last Updated: February 19, 2025

Kabobs are a delicious meal or snack! Eat the kabobs alone or serve them on top of rice, quinoa, or a salad. Prepare and marinate the chicken the day before you plan to cook it. This will help tenderize the meat and add flavor to the kabobs.

Ingredients

3 pounds (1.4 kg) of boneless skinless chicken breast
2 large yellow onions
3 bell peppers
.5 cups (120 mL) of avocado oil or olive oil
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
½ teaspoon of garlic powder

Makes 2 servings

1

Measure the oil and lemon juice into a bowl.

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Use cold-pressed avocado or olive oil if possible, as this type of oil is rich in nutrients. Add 4 tablespoons (59.1 ml) of lemon juice and .5 cups (120 mL) of avocado oil or olive oil into a medium-sized bowl.^{[1]
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- Try to soak the skewers you'll be using in cold tap water overnight. This stops them from drying out or burning in the oven. If you can't do it overnight, leave them in water for as long as possible.^{[2]
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2

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

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Whisk the mixture until it’s combined. Measure 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml) of fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder into the bowl. Use a fork or a whisk to briskly stir the ingredients together. Continue whisking until the ingredients have all merged together, this will take about 1 minute.^{[3]
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- Use circular stirring motions to stop the mixture from splashing over the edges of the bowl.
- If you don’t have flat leaf parsley you can substitute it for a different variety of parsley. If you don’t enjoy the flavor of parsley, try using coriander, basil or rosemary instead.

3

Cut the chicken into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes.

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Use a clean, sharp knife to cut the chicken. Place the chicken onto a chopping board and cut the chicken crosswise into 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide strips. Turn the board 90 degrees and cut the breasts lengthways, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) gaps between the cuts. This process creates chicken cubes that are an easy size to push onto the skewers.^{[4]
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- Always wash your hands after touching chicken to avoid food poisoning.
- Make sure that the chicken is fully defrosted before you start preparing it.

4

Marinate the chicken cubes in a ziplock bag.

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Transfer the chicken cubes into a medium-sized ziplock bag with the marinade. Use one hand to hold the ziplock bag open and the other hand to gently pour the marinade into the bag. Close the ziplock bag and check that no marinade is leaking from the seal.Then, massage the marinade into the chicken with your hands.^{[5]
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- If the seal on the bag isn’t working, pour the chicken and marinade into a new bag.
- Press down on the chicken cubes as you move them around. This will help the marinade to soak into the chicken.

5

Refrigerate the chicken cubes for 4-6 hours.

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Place the ziplock bag of marinated chicken into the fridge. Leave it for 4-6 hours to achieve the optimum flavor.^{[6]
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- If you are short on time, even 1 hour will help to soften and flavor the meat.
- Don’t leave the chicken to marinate for more than 24 hours as this increases the risk of food poisoning.

6

Preheat the oven to 450 °F (232 °C)

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Place the oven rack in the middle shelf of the oven. This will help the kabobs to cook evenly. Most ovens take at least 10 minutes to heat up.^{[7]
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7

Cut up your peppers and onions.

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Cut the peppers into 1 inch (2.5 cm) strips and cut 2 large onions into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces. With the bell peppers, use a sharp knife to make lengthwise cuts that are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Turn the chopping board 90 degrees and cut crossways, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) gaps between your cuts. With the onions, cut each onion in half and peel the skin off. Placing the flat side of the onion onto the chopping board, cut the onion in half lengthways and then crossways, to create quarters that are approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in size.^{[8]
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- Repeat this process for all 3 peppers.
- Use different colored peppers to add contrast and color to your kabobs.
- Peel apart the layers of the chopped onion so you have thin chunks of onion.
- Repeat this process for both onions.

8

Push the chicken and vegetables onto the skewers.

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Remove the chicken from the fridge. Push a piece of chicken onto the skewer so that it is about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) from the bottom of the skewer. Place a vegetable onto the skewer and push it down until it is touching the chicken. Keep repeating this process until you have filled the kabobs with chicken and vegetables.
- Leave about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) at the top of the stick.^{[9]
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- Repeat this process until you have used all the vegetables and chicken.

9

Bake the kabobs for 15 minutes.

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Place the kabobs on an oven tray that has been lined with aluminum foil. Tear a sheet of aluminum foil that is the width of the oven dish. Line the dish with the foil and place the kabobs on top. Spread the kabobs evenly across the dish. Transfer the tray into the middle shelf of the oven. Leave the tray uncovered as this will allow the vegetables to become crispy. Remove the tray from the oven after 15 minutes.^{[10]
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- Make sure that the kabobs aren’t touching each other.

10

Flip the kabobs over and bake for another 10 minutes.

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Take the oven tray out of the oven and place it onto a heat-proof surface. Use tongs to gently turn over each kabob. Make sure that none of the kabobs are touching each other before placing the tray back into the oven. Then, bake for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.^{[11]
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- Take a piece of chicken off a kabob and cut it in half. If the inside of the chicken is still pink, leave the kabobs to cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

11

Store the leftover kabobs in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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Place the leftover kabobs into an airtight container and leave them in the fridge. Eat the kabobs cold or reheat them in the microwave or oven.^{[12]
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- If you reheat the kabobs, make sure you heat them until they are hot to touch. This decreases the likelihood of food poisoning.

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Things You’ll Need

12 wooden skewers
Tablespoon
½ teaspoon
Medium-sized bowl
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Oven tray
Oven mitt
Aluminum foil
Ziplock bag

Tips

Substitute chicken for different meats to vary the flavors of the kabobs. Consider using beef, lamb or pork.

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Serve the kabobs with your favorite sides. Salad, quinoa or rice are all tasty options.

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