Grilled Chicken Fajita Skewers
on May 16, 2022, Updated Jul 04, 2024
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Grilled Chicken Fajita Skewers will be a summertime favorite! Marinated chicken, peppers, and onions made extra delicious with that fire kissed flavor from the grill.
Do you call them chicken skewers or chicken kabobs? I grew up calling them kabobs, but somewhere along the way I’ve started calling them skewers.
Either way, grilled meat and vegetables on a stick are one of my favorite meals to make when the weather warms up.
These grilled chicken fajita skewers were inspired by my popular and one of my personal favorite recipes, skillet chicken fajitas. The fajita marinade is very similar, but with a couple small tweaks.
As with most fajita recipes, bell peppers and onion had to be included. I went with sweeter red, yellow, and orange peppers and a red onion, but you could also use green bell peppers and yellow onion.
Why You’ll Love Grilled Chicken Fajitas
- It adds a nice smoky charred flavor to the chicken, peppers, and onions.
- Clean up is easy.
- Keep the heat out of the kitchen. There’s nothing worse than cooking in a hot kitchen in the middle of summer.
- Grilling the chicken fajitas on skewers is a great way to portion out each serving.
Ingredients For Grilled Chicken Fajita Skewers
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – Cut the chicken breasts into similar sized chunks so that they cook evenly. You can also use boneless skinless thighs if you prefer.
Lime Juice – Adds a fresh, citrusy flavor to the fajitas and pairs well with chili powder and cumin. Use fresh squeezed lime juice for the best flavor.
Olive Oil – Marinades generally need oil to help tenderize the meat. A good alternative to olive oil is avocado oil.
Cilantro – A commonly used herb in Mexican and Southwest cooking. If you don’t like cilantro omit it.
Chili Powder, Ground Cumin, Dried Oregano – An earthy and fragrant blend of dried spices that I use in many of my Mexican and Southwest inspired recipes.
Garlic – I like to grate fresh garlic with a microplane zester so that it dissolves into the marinade.
Hot Sauce – Adds a kick of heat to the marinade without being overpowering. I recommend Cholula hot sauce.
Bell Peppers – I like to use red, yellow, and/or orange bell peppers for fajitas. They are sweeter and add a nice colorful element to the skewers.
Red Onion – Red onion works nicely for grilling because it has a milder flavor than yellow onions.
How To Make Chicken Fajita Skewers
Make the marinade. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, dried spices, garlic, and hot sauce. Whisk them together and pour them into a gallon sized freezer bag.
Add in the cubed chicken, seal the bag, and massage the marinade into the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for 1-2 hours.
Add the chopped peppers and onion to a bowl. Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables together until they’re coated in the spices and oil.
Preheat your grill and then thread the chicken and vegetables onto metal or wooden skewers. If you are using wooden skewers be sure to soak them in water for at least an hour so they don’t burn up on the grill.
Oil the grill grates and place the skewers on them. Grill for about 5 minutes on the first side and then flip them over and grill another 4-7 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165° F.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with and of the recommended serving suggestions below.
Grilling Tips
- Make sure your grill is clean and thoroughly heated before adding the skewers. I recommend heating it to 400°- 425° F.
- Oil the grill grates with cooking spray or brush them with oil to prevent the meat from sticking.
- Make sure the chicken is cut to a similar size so that it cooks evenly.
- The vegetables can either be grilled on the same skewers as the meat or separately since peppers and onion have a similar cooking time to the chicken.
- The chicken skewers should release easily from the grill grates when they are ready to be flipped. Usually this takes about 4-5 minutes depending on the size of the pieces of chicken.
- Chicken is cooked through when it reaches 165° F. A meat thermometer is the easiest way to ensure you don’t over or under cook it.
Ways To Serve Them
- On top of rice or for more flavor, cilantro lime rice. I use 1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro and 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice.
- With a side of black beans, pinto beans, or this Southwestern Bean Salad.
- Dip them into this Green Chile Guacamole.
- In warm flour or corn tortillas.
More Skewer And Kabob Recipes
Did you make these Grilled Chicken Fajita Skewers? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Chicken Fajita Skewers
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste I used 1 teaspoon for the chicken marinade
- 1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce such as cholula
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 inch chunks
Peppers and Onion
- 2-3 red yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut into about 1 inch pieces
- 1 red onion cut into about 1 inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, garlic, and hot sauce. Pour the marinade into a freezer bag and add in the chicken. Seal the bag pressing out the air. Massage the marinade into the chicken. Marinate for 1-2 hours.
- In a large bowl combine the peppers and onion, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Toss until coated.
- Preheat grill to 400° F. Thread the chicken and vegetables onto metal or wooden (that have been soaked in water) skewers, alternating between the meat and vegetables.
- Oil the grill grates and place the skewers on them. Grill for 5 minutes and then flip them over and grill another 5-7 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165° F.
- Remove from the grill and garnish with cilantro. Serve with cilantro lime rice or tortillas.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Served this with cilantro lime rice and a citrus fruit salad. Delicious fajita dinner!
Sounds like the perfect dinner!