Our trip to Morocco and these Moroccan Chicken Skewers have been on my mind recently and I’m ready to re-live that insanely incredible vacation through some of the flavor memories I brought home like this Moroccan Tomato Salad and this Herbed Couscous!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
We all know it’s back to school season and our time is precious. I’m currently inundated with emails asking for quick and easy weeknight meals – so my mind is running a million miles a minute in that direction! A few things I think of when thinking of easy weeknight meals:
1- is there a way to do some prep in the morning that makes dinner even easier?
2- what’s the fastest and most delicious way to cook something?
3- is this a recipe that kids can get behind?
4- are the ingredients in the recipe easy to use for another meal later that same week to save on groceries?
These Moroccan Chicken Skewers fit all of the above criteria and are marinated in a Greek Yogurt mixture filled to the brim with turmeric, crushed red peppers, tomato paste, tons of garlic and lemon among other things, so the grilled chicken is incredibly moist and retains that great color from the turmeric plus tons of flavor.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Ground Turmeric
- Greek Yogurt
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Tomato Paste
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Garlic
- Lemons
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs and/or Breasts
- Warm Pita Bread
- Extra Greek Yogurt
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Fresh Mint
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Moroccan Chicken Skewers
Step 1: Combine the crushed red pepper and ground turmeric in large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of hot water and let stand for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the greek yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper to spice mixture in bowl; whisk to combine.
Step 3: Stir in garlic and lemon juice.
Step 4: Add the chicken. Cover and chill for AT LEAST 1 hour. I do for 4 minimum and yes you could do overnight if you prefer
Step 5: Prepare the grill over medium-high heat. Thread chicken pieces on skewers, dividing equally. Discard marinade in bowl. Sprinkle each skewer with salt and pepper.
Step 6: Grill chicken until golden brown and cooked through, turning skewers occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer skewers to platter. Serve with serving suggestions and extra lemon wedges
How to Store Moroccan Chicken Skewers
You can store these in the fridge like any chicken dish, in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
How to Freeze Moroccan Chicken Skewers
You can freeze these. Take them off the skewers and freeze them in the right portion sizes you need promptly. Store them up to 3 months and thaw in fridge overnight when it is time to eat.
Tips & Tricks
If you’ve never used turmeric before - these Moroccan Chicken Skewers are a great way to incorporate it into your repertoire. Here’s the run down for those of you not familiar with it – it’s from the ginger family, it’s bright yellow/orange, and has a subtle flavor that lends itself to condiments, curries, marinades, dressings, and it’s especially fantastic on CHICKEN!! It really shines in greek yogurt so that’s where you’ll see it most often for me here on WGC.
Hot tip - if you put a few cups of greek yogurt in some cheesecloth and let the moisture drain off, you’re left with a thick greek yogurt that is excellent for dipping these skewers in!
FAQs
What goes well on chicken skewers?
If you put a few cups of greek yogurt in some cheesecloth and let the moisture drain off, you’re left with a thick greek yogurt that is excellent for dipping these skewers in!
Is chicken thigh or chicken breast better for skewers?
While either work well, I normally use chicken thighs when making skewers. Chicken thighs are higher in fat, so the meat will be more tender and juicy after grilling.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Moroccan Chicken Skewers
Equipment
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 lemon cut into wedges/sliced for serving
- 2 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts cut into 1 ¼-inch cubes
Serve with:
- Warm pita bread
- Extra greek yogurt
- Chopped tomatoes
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Combine the crushed red pepper and ground turmeric in large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of hot water and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the greek yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper to spice mixture in bowl; whisk to combine. Stir in garlic and lemon juice, then chicken. Cover and chill for AT LEAST 1 hour. I do for 4 minimum and yes you could do overnight if you prefer
- Prepare the grill over medium-high heat. Thread chicken pieces on skewers, dividing equally.
- Discard marinade in bowl. Sprinkle each skewer with salt and pepper.
- Grill chicken until golden brown and cooked through, turning skewers occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer skewers to platter. Serve with serving suggestions and extra lemon wedges
Is it possible to marinade this a couple of days in advance? Is there such thing as over marinading? Haha
2 days tops!
Yet another Gaby recipe that will blow your socks off! Huge flavor packed into this dish. I have made it several times now.
Made it yesterday following the recipe as is (only reduced the amount of garlic). The skewers were amazing, flavorful and moist (I used cubed chicken breast). I served them with tzatziki and hummus and I the dish was restaurant quality. Probably will try to bake them in winter as well. Will repeat for sure! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Yum! This might be my favorite WGC recipe!
Such a great recipe, my family really enjoyed it. And it was easy to put together. I will definitely make it again but maybe marinate over night next time to have it ready to go.
Gabs- these are awesome. I've started doubling the recipe now and even adding more red pepper flakes in the first step. Goes so well with saffron rice, tzatziki, and some naan. I also do skewers of red onion and red peppers.
Is there a substitute for red wine vinegar?
Thanks
Forgot to mention in my comment that in addition to substituting salmon for chicken, I put the salmon on skewers with red pepper, onion, and mushrooms and put the marinade on the veggies. I served the skewers over short grain brown rice instead of bread.
Made it with salmon. Didn’t use garlic. It was delicious.