Southwest Barbecue Chicken Kabobs are delicious. Grilled chicken and veggies on skewers with a tangy-spicy sauce will be a summer dinner your family will love.
BBQ chicken kabobs are a family-favorite dinner, and this recipe combines chicken, veggies, and Southwest BBQ sauce. Thread it all on skewers, brush on the fantastic sauce, and toss them on the grill for an easy, light, and fantastic dinner option for the summer.
Summer, to me, is all about grilling.
These southwest kabobs are one of my summer go-to recipes. The sauce is delicious. It’s a spicy, tangy, and sweet BBQ sauce inspired by Southwest flavors. It’s perfect with the chicken and veggies.
Sandra’s Tips
Ingredients
- Finely chopped jalapeño peppers
- Canola oil
- Finely chopped garlic
- Chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and ground coriander
- Ketchup
- Fresh lime juice
- Brown sugar
- Cubed O Organics® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Red onion cut into chunks
- Bell peppers cut into chunks – I like to do a mix of colors.
Recipe Steps
Make the southwest barbecue sauce by combining the jalapeno, oil, garlic, all the spices, ketchup, lime juice, and sugar. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.
Place the chicken and one cup of BBQ sauce in a Ziplock bag and toss the chicken to combine with the sauce. Marinate the meat for one to two hours. Refrigerate the reserved sauce.
Thread the meat and vegetables onto skewers. I like to alternate them so each skewer is colorful with a mix of veggies and meat.
Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Place the kabobs on the grill and cook for 3 minutes with the lid shut.
Then, rotate the kabob to cook on the opposite side, baste with the remaining barbecue sauce, and cook another 3 minutes.
At this point, check the meat to see how it’s cooking. The chicken’s juices should be clear to indicate that it’s done.
If not done, baste again with the barbecue sauce and continue to cook for another 3 minutes on a side you haven’t cooked yet. Repeat until done. My chicken kabobs take anywhere from 9 to 12 minutes.
Remove the kabobs from the grill once wholly cooked and serve immediately.
Kabobs on the grill
How do you cook kebabs on a BBQ? We like to grill kebobs over medium heat, turning them every 3 minutes until they are cooked through (165°F). They are usually done in less than 15 minutes.
Do you close the grill when cooking kebabs? Yes, for this recipe, you should close the grill lid. Open it every three minutes to check and turn the skewers.
Leftover BBQ chicken kabobs will be kept for three to four days in the refrigerator. I love to use the leftovers to make a delicious grilled chicken and vegetable salad the next day.
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Southwest Barbecue Chicken Kabobs
Ingredients
Southwestern Barbecue Sauce
- 1 jalapeño peppers finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
Kabobs
- 4 lbs O Organics® Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 large red onion
- 1 large red pepper
- 1 large green pepper
- 1 large orange pepper
Instructions
- Make the Southwestern Barbecue Sauce by combining all of the ingredients into a large mason jar. Twist on the lid to the jar and shake vigorously to combine. Place barbecue sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Prepare peppers and onion for the kabobs.
- To chop the peppers, I cut it in half and remove the core and stem, then cut the two halves into thirds. Cut each third into thirds as well. I do the same for the onions.
- Prepare the chicken into 1-2-inch cubes: Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch slices, then each slice cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Add the chicken and 1 cup of the southwestern barbecue sauce into a Ziplock bag and toss the chicken to combine with the sauce. Set the chicken, sealed in the Ziplock, in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Place the remaining barbecue sauce back in the refrigerator.
- Using a skewer, I prefer metal ones, add 2-pieces of chicken and push to the bottom of the skewer. Then add one green pepper square, 1-2-pieces of onion and one red or orange pepper piece. Repeat the sequence until you reach the top of the skewer, making to sure to push the chicken and vegetables closely together. Once completed, set kabob on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken, onions, and peppers.
- Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Place chicken on grill and cook for 3 minutes with the lid shut. Then rotate the kabob to cook on the opposite side and baste with remaining southwestern barbecue sauce. Cook another 3 minutes. At this point, check the chicken to see how it’s cooking. To know if the chicken is done, the juices should be clear. Grill Tip: My husband swears by a digital meat thermometer. He pulls off all our chicken between 155 and 158 degrees and lets it rest for a few minutes (which brings the final temperature up to 160-165. It turns out super juicy and just right.
- If not done, baste the chicken again with the barbecue sauce continue to cook for another 3-minutes on a side you haven’t cooked yet. Repeat until done. My chicken kabobs take from anywhere to 9-12 minutes.
- Remove the kabobs from the grill once completely cooked and serve immediately. If I am serving these to the kids, I will remove the chicken and veggies from the skewers so don’t burn themselves or use the skewers as weapons at the table.
Notes
ohhh yumm!! I’ll be making these next week! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Anything with lime, chili, & garlic, I’m alllllll in! lol!
These were so juicy and flavorful. The sauce is incredible.
These are great for the weekend! Perfect flavor!
Beautiful chicken, and a great-tasting kebab! The sauce made everything 1000x better
I know for sure this Barbecue Chicken Kabobs would be a huge hit in my house!
This Southwestern BBQ Sauce is our new favorite!