Grilled Habanero Marinated Chicken Skewers

Grilled Habanero Marinated Chicken Skewers are spicy and incredibly flavorful! Marinated in a fiery blend of herbs, spices, and habanero peppers, this juicy chicken is perfect for summer cookouts, camping, easy dinners, and meal prep!

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If grilling and spicy food are your love languages, you’re in for a treat!  Grilled Habanero Marinated Chicken Skewers are exploding with fiery, delicious flavor!

This chicken gets its exquisite flavor from the marinade that’s made with habaneros, cilantro, scallions, lemon, garlic, and spices.

These grilled chicken skewers are perfect for summer BBQ’s, gameday grilling, and weeknight dinners!

Aji Amarillo Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kabobs is another great skewered chicken recipe!

Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down for complete recipe):

• Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• Avocado oil
• Habanero peppers – I used orange habaneros
• Cilantro
• Scallions
• Garlic
• Lemon
• Seasonings – cumin, sea salt, black pepper, onion powder, smoked paprika

📍 The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Like habaneros?  You can find this recipe and more in my 20+ Habanero Pepper Recipes!

How to serve Habanero Chicken Skewers

Whether you serve these for a family dinner or entertaining for a crowd, they’ll be a hit with fans of spicy food!

• These skewers are great for summer barbeques!
• Serve chicken in pita pockets, on salads, or in rice bowls.
• Portion them out in containers for easy meal prepping.
• Excellent main course served with Savory Chicken Rice, grilled veggie skewers, or Lemony Quinoa Chickpea Salad.
• Perfect grill recipe for camping!

I like to make chicken and veggies on separate skewers so the vegetables don’t burn.

Onion, zucchini, squash, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and mushrooms are great in veggie kabobs!

Simply cut the veggies into uniform, bite-size pieces, spray them with olive oil spray and season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper.

Looking for more chicken recipes?  Here are some favorites:

• Bacon-Wrapped Spinach Goat Cheese Chicken
• Sheet Pan Chicken Drumsticks, Potatoes & Green Beans
• Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken
• Achiote Chicken Tacos with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

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Grilled Habanero Marinated Chicken Skewers

Flavorful Eats

Grilled Habanero Marinated Chicken Skewers are spicy and incredibly flavorful! Marinated in a fiery blend of herbs, spices, and habanero peppers, this juicy chicken is perfect for summer cookouts, camping, and meal prep!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Marinate 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 skewers

Equipment

• glass/non-reactive mixing bowl
• Blender or food processor
• skewers soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
• meat themometer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into small chunks
• 2 orange habaneros
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice approximately 1 lemon
• 1 bunch scallions roots cut off
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup avocado oil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

 

Prepare marinade/chicken

• Add your chicken to a glass/non-reactive bowl and set aside.
• Add the rest of the ingredients (habaneros, lemon, scallions, cilantro, oil, and spices) to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
• Pour the marinade over the chicken and with tongs or your hands, mix until fully combined and the marinade is evenly dispersed. Marinate in the fridge for 1-4 hours. Make sure your skewers have soaked for at least 30 minutes before skewering chicken.
• When the chicken is done marinating, thread chicken onto the skewers. If some pieces are longer than others, bend the chicken so you can thread it again, so there is a consistent size for even grilling. I get about (8) 10" skewers from 3 lbs. of chicken.

Grill chicken

• Preheat grill to medium-high heat (around 375-400°). Make sure your grill grates are clean before adding chicken.
• Place chicken skewers on the grill, with a little bit of space in between each skewer. Wait a full 5-6 minutes before turning or moving the chicken so it doesn't stick to the grill. After 5-6 minutes, turn over skewers and continue cooking another 6-10 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165° at the thickest part of the chicken. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

• Be sure to use a glass or other non-reactive mixing bowl, since metal bowls have a chemical reaction with acidic ingredients and can affect the taste of the chicken.
• If the 3 lbs. of chicken is distributed equally amongst 8 skewers, each skewer is approximately 0.375 ounces.
• If needed, olive oil or vegetable oil can be used instead of avocado oil.
• I prefer the skewers I linked to because the meat doesn't spin around on them like traditional, round skewers.
• Cooked chicken can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days.
• The chicken can be frozen in freezer-safe containers.  For the best quality, use within 4 months.

Keyword Chicken, Grilling, Habanero, Spicy

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