Chicken Kabobs with Grapes

These Chicken Kabobs with Grapes feature tender, flavorful bites of chicken marinated in a lemon-herb yogurt sauce, plus honey-balsamic shallots and sweet grapes. This grilled chicken kabobs recipe has been a longtime family favorite – because grilled grapes are a ton of fun!

Easy Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Grapes

Have you ever grilled grapes? It’s a wonderful thing! Our family loves this recipe for grilled Chicken Kabobs with Grapes!

The combination of tender, flavorful grilled chicken and warm, sweet & juicy grapes is unexpectedly fun and delicious. If you like tucking grapes into a chicken salad sandwich, you’re gonna love these chicken kabobs!

For this kabobs recipe, simply marinate chunks of chicken in a herby yogurt sauce that’s bright with fresh lemon. Meanwhile, let fresh shallots soak in a syrupy honey and balsamic vinegar mixture, for a tangy-sweet flavor punch.

Then thread the chicken, shallots, and grapes onto skewers – and grill!

The heat of the grill transforms the grapes into sweet little bursts of warm, fruity deliciousness. My family goes crazy for them – so much so, that we often grill a couple skewers of only grapes!

Why You’ll Love These Lemon Chicken Kabobs

Simple and super flavorful, there’s a lot to love about these herby lemon chicken kabobs. Here’s why we make this recipe again and again:

• Packed with flavor. For a simple recipe, there’s a lot of flavor going on in this recipe – starting with the tangy Greek yogurt chicken marinade that’s flavored with fresh herbs and bright lemon. Add to that, honey balsamic shallots and sweet grapes – it all goes together so well!
• So easy to make. While there is some chopping and juicing, this recipe comes together easily. I love all the fresh scents in the kitchen while we’re making this!
• Fun, individual portions. You can use long skewers or short skewers, it really doesn’t matter. But everyone likes having their very own grilled kabobs!
• A great make-ahead option. You can prepare all of the ingredients in advance of cooking these skewers, and let everything rest in the fridge. Then when you’re ready to cook, you’ll have everything ready to go and will need less than 20 minutes to grill the kabobs to perfection.
• Goes with so many dishes. I share some serving suggestions lower down, but know that these grilled chicken kabobs are incredibly versatile and go well with many side dishes, from grilled vegetables to classic BBQ sides, to fresh, crunchy salads.
• The GRAPES! This bears repeating. Grilled grapes are both FUN and DELICIOUS!

What You’ll Need

Here’s an overview of the ingredients needed to make grilled chicken kabobs.

Be sure to scroll to the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

• Greek yogurt – You can use full-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt in the marinade. This adds tangy flavor and helps to tenderize the chicken.
• Olive oil
• Garlic – Earthy, spicy garlic adds depth of flavor, plus beautiful aroma.
• Lemon – This recipe utilizes both lemon juice and lemon zest, for a fresh citrusy flavor boost.
• Fresh herbs – Thyme and rosemary are delicious with chicken, lemon, shallots, and grapes.
• Chicken breast – Use boneless, skinless chicken breast for the kabobs.
• Balsamic vinegar – For a sweet, tangy flavor note.
• Honey – The natural sweetness of honey balances out the tartness of the vinegar and the bite of fresh shallots.
• Shallots – If you can’t find shallots, substitute red or yellow onion.
• Grapes – I use red grapes in this recipe, so pretty with the red-purple tint of the shallots. But you can use green grapes if you wish.
• Salt & pepper

What’s The Best Chicken For Grilled Kabobs?

You can use chicken breast or chicken thighs to make grilled kabobs. Whichever you choose, you’ll want to use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat.

How to Make Chicken Kabobs with Grapes and Shallots

Here’s an outline of what you’ll need to do, to make grilled chicken kabobs:

• Make the marinade. Combine yogurt, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, thyme, and rosemary in a bowl.
• Let chicken marinate. Fold the chicken pieces into the marinade. Cover the chicken and let marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, and up to six.

• Marinate the shallots. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil, then fold in the shallots. Cover and place in refrigerator until chicken is done marinating.

• Thread the skewers. Thread the marinated chicken onto skewers, alternating with the grapes and marinated shallots. Sprinkle kabobs with salt and pepper.

• Heat the grill. Heat grill to medium/medium-high heat. Make sure grates are scrubbed clean and then oiled.
• Cook the kabobs. Place chicken kabobs on hot grill grates. Once they are beautifully charred on the underside, turn the kabobs over and cook until charred again. The chicken should be cooked through after about 12 to 15 minutes of total grill time, although total time will depend on grill temperature and the size of the chicken pieces.
• Serve. Remove grilled kabobs on a platter and serve immediately.

Tips for Success

I’ve always liked making (and eating!) kabobs. Here are a few tips to help you make these lemon chicken kabobs:

• Soak wooden skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers, place them in a shallow pan of water to soak for a couple hours prior to threading the kabobs. This will help them to not burn up on the grill as quickly.
• Allow the chicken and shallots to marinate fully. Try not to skimp on the marinating time, especially for the chicken. The yogurt adds delicious flavor, plus it tenderizes the chicken.
• How to prepare the grill: To oil the grates, add some vegetable oil to a small bowl. Then fold a paper towel a few times to make a smaller square. With tongs, grasp the folded paper towel and dip it into the oil until the paper towel is soaked. Then run the paper towel over the clean, hot grates, repeating until all grill grates are thoroughly oiled.
• Grill more grapes. As I already mentioned, my family loves it when we grill extra grapes with this meal. You can add individual grapes to skewers or just place a whole cluster of grapes directly on the grill. If you grill a grape cluster, just know that if the grapes get overly grilled and softened, they can release from cluster.
• Offer fresh lemon. When serving, offer additional fresh lemon wedges for those who like a hit of added acidity.

Serving Suggestions

Grilled chicken kabobs are wonderful alongside a salad, or you could serve a heartier side like potatoes or more grilled vegetables. Here are a few of my favorite dishes to serve with lemon chicken kabobs:

• With pasta salad. My Greek tortellini salad is a wonderful choice to serve with chicken kabobs, as it picks up on many of the flavors you’ll find in this recipe.
• Alongside fresh vegetable salads. Serve with fresh salads such as Italian chopped salad, roasted beet salad, or fattoush salad.
• Serve with grilled vegetables. Try my grilled vegetable salad or grilled romaine salad, or make a simple grilled vegetable like grilled asparagus.
• Add potatoes. Lemon chicken kabobs are wonderful with buttermilk mashed potatoes. You can also go with roasted garlic new potatoes or our favorite baked potatoes.
• Or potato salad! Choose from cold potato salad or this warm German potato salad.
• Alongside classic barbecue sides. You can serve beef kabobs with an assortment of BBQ sides, like coleslaw, macaroni salad, Hawaiian macaroni salad, or bacon ranch pasta salad!
• Slice up some fruit. Slice up juicy watermelon for a simple, refreshing side, or make my mojito fruit salad – everyone loves this salad!

How to Store Leftover Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Place the leftover grilled chicken kabobs in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can remove the ingredients from the skewers or leave them on.

To reheat, remove the ingredients from the skewers and place them in a microwave-safe dish. Reheat in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated through. Or heat in a 350° F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until heated through.

More Easy Chicken Recipes

• Cowboy Chicken
• Honey Garlic Chicken Bowls
• Cashew Chicken
• Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

This post was originally published in 2014, then updated in 2023.