Kebabs minus the skewer…but with all the great flavors and tastes of a grilled chicken kebab.

There is just something about grilled food, isn’t there? Especially in summer. To me, it tastes the best and is perfect for the season when I don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. We have a Middle Eastern restaurant near where we live, and it has become one of our favorite go-to’s for healthy takeout that is absolutely delicious. I literally crave this food and some nights, all I want are a couple grilled chicken and veggie kebabs and a spanakopita and call it a night!

I wanted to try my hand at making my own kebabs, but the thing is, we currently don’t have a grill. So, these are my take on kebabs, minus the skewer….and the grill…but with keeping all the same elements of a great kebab: diced chicken breast, colorful bell peppers, red onion, and lots of olive oil and spices. Deconstructed skillet kebabs I guess? We had my in-laws over to enjoy it and it was a success! Everyone loved the dish, and some asked for seconds, which is always a good sign.

The actual cook time was only about 30 minutes or less, though this will depend on how much you are making, size of pan, etc. But overall, you really are just letting everything cook until nice browning happens, stirring and rotating the pieces a few times during the cooking process. Quick enough to be a solid weeknight dinner contender and the leftovers are so good, I often eat them cold on top of a salad.

We served it alongside a simple salad of mixed greens and my Greek-inspired lemon and feta air fryer “fries” (recipe coming soon!), and I whipped up a quick yogurt-honey-olive oil-and everything bagel spice dip. I think it would also taste great over a bed of warm rice, since the cooking creates sort of a veggie-infused olive oil that would be a really tasty “sauce” for the rice.

What you will need:
-3-4 large chicken breasts (think roughly one per person and you will likely have leftovers)
-1 bell pepper per chicken breast (I used three)
-1 large or two smaller red onions
-Good quality olive oil
-Spices of your choice (I used garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano)
-Salt and pepper to taste / can add more later when cooked

Tips
You will want thick chicken breasts here, not thin sliced, and I used three large chicken breasts for 4 people. I used one bell pepper per chicken breast (one green, one yellow, one red), and one really large red onion. If the onions are smaller you can certainly use two. Looking back, I feel these ratios were perfect and there was a good amount of veg to compliment the meat. I used a cast iron skillet to cook this dish.

Step One: Prep the Chicken, Veggies and Marinade
First, cut your chicken (removing any grizzly or fatty bits, if you are like us and have a pup, he is a lucky boy today) and vegetables, all roughly around the same size so they cook evenly. Toss everything into a big bowl and cover in about 1/4  to 1/2  cup of good quality olive oil.

Mix everything together, allowing the olive oil to coat the pieces of chicken and veg. Then add your salt, pepper, and spices. Mix everything up again, cover, and set in the fridge to marinate. You can leave it for 30 minutes or a few hours, and anything in between, whatever works.

Step 2: Let’s Cook!
When you are ready to cook, take your chicken and veggies out from the fridge and let sit on the counter at room temp for about 15-20 minutes. Then, when ready, preheat your grill or skillet. I used our cast iron pan. Since everything has quite a bit of oil on it, I didn’t feel the need to add more to the pan, but you can decide what you think.

Once the pan is hot and a veggie tossed in sizzles, add your meat and veggies. You might have to do this in batches depending on how much you have. Ideally, you will want everything to be in as much of a single layer as possible to ensure best browning/ charring.

The veggies will produce moisture so if your pan is too crowded, just know it will brown, it will just take much longer than 20-30 minutes. You could also use a second pan if you were making a really big batch and wanted to get it done in half the time.

At this point, the name of the game is to let it cook undisturbed. You will want to rotate and mix your meat and veggies a few times during the entire cooking process, but you really do want to leave them alone, so they have time to develop that nice char. You will be able to tell. Once they look good, temp them to read at least 165 degrees and you will know they are officially done!

Step 3: Let’s Eat!
Enjoy! Serve with rice, potatoes, etc. You can reheat the leftovers or even eat them cold right on top of a salad.