Homemade Chicken Kebabs Take Away Style
Homemade Chicken Kebabs. Freshly grilled marinated chicken, peppers & onions served in a pitta bread with salad & a hot chilli sauce.
Cooked on the BBQ, griddle or roasted in the oven.
A healthy & delicious version of a Takeaway Chicken Shish Kebab.
Takeaway Chicken Shish Kebab
Without a doubt, my favourite take away has to be chicken kebabs. An occasional family treat on a Friday night when OH and the boys would walk to the corner of our road and queue at the ever popular Turkish Kebab Shop.
Freshly grilled chicken, peppers and onions in a pitta bread with salad, pickled red cabbage, hot chilli sauce and chips – irresistable !
I must admit, every now and then I yearn for a takeaway. Maybe it’s because we’re in rural Brittany at the moment with no takeaway nearby or perhaps it’s simply the happy memories.
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Regardless of the motivation, recreating our favourite treat and enjoying a Friday night takeaway in our field in France is always a fun evening. We cook the kebabs on a portable gas stove at the table and eat al fresco. That said, in the winter or during summer storms, cooking indoors still delivers a great tasty takeaway treat.
This healthy version of take away chicken kebab and chips is low fat and simple to make. It’s got all the taste without the excess grease. I’m out of touch with the cost of takeaway chicken kebab and chips but I’ll bet it’s a lot more than this homemade version.
Either way, you won’t miss your shop bought takeaway once you’ve tucked into homemade Takeaway Chicken Shish Kebab.
What Do We Need To Make Take Away Style Chicken Kebabs ?
The recipe makes 6 kebabs and is easily scaled up or down. Alter the number of servings on the recipe card to recalcuate the ingredients quantities.
Chicken
You need 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts cut into equal size chunks so the chicken can cook through evenly. I’ve used chicken breast rather than thigh because it’s lower in fat. As a result of having been marinated, the chicken breast doesn’t dry out. You can of course use chicken thigh if you wish.
Vegetables
We like red peppers and red onion in our chicken kebab. You will need 2 red peppers and 1 red onion. Cut the pieces to roughly the same size as your chicken.
Chicken Kebab Marinade
The marinade is so easy to make with just 6 ingredients.
You will need:
The juice of a lemon
Olive oil
A couple of crushed garlic cloves
A couple of bay leaves
Roughly 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped oregano
A pinch of salt and pepper. I find this is enough to add savour and bring out the full flavour of the marinade.
Skewers
You can use metal or wooden skewers. I like to use the flat stainless steel skewers we’ve had for years. Our son swears by these stainless steel skewers and I must admit they do look a better design than ours.
Flat metal skewers prevent the chicken from slipping round on the skewer when turning so cooking is easier. They also help the chicken cook faster. Do be careful as the skewers retain much more heat than bamboo skewers and can be very hot.
If you’re using bamboo skewers, don’t forget to soak them in water for an hour before use. Otherwise they will burn.
How To Make Takeaway Chicken Kebabs
Chicken kebabs are easy to make. Full recipe details are included in the recipe card at the end of the post.
First, place your chicken pieces in a bowl or container along with the kebab marinade and leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours. If you want to get ahead, this can be done the night before.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and add the onion and pepper pieces to coat with the marinade.
Thread a piece of pepper, then onion and then chicken on to a skewer and continue until you have 4 or 5 pieces each of pepper, onion and chicken.
Cook your kebabs on a preheated griddle or BBQ for about ten minutes, browning on all sides.
Add the jalapeno, if using to brown.
Slide the chicken, pepper and onion pieces off the kebabs on to the griddle or BBQ and continue cooking for about 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Check your chicken is cooked by slicing a larger piece of chicken to check it’s not pink in the middle and that it’s piping hot.
Serve in a pitta bread, toasted if you wish, with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickled red cabbage, jalapeno and a piece of lemon.
Can You Cook Chicken Kebabs In The Oven ?
Yes, you can. Preheat your oven to 200 C / 180C Fan / 400 F and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn halfway through cooking to ensure your kebabs are evenly browned and cooked.
Create Your Own Takeaway Chicken Shish Kebab Meal
If you enjoy creating whole meals from scratch, I’ve included recipes for pittas, healthy crispy oven chips, pickled red cabbage and even your own hot chilli sauce.
The pickled red cabbage and the hot chilli sauce are best made in advance.
Pittas freeze well (and still taste so much better than shop bought) so you can make them in advance too.
The potatoes for the crispy chips can be prepared earlier in the day along with marinating the chicken.
So when it comes to cooking your homemade chicken kebab in pitta everything is at hand and can be on the table ready to enjoy within 30 minutes.
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Delicious Sesame Chicken Kebabs
Here’s the recipe in quick printable format so you can have it to hand while you try it out.
Homemade Chicken Kebabs Take Away Style
Equipment
- 6 Flat metal skewers or bamboo skewers
- Kitchen Barbecue Tongs
- Silicone Basting brush
Ingredients
- Juice of one lemon
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
- A pinch of salt and pepper
- 4 chicken breasts cut into 3 to 4 cm chunks
- 1 red onion cut into quarters separated into layers
- 2 red peppers cut into 3 or 4 cm pieces
- 4 jalapeno peppers optional
- 1 lemon cut into quarters to serve
- 6 pitta breads
- 1 Shredded lettuce
- 3 Sliced tomatoes
Instructions
- Prepare your marinade: Mix the lemon juice, olive oil and crushed garlic before adding the bay leaves, freshly chopped oregano, salt and pepper. Add your chicken pieces and cover them well with the marinade.
- Transfer to a sealed container or food bag and place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight if you have time.
- Assemble your chicken kebabs: Remove the chicken from the fridge and add the onion and pepper pieces to coat with the marinade.
- Thread a piece of pepper, then onion and then chicken on to a skewer and continue until you have 4 or 5 pieces each of pepper, onion and chicken.
- BBQ OR GRIDDLE: Cook your kebabs on a preheated griddle or BBQ for about 10 to 15 minutes, browning on all sides.
- Add the jalapeno to brown, if using.
- Slide the chicken, pepper and onion pieces off the skewers on to the griddle or BBQ and continue cooking for about 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- OVEN: Preheat your oven to 200 C / 180C Fan / 400 F and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn halfway through cooking to ensure your kebabs are evenly browned and cooked.
- Serve in a pitta bread, toasted if you wish, with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickled red cabbage, jalapeno and a piece of lemon.
Video
Notes
Pin Homemade Chicken Kebabs
I’m Entering my Homemade Chicken Kebabs Take Away Style into a few food challenges this month:
- Credit Crunch Munch created by Helen and Camilla, hosted this month by Elizabeth at Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
- The Spice Trail hosted by Vanesther over at Bangers & Mash where the theme is ‘Beach BBQ’.
- The Extra Veg Challenge created by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy hosted this month by Sarah over at Maison Cupcake.
- Ren Behan‘s Simple and in Season hosted this month by Elizabeth over at Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary.
I love healthy takeaway recipes – thank you so much for sending this to both #ExtraVeg and #CreditCrunchMunch
You’re welcome Helen, it’s a pleasure.
Yummy. I wish the sun would come back! Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. Sorry I was particularly slow getting over for this one. I’ve pinned it to my food board and a tweet will go out shortly 🙂
You’re welcome Emily, don’t worry about being late, it’s a hectic time of year & I’m late replying to comments! Will pop over & have a peek at your food board 🙂
Yum! I love chicken kebabs and I like that you’ve included all the from-scratch recipes for yours. Love it! Thanks for sharing with Simple and in Season and Credit Crunch Munch!
You’re welcome Elizabeth, the kebabs do taste better in a homemade pitta.
This is one of my favourite takeaway dishes 🙂 #recipeoftheweek
Thanks Stacey, it’s well worth making at home.
Love the look of your chicken kebabs take away style – homemade pitta is impressive – I am looking forward to trying this out bank holiday weekend as a healthy option on the BBQ
Thanks Teresa, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Would love to know how you get on.
I said you chips look good or a girlie night, chips and kebabs look even better….yumm!!
Thanks Saz, they would make a very tasty meal for a girlie night.
A PERFECT cooking with herbs recipe thanks Sarah and I love chicken kebabs! Karen
Thanks Karen, look forward to taking a peek at the Cooking With Herbs round up at the end of the month.
Your chicken kebabs look delicious and so much healthier than anything you’ll find in the takeaway. I bet your homemade scotch bonnet sauce packs a pretty punch too! A very fine entry for this month’s #TheSpiceTrail challenge – this would be wonderful for a beach barbecue. Thanks so much for linking up 🙂
Thanks Vanesther & you’re most welcome. Chicken kebabs do make a tasty BBQ treat & by the beach would be idyllic. I can’t wait for our Scotch Bonnet chillies to be ready this year so we can stock up on our very hot sauce.