Enjoy these Chicken Kabobs with tender chicken, mangos, onions, tomatoes, and spicy sriracha sauce—packed with protein and flavor!
The Best Chicken Kabobs
Chicken Kabobs are an easy remix on traditional summer kabobs, thanks to the unique marinade and the addition of fresh mango. You don’t see mango in many grilling recipes, but I’ll tell you that once you grill mango, you’ll never want to go back. Grilling enhances the natural sweet taste of mangos and adds a fun flavor twist to the chicken and other vegetables. The mango becomes juicy, smoky, and slightly caramelized, adding a delicious component to the dish.
If you’re hesitant about the whole fruit, veggies, and chicken ordeal we’ve got going on, try adding just the mango to separate kabobs and enjoying it as a side dish to this meal.
Chicken Kabobs Ingredients
- Chicken Marinade: Don’t marinate the chicken for more than 6 hours, or it might get too dry.
- Chicken: Cut chicken into small pieces for even cooking and a better mix of chicken and veggies/fruit on the skewer.
- Veggies/Fruit: Swap veggies or fruit based on what’s in season or what you like.
- Sriracha Dipping Sauce: Adjust the spice level by adding more or less sriracha.
How To Make Chicken Kabobs
- Mix Marinade: Combine olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, cilantro, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sriracha, salt, and pepper.
- Marinate Chicken: Cut chicken into pieces, place in a bag with marinade, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 6 hours.
- Prep Grill: Heat the grill to medium-high and oil the grates.
- Prepare Veggies/Fruit: Chop mango, red onion, zucchini, and keep cherry tomatoes ready.
- Assemble Kabobs: Skewer chicken, mango, onion, zucchini, and tomatoes.
- Grill: Cook kabobs on the grill for 6-8 minutes, turn once.
- Serve: Remove from grill and serve.
Quick Tip
If you do happen to add all the marinade to the raw chicken, you can boil it in a saucepan to make it safe again. More details here.
Tips For Success
- Use a ripe mango for better grilling and caramelization. Check ripeness by gently squeezing; it should be soft like a ripe peach or avocado and have a fruity smell at the stem.
- Honey Mangos (Ataulfo mangoes) are recommended for their sweetness and creaminess.
- Cut vegetables and chicken into even sizes for uniform cooking.
- If using chicken thighs, skewer them separately from the veggies and mango to avoid overcooking the vegetables, as thighs take longer to cook.
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Quinoa Bowl
- Grilled Curry Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Chicken Gyros
- Grilled Chicken with Avocado Salsa
Chicken Kabobs
These Chicken Kabobs are loaded with juicy marinated chicken, sweet mango, crisp onions, and cherry tomatoes, all served with a spicy sriracha sauce. Flavor-packed and protein-rich!
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 limes
- 2-1/2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- Salt and pepper
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Veggies/Fruit
- 1 large mango or 2 honey mangoes
- 1 red onion
- 3/4 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 small-medium zucchini
- Chopped cilantro optional
Sriracha Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 large limes
- 3 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar optional
Instructions
- Whisk together all the marinade ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Add 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice. Remove about 1/2 cup (put in an airtight container in the fridge for later) and pour the rest into a large resealable bag.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces (1 to 1 and 1/2 inches) and put in the resealable bag with the marinade. Seal the bag or cover tightly and place in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes—preferably 2–3 hours up to 6 hours. Do not exceed 6 hours, as the acidity will start to dry out the chicken.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat (about 400–450°F). Clean and oil grill grates by generously dipping a paper towel in olive oil and using tongs to rub it on the grill grates.
- Peel and chop a mango into 2-inch cubes; chop the red onion to thick 1–2 inch pieces; and cut a zucchini into half moons.
- Once chicken has marinated, place the chicken pieces on a skewer, alternating with (see note 1) prepared fruits and veggies (cubed mango, red onion pieces, and zucchini). Add cherry tomatoes to the skewers as well.
- Place the kabobs on the oiled hot grill and cook for 6–8 minutes, flipping once or until chicken is cooked through. Chicken should reach 160°F or juices run clear. The carryover heat will take chicken to the safe 165°F. When turning the kabob sticks, brush the chicken with all but 2 tablespoons of the reserved marinade. Save those last 2 tablespoons for a finishing “dressing.”
- Add kabobs to a plate and evenly drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of marinade over everything. Serve with the sriracha dipping sauce and additional chopped cilantro if desired.
Sriracha Dipping Sauce
- Zest part of 1 lime to get about 1/2 teaspoon lime zest and juice 2 limes to get about 3–4 tablespoons lime juice.
- Combine the mayo, lime juice, lime zest, sriracha, and (if desired) sugar in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and taste, adding additional lime or sriracha to personal preference.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: The marinade is separated into three parts: one part for marinating, one for basting while cooking, and one for drizzling at the end as a sort of dressing.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information is a bit tricky here, because the marinade doesn’t actually contribute all those calories, but it does contribute some. These nutrition facts reflect all ingredients, even though a lot of marinade is discarded or cooks off the chicken.
Storage: Store leftover kabobs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the chicken, veggies, and dipping sauce separate for the best freshness. If you have extra marinade, store it separately and drizzle it on when serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 599kcal | Carbohydrates: 39.1g | Protein: 18.9g | Fat: 44g | Cholesterol: 62.7mg | Sodium: 395mg | Fiber: 2.9g | Sugar: 24.6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This may be a stupid question but will chicken tenderloins work instead of chicken breasts?
Not a stupid question 🙂 They will work great; if the pieces are smaller than indicated, just grill for less time. Enjoy 🙂
The marinaded chicken is so juicy – makes the flavor pop.
Why does everything taste better on a stick? My whole family loves kabobs. These look amazing with all the great veggies. All in one meal for the win!
That marinade was incredible! It was such a great flavor for the chicken.